15 NSW Youth Championship Weblin Shield, Weldon Oval, 29th October 2023
We rocked up to Weldon Oval ready to go after our team breakfast. We started our warm-ups and began to prepare for the game. Lachy won the toss and elected to bat.
Batting: 6/220 – Lachy 64-101; Aidan B 63-89; Miles 38-36
Paddy and Aidan K walked to the crease and had a great opening partnership putting on 27 off 8 overs until Paddy (3-21) was bowled at the end of the 8th over. Aidan B then came out to bat with Aidan K and unfortunately only managed to put on a couple of runs as a partnership until Kurtis (19-38) got out in the 12th over. Both openers did their job and got through the new ball and opening bowlers, well done boys.
Aidan B was then partnered with Lachy where they put on an amazing partnership with both of them putting on 50 runs each in a partnership of over 100 runs.
The boys continued to wait for the bad balls and consistently put it to the boundary as well as racking up the ones and twos with some excellent running between wickets, they left no runs on the field. Both lads were in together until the 40th over, when Aidan (63-89) after a great effort was unfortunately run-out.
Miles joined Lochy at the crease where he quickly started doing ‘Miles things’ and was starting to notch up his runs with Lachy until the 43rd over when Lachy (64-101) was dismissed bowled.
It was a great knock that set us up for a good total.
Will joined Miles at the crease where he was unfortunately bowled by an absolute ripper to get him out first ball. Next out was Thomas where Miles started to tee off with a variety of sixes, fours, oh wait, no fours, but a couple of quick singles and doubles, quickly racking up the runs until Thomas (2-13) tried but failed to hit one out the park where he provided an absolute sitter to extra cover. Stew joined Miles where they both knocked the ball around for the remaining three overs with Miles knocking it a little bit further.
Miles ended up with 38-36 and Stew 5-5 both batting out til the 50th over. This was a great innings by the Manly boys ending with 6/220.
Bowling: Lucas 3/12; Thomas 2/18; Harry 2/19; Will C 1/12; Stu 1/22.
We then all prepped ourselves for our bowling innings, after a shortened lunch we were straight out onto the pitch ready to defend our total. We started with the opening spell pretty well with Oscar and Thomas both bowling tight lines but still going for about 20 off the first 6 overs until the worst happened when Oscar had to go off because of his shoulder injury starting to flare up and so Lachy was forced to start bowling in the early overs.
After an early dropped catch, our luck started to change when in the 8th over Aidan B took a great catch off Thomas’ bowling dismissing the opener for just 18 runs. Just two overs later Thomas got their number 3 out LBW for a duck. After Thomas’ tenth over Stew came on to replace Thomas with both Lachy and Stew keeping the dots coming and limiting their scoring putting lots of pressure on the batsmen until a change of bowling with Lucas replacing Lachy
creating the disruption required for Blacktown to make a mistake and Lucas getting his wicket LBW. It was not even six balls later that the continued pressure placed on Blacktown seemed to make them crumble with Stew getting their number 5 out for a duck off 2 with a great catch by Paddy in the slips. Five balls later again Lucas got another wicket, bowled, with Blacktown now having lost three wickets for five in three overs!
It was then that a small partnership lasting eight over developed but our boys continued to put pressure on the batsmen through dot balls and some outstanding fielding. In the 25th over, Harry gained his first wicket breaking the partnership and almost sealing the game for us. Harry quickly got another wicket five overs later and then Freddie two over later again getting his first wicket of the game, bringing Blacktown to their last three wickets at the 33rd over and still requiring over 100 runs to take the game.
We then continued to limit their scoring and with that pressure Will C got their number 10
batsmen, caught by Lachy. And finally two overs later, Lucas got his third and final wicket to
close out the game for a Manly victory with a difference of 98 runs.
Written by Thomas Walker