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18/3/06
Return Match at Home
We had faced Grafton United
once before and been victorious so when we realised we were drawn to face them again it gave us opportunity to experiment
and have some fun. Usually if we get to choose we prefer to bat on a damp outfield, which is how it was today, but Brett Randell,
Captain, after discussion with the coach, won the toss and put them in. Amit Dhadwal took the new ball and Joshua Curran shared
it but the first change of Jay Vaddagiri was what brought the first breakthrough when he wiped out middle and off to start
their demise. Of course we hadn’t figured on their number 3 who put up quite a lot of resistance sharing in the next
three partnerships before he was finally out when the score was 57 for 4. Aditya Dhadwal bowled their opener for 11 and Rohan
Modak had the third wicket when Munsarim Ahmed took a great catch at backward square leg.
Shyam Mehta has been quite
dry of wickets recently but Chris Khouri helped him out not once but twice taking 2 great catches at short cover. Munsarim
and Brett usually share the new ball so it was quite unusual to find them bowling overs 17 and 18 as maidens and then each
of them took a wicket each in their 3rd and 4th overs combined with a runout by Rohan in the last over
Brett bowled to reduce Grafton to 77 all out from 23.5 overs.
Now Pranil Ranchhod and
Aditya are reasonably proficient with bat in hand so they were chosen to open our innings. They managed to begin at a reasonable
clip of nearly 4 runs per over before Pranil sent one in the air to be caught at short cover with the score at 18. That brought
Joshua to the middle and he and Aditya set about taking their opportunity with both hands to score a 60 run partnership and
win the game with nearly 6 overs to spare.
Scores were: Grafton United
77 all out.
Shyam Mehta 2-1-2-2; Brett
Randell 4-1-6-2;
Munsarim Ahmed 4-1-10-2
Eden Roskill Yorkers 78
for 1
Joshua Curran 25 Not Out;
Aditya Dhadwal 23 Not Out.
Kim Randell (Coach)
11/3/06
Bowlers do their stuff!
6.30am. It’s pitch black but time to get ready for
the next battle with Cornwall Cricket Club. We were
told that Cornwall Hadlee was unbeaten so, with a
plan and a purpose we readied ourselves for the
conflict.
After arriving at Keith
Hay Park # 6 at 8.00am it
was very evident that
the ball was going to get
quite wet if it was
hit on the ground because there
was a lot of dew, so
the plan was to win the toss
and bat first. It’s
all very well to have a plan but if
you can’t control
the flip of the coin then you have
to rely on the opposition
giving you what you want.
That is exactly what
happened, they won the toss
and sent us in. What
a disaster, just eight balls
into the match Amit
Dhadwal didn’t quite get onto
the ball properly, spooned
it in the air to short mid
wicket, 4 for 1. A miniature
partnership of 23 runs
between Munsarim Ahmed
and Chris Khouri
resulted before Munsarim
also mishit a shot to be
caught also and 11 runs
later Chris smacked one
straight back at the
bowler who, to be fair, had to
make quite a lot of
ground before taking the ball
with one hand just inches
from the ground.
38 for 3.
This meant that once again the Captain and
Vice-captain were in the middle together. Slowly,
but surely they set about compiling a score that
we might be able to defend, turning the strike
over at times and running lots of twos to reach
83 for 3 when Brett Randell retired not out after
accelerating his score to 24. Aditya Dhadwal came
and went quite quickly being centimetres short of
his ground trying to push the pace which meant
that Shreyas Mishra, as so often happens, had
only 3 balls to face. Dot, four, 2, change of innings
at 102 for 4 from 24 overs. The rules stipulate that
all overs short of 25 overs shall have 5 penalty
runs added to the batting teams score so that
meant Hadlee must score 108 in 25 overs to win.
Oh no, the very first ball gave two runs and an
extra ball to be bowled because it was wide, but
that dismay was short lived as Chris took a good
catch at short cover on the very next ball. 2 for 1.
Munsarim began his first spell almost impeccably
when he had a wicket with his sixth ball for only
one run from the over. Two balls later after some
very poor fielding the batsmen had run 4 from a
shot that only deserved one at the most. Still we
stuck to our plan and by the time the first change
had come they were 10 for 2. Unfortunately after
some very wayward and costly bowling we let them
off the hook and it wasn’t until the score was 42
that Jay Vaddagiri, with Dad shouting
encouragement from the boundary, bowled his
second over as a wicket maiden when Amit
Dhadwal whipped off the bails for a superb
stumping.
The very next over Pranil Ranchhod finally took
out their opener with a peach of a delivery that
spun through the gate to rattle the stumps and
they were 42 for 4. Only 14 balls later he had his
second with a similar delivery, 46 for 5.The new
batsmen settled in a little until Aditya fired a
rocket in to run out the sixth wicket. The next pair
fought hard to increase their score to 94 at the
end of the day but falling 14 runs short.
So, Eden Roskill Yorkers add another scalp to the
belt and look forward to playing our next match, a
return against Grafton United, but this time on our
home ground not theirs.
Scores were Yorkers: 107 for 4 from 25 overs
Brett Randell 24 retired not out
Cornwall Hadlee: 94 for 6 from 25 overs
Jay Vaddagiri 4overs,1maiden,10runs,1wicket
Pranil Ranchhod 4overs,1maiden,14runs,2wickets
Kim Randell (Coach)
4/3/06
Run over!
We lost the toss today
and were sent in, not what we desired but after Munsarim Ahmed and Amit Dhadwal had set themselves they shared a 45 run partnership
before Munsarim was bowled for 21 after some very fine shot making.
Pranil Ranchhod hadn’t
batted at 3 for some weeks while working his way out of a form slump but, today was the day we needed him to step up and with
some restored confidence he set about a quick fire 5 runs from 7 balls until he knocked one straight back at the bowler.
Enter the Captain, Brett
Randell who faced one dot and then began running twos at will helping Amit to his 35 retired with the score at
87. Shyam Mehta came and
went after trying to up the run rate at the coach’s request and just
one run later Brett chased a high full toss only to sky it and make his way back to the shed. Mitch Cooper swung his bat at
everything but couldn’t seem to connect this week and Aditya Dhadwal mistimed a strike and walked. With the score at
114 for 5 and just 4 balls left, Shreyas Mishra strode out and smashed a quick 3 runs to give us 118 to defend from 25 overs.
Brett and Munsarim began
superbly with the first an impeccable maiden and after 4 overs we had not one but two back in the hutch for 10 runs. What
followed unfortunately were some costly misfields as we let them get away to 45 before two more wickets fell. Usually the
Yorkers are a very tight fielding unit but today the ball seemed to escape our grasp so when Shreyas threw the stumps down
to dismiss number 6 at 80 for 5 there was some relief in the camp. Another quick three wickets for only 22 runs gave a lot
of hope to us that we could actually bowl the opposition out and then after their ninth went the scores were tied with 10
balls left. One ball later when a full toss was smashed to the boundary our five match-winning streak had ended but we held
our heads high for a very competitive game and lots to work on at practice.
Score were: Eden Roskill
Yorkers 118 for 5 from 25 overs
Amit Dhadwal 35 runs retired;
Brett Randell 26 and Munsarim Ahmed 21
Howick/Pakuranga White
122 for 9 from 23.3 overs
Munsarim Ahmed 2 overs
0 maidens 8 runs 2 wickets, 1 run out.
Shreyas Mishra 2
overs 0 maidens 13 runs 2 wickets, 1 run out.
Kim Randell (Yorkers coach)
25/2/06
The miser’s touch!
Overcast conditions, a light zephyr blowing from the south, a good toss to win that Captain Brett Randell did well
and yes, sent University Broncos in. It was December when University Mustangs thrashed us and only last week we saw them thrash
another good team so, with some inside knowledge we thought it would be a tough game.
For the third time this season Brett knocked the off stump out of the ground with the first ball of the day to remove
one of their best batsmen. For the next 10 overs and five balls our bowlers were very tight and we had the Broncos restricted
to 30 runs but the over before drinks a poor over released the shackles with 8 runs off it and then Chris Khouri struck with
1 from 2 for 4. Joshua Curran, Jay Vaddagiri and Amit Dhadwal followed up with just 17 from 6 overs and they were now 65 for
2.
Back came Brett, Pranil Ranchhod, Shreyas Mishra and Joshua and between them they effected a further 5 wickets for
only 20 runs. To be fair, today was a really miserly bowling performance and when time was up we had kept them to 84 for 7.
With just 85 to win
we began with our usual batting order with the instructions to play off the front foot to negate the uneven bounce. For the
first 3 overs they were adhered to but Munsarim Ahmed was caught on his crease to lose our first at 11. Chris came to the
block and was run out when he seemed glued to the non- strikers end, 15 for 2. The very next ball Amit was also bowled while
still in his crease, 15 for 3. Come the Captain and Joshua for a partnership of 5 before Joshua walked outside leg stump once
too often and Mitch joined Brett to star in a well contrived 39 run partnership when Brett retired to give our usual # 11
a chance at the bowling up the order. With the retirement of Mitch there was need to have a more senior player join Jay and
Pranil filled that requirement. Both batsmen applied themselves well but Jay spewed one straight back at the bowler and Rohan
arrived with only 6 runs to win from 5.2 overs but four balls later Rohan stayed in his crease when called for a run and Pranil
was badly run out, five balls later the game was in the bag.
Statistics will show that University Broncos reached 84 for 7 from 26 overs and Eden Roskill Yorkers replied with 90
for 6 from 23 overs.
Man of the Match was Brett Randell - 3 for 7 from 4 and 22 from 30 balls retired.
Notable achievements: Mitch Cooper - 22 from 38 retired
Shreyas Mishra - A superb catch at silly mid wicket.
18/2/06
Look
out worms!
This last
week was very interesting and different because neither the Captain nor the Coach were at training so today the Vice Captain,
Shyam Mehta, stepped up won the toss and chose to bat.
Hmmmn! Interesting
decision after inspecting the pitch that was cracked, but quite green and damp, and conditions cloudy overhead. Of course
with every game of cricket, time tells. So Munsarim Ahmed and Amit Dhadwal strode to the crease to begin the innings. When
the second ball pitched on a good length and didn’t bounce at all the worms ducked for cover, and the keeper used his
gloves like a spade to scoop it up into his hands. Two balls later Munsarim managed to get bat on ball for the first run of
the day and then a dot, and last ball of the over another worm ducked as the ball rolled past the keeper to effect a bye.
That first over set the tone for the whole match but one end was lower than the other so runs came a little more freely from
the north end. Amit and Munsarim have developed good understanding with each other and quick singles were run quite often
until Munsarim was caught at short cover, 38 for 1. Not long after Chris Khouri came to the wicket Amit was caught short of
his ground and we were 40 for 2 after 10.3 overs.
With the
Captain not playing Shreyas Mishra was moved up to number 4 and in his usual swashbuckling fashion coupled with some lovely
cricket shots he and Chris moved the score to 65 at which time Chris had his stumps rocked back to bring acting Captain Shyam
to the crease. 13 runs later Shyam was run out by a clever bit of cricket, 78 for 4 from 18.5 overs and a run rate of 4.2.
Shreyas was caught out just 6 runs later and Mitch Cooper began to up the run rate whenever he could in partnership with,
first Rohan Modak, then Aditya Dhadwal and finally with just 3 balls left Pranil Ranchhod joined him to complete the innings.
After 25 overs we had scored 111 for 6 at a run rate of 4.4.
Rohan took
the new ball for the first time ever and bowled a good first over for 4 runs and his second for just a single. On occasion
the worms were hurried back underground in this innings also but as the sun burnt the pitch dryer the ball bounced a little
more, but as mentioned earlier in this report, runs came more easily from the other end so that after 10 overs Howick/Pakuranga
Black had 63 runs in the score book for the loss of 2 wickets. That called for some tightening that Pranil kindly provided
with a maiden for the eleventh over that began the squeeze that enabled us to make inroads in their lineup when first Munsarim
took a great catch in Joshua Curran’s second over. What followed was some marvellous bowling from first, Amit with 1
run from his first over, and then Chris with a maiden and then a wicket for 2 runs so that we had them needing 27 runs from
5 overs with 5 wickets in hand.
They began
to throw the bat at each delivery and in the 21st over Mitch took an absolutely magnificent catch from Shyam’s
bowling but Pranil went for 6. Now they needed 22 from 3 overs. A boundary was taken from the fourth ball of Shyam’s
last over but that was all and Mitch had his first stumping from Chris’s in the next so Joshua came back to bowl the
last. Dot, 1, stumped, bowled, 2, 1, run out.
Win by 7
runs to Eden Roskill Yorkers.
Scores were:
Eden Roskill Yorkers 111 for 6
MVP Chris Khouri 3-1-4-2,
1 catch, 7 runs
Joshua Curran 3-0-8-3
Mitch Cooper 2 stumpings,
1 catch, 13 not out.
Howick/Pakuranga Black 102
Report compiled
by: Kim Randell (Coach)
11/2/06
Shut
down!
Last night around 9.00pm the heavens opened and the downpour that followed
had us worried that the ground we were to play on today might be closed, but although the fog had descended early morn, by
8.00am the sun was drying the outfield.
Captain Brett Randell was very happy when he lost the toss and was put
in. You see with damp ground we think it’s better to hit the ball on the ground and so make it difficult for the fielding
team with a slippery ball, but Parnell Martin are a very good fielding unit, probably the best we’ve faced.
Today we experimented with the openers and because Munsarim Ahmed, our
usual opener, was carrying an injury we put our identical twins in to face the pace of the opening bowlers. The first over
realised just a single and a wide but the next was a gift to the Dhadwal twins with 6 runs in the book including 1 run and
5 wides and then they took 5 runs off the next before Aditya was brilliantly caught behind from a great piece of keeping.
Chris Khouri at number 3 was the next experiment and he was off the mark with the very first ball he faced, but next ball
Amit had his castle knocked over and both twins were back in the hutch.
The Captain faced the last ball of the fourth over and it took another
6 balls before we scored again. What followed was a very fine partnership between Chris and Brett realising 28 runs before
Brett was adjudged caught behind from the pad for 15. 11 runs later Chris was bowled with the score at 52 for 4 from15.3 overs
and it seemed a tactical rethink was needed. Munsarim joined Vice Captain Shyam Mehta in the middle and immediately took a
run off the first ball he faced. Shyam had been there for 7 balls before he cracked a boundary and together they began to
turn over the strike for a partnership of 12 before Munsarim was needlessly runout from a mix-up on the back of excellent
fielding. Still the coach saw the need for the change of tactics and sent in Shreyas Mishra who, with a lump of well-fashioned
willow in his hands can be lethal. Dot, smash (4), smash (4), 1, 1,1, nicked behind for the keepers third catch for 11 from
7 balls. Pranil Ranchhod has been sorely out of form this past season so a huge responsibility rested on those young shoulders
and he steered the innings home with, first Shyam and then, when Shyam was run out, Joshua Curran finishing with 8 from 10.
With just 108 runs scored for 7 wickets from 26 overs we needed an exceptional
effort in the field, and without our regular wicket keeper
even more pressure was put on the bowlers to keep it tight. No sooner
had we moved Mitch to cover than their opener hit the ball straight down his throat and Munsarim had the first wicket in just
the second over with the score at 8. Rohan Modak is bowling really well at the moment so he took first change with Shyam at
the other end who was being uncharacteristically smashed to all ends of the park Then when Pranil bowled his first and went
for 9 it was looking as though we were staring at a hiding but next over Jay Vaddagiri took out middle stump to send their
number three marching and they were 40 for 2. Parnell seemed to be doing this in their sleep but a fantastic piece of keeping
by Amit in the next over stumping the second opener and they were 54 for 3 and drinks were taken. That brought their Captain
to the wicket who set about compiling a long innings sharing in sharing in 5 partnerships. First ball after drinks saw Pranil
runout their number 4, 54 for 4. Shreyas bowled immaculately in his first spell with just a leg bye from his 2 overs. Undoubtedly
this turned the match for us.
The next partnership was 11 before Brett took a magnificent overhead
catch off Aditya’s bowling and 4 balls later Amit took his first catch behind the stumps as stand in keeper. A double
wicket maiden. 65 for 6. Still the Captain was there, back came Brett for his second spell and bowled first number 8 and then
deceived the Captain with a change up. Another runout to Pranil at 86 for 8 with just 3.1 overs to go and 23 runs to win it
looked as though we had the game won, but not being complacent back came first Jay for 1 run, then Rohan for 3 and finally
Shreyas for 5 runs to carry out a well fought win.
Parnell Martin fell 14 runs short and Eden Roskill Yorkers have another
scalp in the cabinet this season.
Scores were:
Yorkers 108 for 7 from 26 overs
Shyam Mehta 24, Brett Randell 15
Parnell Martin 95 for 9 from 26 overs
Aditya Dhadwal 2-1-3-2
Brett Randell 4-0-8-2
Man of the Match: Shreyas Mishra 11 from 7; 3-2-6-0
Kim Randell (Yorkers Coach)
4/2/06
The Giant Killers!
Today we played at home
against Parnell Styris. Jay Vaddagiri played for the Bouncers on the adjacent pitch instead of being our 12th man.
What a bonus for Bouncers because Jay took 3 wickets and 2 catches.
Parnell's coach arrived
and told us they were unbeaten in six games. We lost the toss and were sent in which was okay because we had wanted to bat
first on such a beautiful morning.
The first over was
full of dot balls except one run but we weren’t in a hurry and by the tenth over the opening partnership between Munsarim
Ahmed and Amit Dhadwal had realised 40, a great start. Unfortunately that was the end of it with Amit hitting a catch to dismiss
himself. That brought Shyam Mehta to the crease and a new partnership ensued with Munsarim reaching 30 before retiring. Brett
Randell joined Shyam but was caught for just 6 when he didn’t go though with the shot. Two balls later Pranil was back
in the shed without troubling the scorers and Shyam was caught out on 14 with the score at 85 for 4. Another run was added
before Rohan was caught without scoring leaving Mitch Cooper and Joshua Curran to complete the innings at 97 for 6 from 26
overs.
With such a small total
to defend the very first ball of their innings was crucial when Brett had their vice-captain hit the inside edge to knock
out off stump. Six runs later Brett took a catch off Munsarim to
send their number 3 back to the shed. It took a further 25 runs before we had the other opener out, runout brilliantly by
Aditya Dhadwal. As long as their number 4 was there they were scoring at a reasonable rate and it looked as though they would
romp home but Amit had him sky one in the air that Mitch secured in the gloves and their captain strode to the crease to face
one ball and be caught and bowled by Pranil Ranchhod. They were falling quickly now and 3 runs later Joshua rattled the woodwork
to keep his reputation of one wicket per match intact, 52 for 6. Just 3 more runs were added when Pranil took his second catch,
this time off Chris Khouri’s bowling, but then a little partnership began and when Rohan Modak dropped a sitter caught
and bowled chance he had to follow up with the very next ball smashing into the stumps and they were 66 for 8. Most of the
bowling had been too short today but Aditya got his reward for bowling everything full when Joshua caught number 9. It only
took a further 3 balls before Brett took his second catch of Rohan’s bowling and they were all out for 69. A comfortable
win in the end.
Scores were: Yorkers 97/6
off 26 overs.
Parnell Styris 69 off 21.3 overs
Player of the day: Rohan Modak 2/2 from 1.3
Notable Achievements:
Munsarim
Ahmed 30 Retired
1
for 8 from 2 overs.
Special mention: Jay Vaddagiri 3 wkts 2 ctchs
17/12/05
Soggy Seam!
The forecast was not conducive for playing cricket today but the morning dawned overcast and even though it had showered
through the night there was no cancellation. The home of Grafton United Cricket Club at Victoria Park was to be the venue
for our final meeting of the year. We hadn’t even arrived when the moist air began to develop into spots of rain but
they breed us hearty in Auckland and we made the toss a winner and sent Grafton in.
The first over was quite poor with 5 runs in the scorebook and then, after Pranil Ranchhod had tried twice before and
failed, he took a great catch at point off the bowling of Shreyas Mishra to begin the demise of their top order. Just 2 balls later Pranil took another catch to knock over number 3 batsman for a duck and the next ball
Shreyas took his first slip catch to dismiss the captain for no score and Brett Randell had his second. Grafton was reeling
at 7 for 3. 12 runs later because of some fairly wayward bowling, number 4 was heading back after a regulation runout by Shreyas.
What followed was some very average bowling and they scored 31 before Shazy Mehmood who was substituting for the concussed
Chris Khouri took out middle stump to break the partnership. 25 runs later, again after a lot of average bowling, Aditya Dhadwal
took a sprawling catch at short mid-on from the bowling of Pranil Ranchhod, 75 for 6, and still their opener was there. One
over and 3 balls later Shyam Mehta had him caught at slip by Shreyas and number 9 strode out with the sole purpose of scoring
quick runs. Aditya had him when he tried to smash one to the boundary but mistimed it to be caught by Joshua Curran at mid
off for no score. 79 for 8 was the score when it became necessary to replace the ball because it was deteriorating around
the seam with the wet ground.
Back came the strike bowlers who were successful in the 24th over with Brett Randell holding his first caught
and bowled for the season to give him 3 for 14 from his 4 overs. The next 2 overs realised a further 11 runs as the last pair
ruined Pranil’s figures.
The change of innings brought about a huge downpour that had us wondering if we would ever feel leather on willow but
after about 10 minutes it cleared again and with instructions to keep the ball on the ground we set off after the hundred
required to win. With 3 extras and a run from the first over the wheels were in motion as Pranil and Amit Dhadwal settled
in. They bowled spin with pace at the other end and after the first spell we were on target with 15 runs in the scorebook.
4 balls later their top scoring batsman had the ball in his hands and 2 for 2 from his first over as first Pranil and then
Shyam was bowled. What was needed was a steadying influence and that was realised for 6 overs and 21 runs until Brett was
bowled on the back foot to a full delivery.
Mitch Cooper is not known for compiling an orthodox score but rather smashing the ball to all parts of the ground when
and however he can. However, he played brilliantly and with a strike rate of over 83
he helped Amit to 31 retired not out and a partnership of 23. Rohan Modak joined Mitch at the crease and they smashed
another 10 for the fifth wicket with Rohan bowled with the score at 83. Mitch was caught centimetres short of his ground whilst
attempting yet another tight run and with just 7 runs left for victory Shazy was also runout after a mix-up with Adtya. That
brought the swashbuckling Shreyas in to finish the run chase with Aditya that was achieved in the 23rd over. All
in all a very satisfactory day on the oval and a fitting end to the year.
Player of the Day was Amit Dhadwal: 31retired
Notable achievement: Brett Randell 3 for 14 from 4, 1 catch.
Grafton United 99/9 from 26
Eden Roskill Yorkers 100/6 from 22.5
KimRandell (Coach)
10/12/05
High Score!
I didn’t see that coming was the thought of Pranil Ranchhod as the very first ball of the innings rocked middle
stump. When Amit Dhadwal also went for nought off the fourth ball it looked like a nightmare was about to start.
Our captain won the toss and we chose to bat against University Mustangs, but the weather was overcast and the wind
was blowing from the northwest. The pitch was another factor we hadn’t taken into account but we realised too late it
was quite damp. However, both teams played a good game of cricket.
Mustangs stuck to their task and when Brett Randell lost his wicket to a ball that just took the top of the bail in
the fourth over it looked like the rot had set in. That brought Mitch Cooper to the crease to join Shyam Mehta and together
they steadied the innings with a partnership of 27 runs until Shyam hit one in the air and the catch was taken to send us
reeling at 34 for 4. Extras were fast becoming the top scorer but Mitch tried to do his best scoring runs whist batsmen at
the other end were falling around him. Shreyas Mishra tried in his usual flamboyant style to change the pace of the game but
was caught out with the score at just 45 and one run later Joshua Curran hesitated and was run out without facing a ball.
Rohan Modak was next to the crease, faced his first ball like a professional and swung at the next to be caught at gullypoint
with the score at 46 for 7. Just 2 runs later we lost the top scorer to a fine
ball that wrapped the bails and Jay Vaddagiri joined Aditya Dhadwal in the middle. A partnership of 13 ensued before Aditya
lost his stumps as well. The rules of this competition allow for a team with less than 11 players to bat the lowest scoring
batsman again. This was the case for us today with Munsarim in Pakistan and Chris injured we were able to bring Joshua back
and together with Jay they put on a further 20 runs until Joshua popped another ball in the air and a very fine catch was
taken to dismiss us for 81 runs from 24.4 overs.
Again, with Munsarim and Chris missing we were forced to change our normal bowling order so Brett opened partnered
with Shreyas and we had our first wicket in the second over when Shreyas whipped out the off stump with a full delivery and
the score was 2 for 1. The very next over the batsman hit the ground as the ball came in at hip height to take out middle
stump; unfortunately the wicket wasn’t given as the square leg umpire called a controversial NO BALL. Ten balls later
a piece of brilliance from Mitch sent their number 3 back to the hutch as he took the ball and broke the stumps. A 27 run
partnership was finally broken when Amit ran out their number 4 with the score at 40. Unfortunately for us they still had
their number one in the middle and after their fourth wicket fell at 57 and drinks were taken it seemed we had a good chance
but just five overs later the game was lost.
Scores were: Yorkers 81 from 24.4 overs with 39 extras high score
Mustangs 82 from 18.3 overs
Player of the day: Shyam Mehta 10 runs and 2 overs for 3 runs
Notable Achievement: Mitch Cooper 17 runs and 1 stumping
3/12/05
Tight game!
Today dawned
gloriously fine with the prospect of playing the formidable foe of Cornwall Sneddon on our home ground and that was something
we were quite excited about.
They won
the toss and sent us in. Munsarim Ahmed and Chris Khouri began cautiously facing some very accurate bowling, but their patience
paid off as the partnership realised 30 runs before Munsarim forgot to use his feet and was bowled. Pranil Ranchhod joined
Chris and they seemed to get a bit bogged down so we retired Pranil and let Brett Randell join Chris. That was a good move
as the runs began to flow freely again until Chris lost his wicket to a good ball on middle and off having scored 16 well
earned runs. We moved Shreyas Mishra up the order as a pinch hitter to increase the run rate with Brett and that was also
a good tactical move until Brett was caught centimetres short of his ground by a direct hit. Mitch Cooper was our next designated
“BIG HITTER” but just 7 runs were scored before Shreyas walked back to the shed followed very quickly by Mitch
and then 2 balls later by Rohan Modak with the score at just 103 for 6. Shyam Mehta was joined by Aditya Dhadwal but 4 balls
later the innings was complete when on the last ball Shyam walked down the wicket with the intention of smashing the ball
to the boundary but missed it and was stumped.
105 was
a very small total to defend but we began with some very tight bowling and fielding, however the first wicket didn’t
fall until Jay Vaddagiri bowled their opener with the score at 22. What followed was a mini collapse when in the next over
Brett took a catch from Pranil and then a second off Chris in the very next over and in the following over ran out the next
batsman who didn’t even face a ball until we had them 56 for 6. It was looking like we might have it in our grasp but
a 34 run recovery partnership rescued them and we lost by 2 wickets.
Our boys
bowled exceptionally well today and with extras below 20 man of the match had to go to our brilliant wicket keeper, Mitch
Cooper who stopped many balls on the leg side from going for byes.
Notably
Chris Khouri was top scorer with 16 and both Shreyas and Brett chimed in with 15 each.
Scores were:
Yorkers 105 for 7 from 30
Sneddon 108 for 8 from 28
Player of the Day: Mitch Cooper - Brilliant
keeeping.
Notable Achievement: Chris Khouri 16
from 62, 1 wicket for 14 from 2 overs
19/11/05
Early Start.
One needs to be honest,
waking 30 minutes earlier than normal to make it to a ground on the other side of town certainly takes it out of the coach,
but the boys seem to just take it in their stride. After a light jog and stretching we got down to some well tuned fielding
practice. It was just as well because we lost the toss and were asked to bowl.
Brett Randell opened as
usual with an over that had the batsman playing and missing and then a purler that caught him in the solar plexus but, their
opener refused to be intimidated and hung in there until Munsarim Ahmed rocked the off stump with the very first ball of his
spell. Three balls later and their number 3 was walking for nought and they were 19 for 2. What followed was some very tight
bowling and fielding but the batsmen hung in for a 30 over partnership until Chris Khouri had his first wicket with a catch
to Brett at short cover. Six balls later Brett had his second catch from Shreyas Mishra. Soon after Papatoetoe’s other
opener retired having score a well-compiled 31. Just a few runs later at his second attempt in 2 balls Brett backhanded the
ball to Mitch Cooper who whipped the bails off and they were 81 for 5. 30 balls and 21 runs later Munsarim had his third wicket
caught by Jay at Mid On.
With 119 runs to chase
down Chris and Munsarim began in typical fashion taking every run that was on offer, but with the score at just 5 Munsarim
played the wrong line and lost his stumps. Pranil Ranchhod was next and had to head back to the shed after being caught with
the score at just 11. It was time for the Captain to steady the ship and he did until the 41 run partnership came to an abrupt
end when Chris’s much smaller legs refused to stretch out far enough to make the run they tried for. Enter the Vice
Captain, Shyam Mehta, who after a cameo 7 from 11 was also caught short after a lack of communication.
Mitch and Brett then took the score to 92 when at the end of that
over Brett retired on a well-compiled 35 from 49 balls. With just 27 runs to win and 7 overs left Amit Dhadwal joined Mitch
and they smashed 10 runs from 7 balls and then Mitch was caught just short of his crease by a direct hit that brought Shreyas
to join Amit. Amit carried on what he had begun earlier and just 8 balls later the win was complete.
Scores were: Papatoetoe Troup 118 from 27
ER Yorkers 119/5 from 23.1
Player of the Day:
Brett Randell, 35 retired, 2 catches, 1 runout
Notable Achievement:
Munsarim Ahmed, 3/7/4
Kim Randell (Coach)
12/11/05
A ‘Friendly’.
With a weather forecast for rain today it was with thanks to God that we awoke to a gloriously fine day. There was
some dew on the grass but as the game was to be a ‘friendly’ we thought we might like to bat should we win the
toss. We lost, but thankfully Howick/Pakuranga Grey sent us in.
Chris Khouri and Amit Dhadwal strode to the # 4 wicket on our home ground at Keith Hay Park and began a great opening
partnership of 24 runs before Chris was caught at square leg trying to go over the top. Today was a chance to experiment so
we sent Joshua Curran in to see how he would go against top order bowlers, what resulted was a lovely little cameo in partnership,
first with Amit until he was replaced after retiring, by Rohan Modak who was runout after facing just 3 balls, and then with
Brett Randell. Then with the score at 49 Joshua was caught inches short of his ground trying to get a second and sent back
to the shed to be replaced by Pranil Ranchhod. 15 runs later Brett chased one down leg and was bowled. That brought Player
of the Day, the left handed Aditya Dhadwal, to the crease who also set about chasing the ball until he got his eye in and
a couple of overs later Pranil was replaced by Shreyas Mishra who, with the score at 107 was also bowled, but not before he
was joined by Mitch Cooper when we retired Aditya. Our swashbuckling Munsarim Ahmed joined Mitch and they took the total from
26 overs to 110 for 5.
Brett struck in the first over having bowled an almost immaculate over but for a first ball no ball. Again, experimentation
was the order of the day and we bowled spin from the northern end. Pranil is bowling legspin well enough at the moment to
deserve the nickname of ‘Warney’, having taken 3 wickets last week he followed with a double wicket maiden in
the 4th over having gone for just 3 in his first. Unaccustomed to bowling at number 3 Munsarim went for a few today
but the plan of mixing pace with spin paid off when Aditya took 2 for 4 from his 2 overs. As if we weren’t making it
tough enough for the batsmen as it was, Shyam came to the crease and bowled 2 perfect maidens while Chris at the other end
took a wicket in his first over.
Rohan bowled fairly quick today as usual but was a little wayward and Joshua at the other end bowling slow/medium took
another 2 wickets to add to his tally of 3 from the last 3 matches. That just left Shreyas and Amit to bowl with a wicket
each we sowed up the game with a 63 run win in the 18th over.
The bowling partnerships
seemed to work really well today and overall it was a good team effort. The boys have worked really hard to get where they
are and I am proud of them.
Eden Roskill Yorkers 110/5 from 26
Howick/Pakuranga Grey 47 from 17.4
Player of the Day: Aditya Dhadwal, 18 retired, 2/4/2
Notable Achievement: Joshua Curran, 2/5/2, 7 from 19
Kim Randell (Coach)
05/11/05
A fair dinkum grass wicket!
Another fine morning greeted
us but it was a little overcast and windy so with a pitch that had quite a lot of grass on it, our first ever game on a grass
wicket by the way, Brett put the opposition in when he won the toss for the 3rd week in a row. With the ball moving
around in the air and off the wicket our fast bowlers were put to the sword a bit, but Shyam struck with the last ball of
his first spell with the score at 27 from 7.
The captain brought on
our number one spinner who took a wicket with just his 2nd ball and the score was 27 for 2. That brought their
best batsman to the crease but 5 runs later Pranil had a second when he dismissed their opening batsman with a clever piece
of deception that even Warney would be proud of. That heralded a partnership that cost quite a few runs because the batsmen
applied themselves even though the bowling was reasonably accurate. With the score at 57 we snared the 4th with
a brilliant keeper’s catch in front of the wicket by Amit our substitute keeper. Six overs went by with some accurate
bowling and Pranil bowled his 3rd of the day with the score at 65.
Another partnership ensued
but we struck again when Aditya had their 6th caught by Brett with the score at 83 for 6. Four runs later Aditya
threw the stumps down at the bowlers end and they were teetering.
Something special was
required to rid us of their top batsman and Rohan obliged with an absolute blinder of a catch at square leg off Joshua. This
catch belongs in the catch of the summer category, Rohan had to make some ground to his right, dive to his right and take
the ball with two hands less than an inch from the ground. The score was now 91 for 8 and just 3 balls later we dismissed
their last batsman.
At 11 minutes past 10
we set about opening our innings with an over of 10 runs thanks to some extras from their opening bowler. It was the first
time Amit had opened the batting and with the trusty Munsarim at the other end we set about building the score required for
victory. They struck in just the 4th over when Munsarim played across the line and lost his stumps with the score
at just 13. Pranil strode to the wicket full of confidence and together with Amit they raised a partnership of 46 before Pranil
stepped back to a ball he should have defended and the bails went flying.
With the loss of that
wicket the captain, Brett, had a quick chat with Amit and together; they began dropping the ball into gaps and running between
the wickets like a couple of startled hares. With the score at 78, Amit retired having scored opening debut 30 runs from 47
balls, which brought Shyam to the wicket. Together, Brett and Shyam wiped off the remaining 15 runs in 4 overs.
Franklin Plumbing Ellerslie
92 from 27.2 overs
Eden Roskill Yorkers 97
for 2 from 19 overs.
Player of the Day Amit
Dhadwal; 30 retired, 1 for 5 from 1, 2 catches.
Notable achievement: Pranil
Ranchhod; 3 for 13 from 4, 18 runs.
Kim Randell (Coach)
The Inaugural Auckland Match
Eden Roskill versus
Cornwall Crowe on Keith Hay Park #6, October 29 2005.
A better class of cricket
greeted us than we had been used to but to be fair, had we performed better in the field we would have taken this first up game with ease. As it was, it was a very competitive game and could have been won by either team.
We won the toss and put them in. We should have backed that decision up with some accurate
bowling, but, it took 7 overs and 26 runs before we had our first wicket, caught and bowled by Jay Vaddagiri. Little by little we made inroads but our fielding effort left much to be desired with many spilt
catches and half chances going begging.
When Brett and Shyam came back for their second spells and we had 4 quick wickets it was too late, they had their
runs in the scorebook and we had to score 111 to win from 27 overs.
They struck in the 3rd over and then, took care of, first Pranil and then Mitch in the
same over that brought Brett and Shyam together who began to build a little partnership until a silly call and Shyam had his stumps thrown down. That brought man of the match,
Shreyas to the crease but, another silly run and Brett was caught short of his ground by centimetres.
I’m sure the replay would have given
the batsman the benefit of the doubt.
What followed was a really good partnership from Shreyas and Amit who seemed to have
settled in for the long haul and then when Amit was caught and drinks were taken Shreyas settled in
again with Rohan until Shreyas finally lost the line of the ball and his stumps. Shortly after, Rohan took one big swing too many and lost middle and off. Jay went to a brilliant catch by their keeper with the score at 95
and it was just matter of seeing out the time with our remaining 2 batsmen at the crease.
Time ran out with 2 overs left to bowl so the game finished without result.
MVP: Shreyas Mishra who scored 23 off
40 balls.
Notable achievements by Rohan Modak with 3 catches and Shyam Mehta with 3 for 10 from 4 overs.
Kim Randell (Coach)
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