First Grade
Fremantle 6/235 (Billington 3/30) def. Wanneroo 9/223 (Holly 57, Spangenberg 56, Newnham 27, O’Day 26)
The ones took on the Port boys down at Stevens and won the toss on a green looking wicket. Freo got off to a solid start with the willow until “Wild Bill” put the clamps on getting 3 wickets in 3 overs thanks for some sharp work from the “Box Lid Pig” Jimmy News behind the stumps.
Freo built a partnership with some luck going the way of the batters. Mike “The Fossil” Ardagh had it on a string but couldn’t break the partnership with some help from Riley Holly at the other end. The Roos were building the pressure before… the wicket was coming… you could sense it in the air… until some questionable fielding (top stuff Moogs) let Freo get on top.
Some poor bowling plus the fumbles in the field allowed Freo to get to a more than competitive 236. Pick of the bowlers were definitely Michael Ardagh and Deon Billington.
The Roos lost in form Aryan ‘AV’ Varsani early but Riley was on a mission to watch the Cox Plate. After 20, the Roos were flying, 2 for 104 with Holly making a run a ball 50 and Strawbs deciding not to run with 5 boundaries in 20 (he told us that, none of us actually cared).
The Port boys clamped the Roos from then on with some tight bowling restricting Jimmy Newnham and Kyle Funk ‘no groin, no calf’ Millar. The boys lost some wickets before needing 76 off the last 10 with Moogs and Conor “Mute” Spangenberg at the crease. Spang started ramping it up and made his first A grade 50 but was dismissed shortly after. Moogs couldn’t finish it like Mick Bevan and the boys fell a dozen short.
Disappointing result after being on top for long periods. Back to the big points up for grabs this week!!
Second Grade
Wanneroo 218 (Harris 60, Fairchild 41, Slattery 38) def. by Fremantle 6/246 (Smith 2/36, Fryer 2/45)
The twos lost the toss and were sent into the field first for the first time this year. Things didn’t start well for the Roos, as the Freo openers came out with intent to score. Hayden Stumpers came on first change and grabbed the first wicket for the Roos. Freo put on a solid 100 stand for the second wicket until Sharad Jessani struck. On a platform at this point, the port boys sent in a hitter at number 4 which paid dividends for them. Their opening batsmen made 112 and anchored Fremantle’s innings nicely. Freo were in a strong position going towards the latter overs but some quality death bowling (off 2 yards) from Adam Smith and Donavinn Fryer restricted the port boys to 246 from their 50 overs.
Going out to bat the roos knew that they had a big chase on their hands, but they also knew that it was a very good wicket to bat on. Tim Harris and Mitchell Slattery got the roos off to a very good start being 0-40 after 10 overs. We lost a couple quickly, but when Robert Fairchild came to the crease, he and Tim batted the Roos into a very strong position.
At 2-145 off 30 overs, the Roos were in with a big chance to win the game, but from there wickets were lost at regular intervals and the Roos struggled to get any momentum at the back end of the innings. Tim and Rob were our best batters making 60 and 41 respectively, but were both dismissed at times where the roos did not need it. We were bowled out with 3 overs to go and fell 28 runs short. There were many positives for the Roos to take away from their batting innings into the two day format next week.
Third Grade
Fremantle 5/214 (Quelch 2/42, M Carroll 2/45) def. by Wanneroo 8/215 (Rae 67, Mulcahy 56, B Holly 43)
The mighty 3s arrived at the Port Town to right the wrongs of the previous fixture. After Walts lost the toss (again), the 3s were sent into the field.
Alex “Fitzaaaa” Fitzmaurice (0-13 off 7), Josh “ScHoolboy Q” Quelch (2-42 off 9) toiled hard early but with no reward as the Fremantle slashed hard to find early boundaries. As it looked like the Fremantle openers were starting to get on top, Matt “Maffa” Carroll (2-45 off 9) decided it was time to take some wickets and took 2 wickets in the space of one ball, courtesy of a great leg-side stumping from Kody Mulcahy. In partnership with Michael “Please Tell Me FrogBox is On” Kelsey, the mighty threes found themselves back into the game.
On a deck that wasn’t producing much for the bowlers, the mighty threes were able to grind and fight their way back courtesy of great death bowling by John “Elbowless” Walter (1-47) and Josh Quelch, including a one-handed caught and bowled by Josh Quelch. The Port Boys ended up on 5/214 after their 45, with the Roos confident they were 20/30 runs below par.
You couldn’t have scripted a better start to the run chase with Kody “Can Never Take the Kal out of the Boy” Mulcahy and Blake “junior” Holly consistently ticking the runs over to for a solid 81 run opening stand, before Holly departed for 43 off only 57 rocks. Jayden “Got Somewhere to Be Tonight Lads” Rae came out and followed suit by joining in the fun.
Kody Mulcahy was immediately dismissed for 56 at 2/144 after bringing up his 50 with a six over the shortest boundary in world cricket and the game was in the taking for the Roos.
However, the Roos realised that cricket is a spectator sport and no one likes a dull finish. After Jayden Rae was dismissed for a destructive 67 off 62, the collapse begun. A tight ring field put tight pressure on the young Roos middle order and the Roos went from 4/199 to 8/209. Walts strode out to the crease, experiencing Nam-Like flashbacks of previous choke-jobs by the Roos, and decided to put the game to rest, sealing the game by sending a no-ball free hit to the boundary to give the mighty threes the W.
Even with the close finish at the end, there are many positives to take out of this game and will keep the threes in good stead going into the rest of the season.
Fourth Grade
Wanneroo 5/193 (Zain 55, Pearce 50*, Maraldo 49) def. by Fremantle 8/194 (C Billington 2/27)
4th Grade were treated to a typical flat Kingsway 2 pitch, and stand-in skipper Allan Hall, having won the toss, had no hesitation in batting first.
Jack “Whispering Jack” Maraldo and Yusuf “Billy” Zain built a commanding opening stand, reaching 80 before “The Voice” was stumped for 49.
Kurt “Monty Burns” Montgomery got a good one early, before Kane “Guy” Pearce continued his fantastic form this season.
“Cat Stevens”/Yusuf eventually succumbed for 55, before Ajaypal “DJ” Singh and Nick “John Belushi” Santich selflessly sacrificed their budding 4th Grade statistics for the team in the pursuit of quick runs at the death. Pearce was undefeated on 50, a fine innings.
Cody “Ice Man” Billington and Rhys “Texas Ranger” Walker bowled steadily with the new ball, but Freo continued to build without loss. The initial breakthrough was via an impressive piece of fielding from Shamantha “M. Night Shyamalan” Bandara, throwing down the stumps from mid-off to run out the opening batsman.
With no other medium pace options available, a plan was hatched to have “John Farnham”/Maraldo impersonate a fast bowler. Whilst the con paid off immediately through the 2nd wicket, we received our come-uppance with “Farnsey” leaving the field with an injured back. Hopefully his comeback tour begins sooner rather than later.
Our spin triplets then went to work with Gagandeep “G-Train” Singh, “Animal House” Santich, and “The Sixth Sense” Bandara stemming the flow of runs despite only taking one wicket throughout the middle overs. The third wicket fell on 69, when a Freo batsman got himself into an awkward position.
The match was set up nicely at the death, with Freo falling behind on run rate but having a wealth of wickets to dispose. Wanneroo, on the other hand, was squeezing nicely but was quickly running out of bowlers. “Ice Man” Billington and “Jake Blues” Santich closed out the innings, showing nerves of steel to restrict scoring opportunities and take a flurry of wickets as the game built to its final ball climax…
Unfortunately for the Roo boys, Freo prevailed after some frantic running off the final two balls.
It was a gut-wrenching loss, but plenty of players shone under pressure and everyone will be better players from the experience.
B Grade Female T20
Bye
U17F T20
Wanneroo 5/147 (Bartholomew 81*, Crafford 35) def. South Perth 68 (Bartholomew 4/10, Haddrill 2/17)
A very clinical performance from our Under 17 female side this week, with some excellent individual performances matched with strong team work that led to a pleasing result against South Perth at Kingsway.
Batting first, the pressure was on the Roos early. At 1/5 and then 2/17, the innings hadn’t started as well as it might have.
What we saw next was excellent consolation from Tene and Chloe, who combined for a 54 run 3rd wicket partnership. Tene’s classy 35 off 41 steadied the ship while Chloe grew in confidence at the other end.
After an early life, Chloe never looked back, hitting the ball to all parts in a dominant display of batting. Chloe’s innings included multiple boundaries and controlled hitting, much to the delight of everyone watching.
Sophie and Eva showed good intent with the bat, looking for singles to get Chloe back on strike as much as possible, with 4th and 5th wicket partnerships of 40 and 31 continuing to build a big total and demonstrating the Wanneroo Way.
At the end of the innings, Chloe stood undefeated on 81* off just 58 balls. It was quite an innings and it was great to see the South Perth players acknowledge her efforts as well. Her teammates have her a rousing reception too!
Opening the bowling in partnership with Erin, Chloe was again straight into the action, picking up both openers on her way to figures of 4/10 – what a day out!
Erin was at her accurate best, claiming 1/10, and the team was well supported through the middle overs by tight spells from Mathilda, Josie (who bowled with good pace) and Layla with her well flighted left arm leggies.
The Roos looked super sharp in the field, with a good running catch to Shayna followed up by a direct hit run out at the bowler’s end by Talia, who was fielding at square leg. Talia and Erin combined for another run out, as did Shayna and Tene in a team fielding performance that demonstrated the hard work the girls have been doing at training on this aspect of their game.
Continuing her good form with the ball, Aymie chimed in with another couple of wickets, picking up 2/17, and continuing to target the stumps with her consistent line and length.
In the end, it was a big win to the Roos, 5/147 against South Perth’s 68.
U17M
Joondalup 6/139 (C Billington 2/13, M Carroll 2/22) def. by Wanneroo 8/256 (B Holly 73, Gillespie 62, T Brown 59)
U15M
Wanneroo 10/168 (Moore 33, Rotham 31, Glamuzina 27*) def. Joondalup 92 (O’Shea 3/9, Krahner 2/1, Van de Velde 2/18, Rotham 2/23)
U14M
Bayswater-Morley 5/204 (Redman 2/23) def. by Wanneroo Districts 5/249 (Prance 103, Hudson 65)
U13M
Bayswater-Morley 6/178 (Moir 2/18) def. Wanneroo 8/167 (Jones 50, Rawlins 44*)