Match 1 – Match Report – MWJCA Reps U12 Div 1 against Sutherland Shire Reps U12 Div 1 @ Terrey Hills Oval on 28 NOV 2021
Full scorecard – Match Details | NSW Youth Championships (nswyc.com.au)
Summary – Manly won by 41 runs
Top Scorers: Noah Keam (53*); Rohit Jayaram (18); Lewis Cruickshank (17)
Bowling: Will Graham – 5 for 5 from 6 overs; Caden Rosenkowitz – 2 for 6; Louis Corcoran, Rohit Jayaram, Tobias Overhoff – 1 each
Catches: Noah Keam and Rohit Jayaram – 2 each; Harvey Matheson and Darcy Horstead – 1 each
Stumping: Noah Keam – 1
Sydney is having its wettest November for a while and the boys arrived at a very damp Terry Hills Oval. To everyone’s dismay, the presence of three large puddles at mid off concerned the umpires and the fixture was in peril. However, the Manly parents were all set with their shovels, brooms, leaf blowers etc. to make sure that their boys did not miss out on their very first game of an already reduced season, especially with the first round being washed out. After some painstaking work by these determined parents with soil from the sides, a frantic run to find sawdust, the ground was finally deemed safe to play and the start was delayed by about 40 minutes. Captain Darcy Horstead won the toss and elected to bat.
Tobias Overhoff and Rohit Jayaram were the new opening pair in. The boys looked smart in their new uniforms, albeit a bit nervous. At the end of the first over, there was confusion over a run and it found both Rohit and Tobias at the non-striker’s end. Rohit had crossed but Tobias had left his crease leading the umpires to deem him out. This bought Harvey Matheson in earlier than anticipated to bat with Rohit with the score at 1-2. After the nervy start, Harvey and Rohit steadied the innings through the next 10 overs. The Sutherland opening bowlers were good, but the Manly boys managed to keep them out and keep the scorecard slowly ticking.
In the 11th over Harvey got caught chipping a full ball to mid-on which brought Darcy to the middle to join Rohit with the score 2-28. Just as the boys were getting going, Rohit was caught in exactly the same fashion as Harvey on the first ball of the 14th over with the score at 3-32 and two fresh batsmen at the crease. If Sutherland were feeling happy about the wickets they had taken, they had no idea that Manly’s danger man Noah Keam had just come to join his captain. Noah and Darcy knew that they were 3 wickets down for less than 40 runs and now needed to steady the ship. The pair made it beyond the drinks break. Unfortunately, as often happens, the break brought a wicket. Darcy was bowled by an excellent length ball, bringing Angus Pike to stride out to the middle. Anyone who has been following the Club competition would know that Manly now had their two biggest hitters in the middle.
But Sutherland was bowling brilliantly, and Angus got caught in the 23rd over. Manly were now in trouble. They were 5/46. Mitch McCombe was the next man in and started beautifully. Noah had his eye in and the boundaries started to come in. Mitch was doing a great job of rotating the strike. But the nerves got to the boys and he was run out in a similar fashion as Rohit and Tobias. Manly were now 6/73 at the beginning of the 31st over and the projected score was not looking promising.
This was the moment for an innings of character and impact. Out walked one of Manly’s most dependable players, Lewis Cruickshank. Calmly and unassumingly, he played a crucial innings supporting Noah. The next 8 overs saw these two boys batting beautifully and in hindsight, was probably where the match tilted in Manly’s favour. Noah kept finding the boundaries and even clobbered a six whilst Lewis kept the strike rotating with some excellent singles and twos in the bargain. They put on 49 valuable runs in the last 8 overs till Lewis was caught on the first ball of the last over. Caden Rosenkowitz came in for the last 5 balls and Manly finished on a respectable 124 runs, with Noah making a valuable 53 not out.
A quick lunch and a talk with their coach Rich and the Manly boys were back out on the field. Will Graham and Lewis were Manly’s opening bowlers. They both began with a bang bowling a maiden over each. Maiden overs alone don’t win matches so Will turned up the heat and he took his first wicket in his second over – sending the stumps flying. While Lewis was keeping it tight at one end, Will came back in his 3rd over and took a second wicket – this time an excellent catch by Harvey. At the end of the first 6 overs Sutherland were 2/15.
Louis Corcoran and Caden were Manly’s first change. While Louis was hurling thunderbolts down from one end, Caden had them struggling to play his excellent leg spin at the other. Sutherland had a fantastic left hander that was starting to look a bit dangerous and threatened to take the game away. Louis struck in his third over getting a well-deserved wicket removing the left-hander who skied one into Darcy’s safe hands. Caden followed suit in the very next over with an excellent set up, tempting the batsman to dance out where Noah effortlessly completed the stumping.
Harvey and Mitch were the next bowlers in. Harvey’s pace had Sutherland struggling. This was followed by Mitch’s spin on the other end, which was not giving them any room to make runs either. The boys finished their 6 over spell with only conceding 11 runs with Mitch finishing with a maiden.
It was now time to bring back the big guns. Will and Lewis were back. At Drinks, the scores were roughly level with both teams having lost four wickets for about 40 runs. The pressure was now on to finish it and ensure Sutherland did not get away.
As noted before breaks in play bring wickets and in the very next over Will struck again. This time caught behind by Noah. Lewis was bowling tight on the one end and Will came back in the third over of his second spell and got 2 more wickets! One caught behind by Noah again and another one LBW completing a very rare Fifer! What a fantastic spell. The Manly boys were all huddled together in the middle whooping with excitement and joy accompanied by equally loud cheers from the Manly Tents! Sutherland were in trouble at 7-45 and the target began to look insurmountable.
Louis and Caden were back and Caden got his second wicket – this time with a superb diving catch by Rohit! The game seemed to be in Manly’s hand and they were definitely going to win. But the last two wickets were not so forthcoming. In a bid to mix things up, Darcy took the ball himself and got Harvey back in at the other end. Darcy and Harvey bowled beautifully and there were many near misses, but still no breakthrough. Angus and Mitch had a go next. Still tight, but no wickets. The Sutherland batsmen were resolved to bat through till the end but Manly wanted all 10 wickets. With 3 overs to go, Darcy handed the ball to Rohit who managed to catch the batsman off his own bowling. Harvey bowled the penultimate over and again so close. With one batsman left to dismiss Tobias got the honour of bowling the last over and reminded everyone of his impact in the side by bowling the last batsman off his 4th delivery, sealing the deal well and truly.
Manly had their first victory. A fifer and a 50, is a great way to start the season. Some excellent fielding, bowling and teamwork with every team member making a solid mark. A special mention to Manly’s
new coach, Richard. He has really brought this team together and is such a positive influence on the boys. There is no doubt that the boys are going to have a great experience under his coaching and we look forward to similarly thrilling performances in the matches to come.
