First Grade
Mount Lawley 133 (Dzodzos 4/21, B Richards 4/33) def by Wanneroo 2/134 (Spangenberg 50*, de Nobrega 41, Sabburg 27)
For the first game of the year the Roos were up against the Mount Lawley Hawks. Heading to Breckler, debuting Roo Ricardo de Nobrega was handed his A-grade baggy (#209) before the team went out to field. The Ones could not have asked for a better start with the left-arm destroyer Matt Dzodzos picking up wickets on both the first two balls of the game! Unfortunately he could not take the perfect hattrick, sending the third ball too wide to draw a shot. From there Doz and Lachie ‘Chigumbura’ Poulter kept things tight with the new ball, always threatening without giving anything loose before Bailey ‘bails’ Richards came on to play pick-up sticks with the stumps.
In the middle overs Donavinn Fryer and spin twins (new club captain) Deon Billington and Chris ‘did-you-see-my-bowling-figures-over-east’ Sabburg turned the screws, building pressure on the Hawks line-up. Matt Dzodzos returned and followed up where he left off, removing the semi-set batsmen with a precise bouncer. In the end Mount Lawley were bowled out for an under-par 134 with Matt Dzodzos (4/21 off 8) and Bailey Richards (4/33 of 10) running rampant.
With the bat Chris ‘Strawb’ Sabburg (27 off 18) and Ricardo (the Portuguese man) De Nobrega (41 off 65) got off to solid start setting the run chase up for the team. Connor ‘Heisenberg’ Spangenberg smashed his way to 50* off 55 and Aryan ‘Viz’ Varsani a handy 13* finishing the game off in style for the Roos.
Perfect start to the season – the Roo train rolls on.
Second Grade
Wanneroo 1/151 (Ardagh 48, B Holly 46*, J Bonner 42*) def Mount Lawley 150 (Carroll 4/14, Ardagh 2/20, Smith 2/34)
The 2s were back at Kingsway for round 1 of the new season. On what looked like a good wicket Adam ‘Smudge’ Smith won the toss and bowled first due to some ‘first game nerves’.
Hayden Stumpers and Michael ‘Moogs’ O’Day opened the bowling, with the Mount Lawley crew getting off to a quick start before Smudge brought himself on to take 2 wickets in 2 balls. Michael ‘Ards’ Ardagh and Sharrad ‘never-beating-his-best-bowling-figures’ Jessani came on after the power play to put the squeeze on the Mount Lawley batsmen. It worked as Shaz removed their opener for 52. The hard work of Shaz and Ards paid off later for Matthew ‘Maff’ Carroll, the third of the spin trio, taking 4 wickets of his own. The Mount Lawley batsmen were just looking to survive and stumbled their way to 150 losing their last wicket on the last ball of the innings.
The batting got off to a very fast start with Ards doing what he does best and Jacob ‘Bon Dog’ Bonner consolidating with him. Ards eventually got caught on 48 off 30 balls. The better Holly (Blake) then came in with Bonner and made it look easy putting on a 91-run partnership to win the game by 9 wickets. Blake finished on 46 and Bon on 42. A comprehensive win to start the season for the lads.
Third Grade
Mount Lawley 156 (Walter 2/27, De silva 2/27) def by Wanneroo 6/178 (De silva 65*, McGhie 28)
The Threes headed to Breckler to take on Mt Lawley for their first game of the year. Brand new 3rd grade captain Jordan Slattery won his first toss and elected to bat first on a slow and low Breckler track.
Returning roo Cam McDonald and young gun Tommy Blythman got the boys off to a good start getting through the new ball. However after Tom departed at 1-30 the roos lost wickets steadily over the next session unable to build partnerships. At 4-70 another returning Brodie “brendo” McGhei and new roo Sam de Silva took charge. The pair batted beautifully to turn the game, whacking the bad balls everywhere and rotating the strike nicely. Once Brodie was removed trying to up the strike-rate toward the end, Jack McDonald replaced him and subsequently peppered the short boundary in a clever batting display. Jack ran himself out on the last ball trying to do everything he could for the team total, though probably deserved a red ink. Sammy de Silva remained not out, top scoring with a well batted 65* having led the roos to 6-178.
In the field, Alex ‘Fitta’ Fitzmaurice had the ball on a string, drawing plenty of play and misses before being rewarded with a catch to point. With the hawks being 2-36 thanks to a Kane Pearce run-out, John ‘Walts’ Walter, Jack McDonald, Owen Brown and Sam de Silva bowled brilliantly in the middle overs making it hard for Mt Lawley to score. With the screws on and our tails up, the Roos also took 4 run outs for the game in an all-round good team performance for the first game of the year. John Walter and Sam ‘all-rounder’ de Silva both took 2 wickets as the Hawks fell 22 runs short.
The roos look to repeat this performance when we play Melville next week at Kingsway.
Fourth Grade
Wanneroo 8/227 (Harris 87, Zain 46, C Billington 26) def. Mount Lawley 8/139 (T Jessani 4/14)
The day began with a good start, as we chose to bat first following a winning toss against the opposition’s captain. Excitement built up in the group as everyone wanted to bat first, so the Roo boys had luck in their favour. Opening up was Yusuf Zain and the blaster debutant, Anil Grak, who had the ball flying from the first bowl but unfortunately fell to a full toss. Two wickets fell quickly, but a strong partnership between Yusuf and Tim Harris had us steady again. Yusuf fell on 46 and Tim carried the innings amazingly before falling on the devil’s number 87. Marinovich (21) and Cody Billington (26) finished off the innings, the latter hitting 2 huge sixes, guiding us to a strong total of 227.
Bowling for the Roo boys begun slowly with the Hawks coming out strong, with the breakthrough finally coming thanks to our star debutant Y Singh. From then, junior Sharad (aka Tarun Jessani) had them in all sorts ending up with 4 wickets (4/14 off 9). From there the result was inevitable, as the opposition could only make 8/139 off their overs. A win first up for the boys in the RED.
Female B Grade
BYE
Female Youth League T20 (Double header)
Game 1: South Perth 9/72 (Williamson 2/5) def. by Wanneroo 3/74 (Allen 52*)
With four athletes on debut, some special pre-game words were spoken by Toby to welcome Ella, Chelsea, Steffi and Tegan to the Under 17s team. Great commitment from Tegan, jetting in from up north for the game.
Winning the toss and bowling, the girls held their nerve against some lusty hitting by the South Perth openers. Every bowler claimed a wicket, including Talia, Aymie, Myla, Ella and Layla. Tegan picked up 2/5 in a great display as the home team reached 9/72. Good early season fielding saw catches to Emmersyn (great celebration) and Chelsea, while run outs were claimed by Layla, Soph and Tegan.
In reply, the Roos lost a couple early but then didn’t look back, running down the total in 12 overs. Top scorers were Talia, with 52* (her maiden half century) and Soph (12).
Great to see the girls enjoy a picnic on the hill between matches, taking in the A Grade action next door. Good vibes heading into game 2 against the same opposition.
Game 2: South Perth 7/87 (Quinn-Schofield 3/11, Haddrill 2/18) def. by Wanneroo 1/88 (Williamson 42, Allen 37*)
Polly joined us for this match, also interrupting a school holiday getaway (again, great commitment). Winning the toss again, Talia sent South Perth in again. With really good field placings meeting things tight, the home team started more slowly this time, but with much the same outcome, reaching 7/87 after 20 overs. Layla was the chief destroyer, with her left arm leggies claiming 3/11. Aymie picked up 2/18 while Talia and Tegan also added to their wicket tally for the day. Another good catching display in the field, with Chelsea bagging another and Layla, Myla and Abbster, who kept really well, coming to the party.
Talia and Tegan opened the batting and put together an entertaining partnership that nearly saw us home. Talia was undefeated on 37, with Tegan falling for 42, as the Roos cantered home in a little more than 10 overs. Well done team!
Great to see the girls so focused – super pregame warm ups, great team vibe and bucketloads of encouragement for each other. Great to see. Go Roos!!
U17M
Mount Lawley 154 (Cavanagh 5/24, Walker 2/31) def. Wanneroo 145 (Skouros 70, Glamuzina 33)
Arriving to a rough looking ground at Breckler, Wanneroo won the toss and elected to bowl.
Steady wickets fell with us having them 9/102. Rhys (2/31) opened the bowling snagging the openers. Then Hayden (5/24) and Taz (1/11) bowling a near perfect spell together to put the pressure back on Mt Lawley. Jayden and Matt chipped in with a wicket each. But their tail wagged and we were only able to get the final wicket in the last over which proved costly.
We trekked back to Breckler on Sunday ready to bat. Lost a couple of quick wickets before Xander (33) and Matt (70) steadied the ship with a 74-run partnership with the score then on 3/83 when the next wicket fell putting the team in a good position. Unfortunately, we lost steady wickets. Jordan and Matt started to rebuild but they both fell in quick concession, with the loss of the other batsmen getting out cheaply there on we just fell short of the target.
Being the first game of the season with a very different team for most of them, there is a lot to take out of it. The boys can see the areas they need to improve on to be competitive this season and the general feeling is very positive that they will be able to achieve this.
U15M
Wanneroo 6/157 (Redman 43, Prance 28) def. Mount Lawley 149 (Prance 3/20, Redman 2/42)
Greeted by a perfectly prepared and presented Kingsway ground at the sprightly hour of 8am, the under 15 Roos took on Mount Lawley to kick the season off. Josh Redman won the toss and sent the visitors in to bat. Dylan Prance opened his season wicket tally with an early snick up in a quick opening spell. Liam Deckert (1/5) provided the double act by upsetting the woodwork early and Mount Lawley were in trouble at 2/14. Mount Lawley consolidated through some steady accumulation of runs before Redman (2/42) took the first of his two wickets at 3/86 and 4/106. His spin twin, Harshil Halai (1/31), also bowled well and chipped in with the fifth. With two brilliant run outs to Luke Sanders and Liam Deckert, and with late wickets to Prance (3/20) and Ben Furlong (1/2), the visitors were bundled out for 149.
The Roos were off to a shaky start with Oli Hudson biting off more than he could chew and being run out for 4. Deckert and Redman steadily took the score to 44 before Deckert copped a peach and was bowled for a well compiled 16. Redman was then joined by the run machine Prance, with Redman (43) showing great intent whilst Prance assumed the anchor role. When Redman was bowled, the score was 3/89 and the Roos were very confident of chasing down the balance. Two quick wickets then fell with Dylan Prance falling for 21 and Scott Rae not troubling the scorer after playing on. The two steady heads of Blake Jones and Brock Prance showed maturity beyond their years and found ways to eke out runs towards the victory total before Jones was run out for 19. Sanders (9 not out) and Brock Prance (21 not out) then got the job done with a little more than an over to spare.
Massive thanks to Blake Jones, Brock Prance, Jackson Harvey, James Moir and Ben Furlong for stepping up from younger grades to contribute to the win.
The young Roos now head off on a 4 game/8 week away-game road trip to test their unbeaten start to 2022/2023.