NSW YC Foster Shield
27 October 2024, Terry Hills Oval
We played our Round 3 match against Hornsby Ku-ring-gai and Hills on 27 October at Terrey Hills Oval. Michael Gaffney and Taj Nicholson were the umpires for the game. Manly Warringah won the toss and decided to bowl first. There was one change for Manly as James Beaton joined the squad with Huw being away for this game.
In the first innings, Ollie and Hamish started the bowling well, delivering tight lines and conceding only 18 runs in the first 8 overs. Hugo, who came on as first change, got the first breakthrough in his opening over. Virat bowled a tight spell, giving away only 11 runs in his first 3 overs. Ollie returned to the attack and broke the 43-run partnership in his first over of the second spell. He then took another wicket in his next over, with Hamish taking a reflex catch in the slips. Hornsby Ku-ring-gai consolidated from there and didn’t lose another wicket until the 34th over, with the score at 100 for 3. Leo was brought into the attack and broke that partnership, which had started to look dangerous for Manly. Archie then affected a brilliant run out in the following over. Jack replaced Leo and took two wickets in consecutive balls in his first over of the spell. Virat followed that up with a wicket of his own in his next over, with the visitors ending the innings on a respectable 142/9 in their 40 overs.
Manly started confidently, with openers Alex and Sam hitting 10 runs in the first two overs. However, Hornsby struck back by dismissing Alex in the 3rd over. Sam and Jack then tried to consolidate with a mini-partnership until Sam was dismissed in the 10th over, with the score at 33. Jack played a tough, grinding knock of 25, taking the score to 63 alongside Hugo before getting out in the 19th over. Manly then lost 3 wickets — Hugo, James, and Atticus — in the next few overs, with the score at 87/6 in 28 overs. Toby, who was at the crease and trying his best to ward off the Hornsby attack, was joined by Hamish. Manly now needed 50 runs in the last 10 overs, and it was not going to be easy. Toby and Hamish chipped away at the target slowly but surely, keeping the required run rate under control. At one stage, it looked like it could go down to the wire, with Hornsby bowling some tight overs, but both batters showed tremendous application and temperament to bring the game home with a flurry of boundaries, finishing the match in the 38th over. Toby and Hamish scored 23 and 30 runs respectively, with a solid 57-run unbeaten partnership.
Manly showed great grit and fighting spirit by coming back from a difficult position to finish the game comfortably.
Report by Virat.
Here is a picture of the unbeaten pair:
