Weekend Write-Up: Round 5

Weekend wrap for round 5 vs Perth, as well as the final round of colts and premier T20.

1st Grade

Wanneroo 10/174 (74.4) & 0/37 (22) def by Perth 7d/316 (60)

Day 1

The Roos lost the toss and got sent into bat. It didn’t get off to the best of starts with both openers (J. Bonner and M. Slattery) dismissed within the first 10 overs. J. Fawcett and A. Varsani then steadied the ship leaving the Roos 2-70 at lunch in a good position. Aryan was dismissed first over after lunch, after that it was consistent wickets. Jake passed 50 but with a great piece of fielding was run out for 63 leaving the Roos 6-135. The Roos scraped their way to be all out for 174 after C. Douglas held firm for an indoor cricket style 23.

With 13 overs left in the day the Roos aimed for 2/3 wickets at the end of play with some overcast conditions being in a favour. J. Slattery got us an early wicket and looked primed for more to come. Chance everywhere in the space of 11 overs with some interesting decisions and chances not going our way. The umpires thought Perth opener Geddes (Cuthbert) was there 3rd umpire. Geddes proceeded to have a cry and walk off because it was too dark, to which the umpires followed like sheep. Perth finished the day 1/40.

Day 2

Hoping to start well on day 2 unfortunately it didn’t go our way as the Perth batters got on top of us early. J. Slattery got the handy wicket of Geddes leaving Perth 2/70 hoping for more to come. Another partnership was put on between the Perth batters of Beukes and Curtis. D. Billington then struck with 2 in 2 balls to giving the Roos a glimmer of hope, Perth being 4/141. Perth then passed the score 4 down as they looked to push to score quickly. The boys came out after tea looking to reduce the scoring. Deon took another 2 wickets in consecutive overs leaving Perth 6/191. More runs came for Perth as they looked to send us back in. Perth batsmen Joel Curtis scored his 4th hundred for the year before Deon dismissed Curtis to get his maiden 5-wicket haul in A-grade. Perth declared 7/316 leaving the Roos a session and a bit to bat.

Well Bowled Deon

Openers J. Bonner and M. Slattery then did the business with the bat and gave the Perth bowlers nothing for 22 overs before shaking hands. Roos finishing 0/37.

2nd Grade

Wanneroo 10/188 (65.1) def by Perth 7d/282 (87)

Wanneroo went into bat and, despite some determined efforts, were bowled out for 188. Tyler Scroop showed resistance with a solid 23 runs, while Braiden Hudson led the scoring with a gritty 50, holding the innings together. Bailey Richards added a highlight to the innings, hitting a massive six that brought the crowd to their feet.

Perth had a tricky 25 overs to face before stumps in challenging, rain-affected conditions. Wanneroo’s bowlers seized the moment, reducing Perth to 3-38 by the close of play. George Addy and Bailey Richards were exceptional with the wet ball, applying relentless pressure that kept Perth’s top order in check.

Wanneroo began Day 2 with optimism, believing they could secure a win. However, a few unfortunate decisions and missed chances in the field turned the game in Perth’s favour. Despite Darcy Forssman’s efforts, who ended with a respectable 3-for, Perth managed to chase down the target, edging past Wanneroo.

Although disappointed, the Roo boys remain focused and are eager to bounce back in their next match against Bayswater.

3rd Grade

Wanneroo 9/235 (80) def Perth 10/227 (64.2)

Wanneroo 3rd Grade batted first and set a competitive total of 9/235, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing. The innings got off to a solid start, thanks to the reliable duo of Jordan King and Kane Pearce. Both looked comfortable at the crease, making the bowling attack sweat early on. However, as often happens in this game, just as things looked like they were going to cruise, the middle order collapsed quicker than Greg Maher’s self-confidence when he’s given the ball.

Six wickets went down in a heap, with no real resistance. Fortunately, Ollie Hudson (59*) stepped up, stabilising the ship with some key contributions. He received valuable support from the tailenders, who managed to dig deep and get the team to 235. A decent total, but one that was far from assured when things looked like going pear-shaped.

The Chase: Wanneroo’s Bowling Brilliance

With 235 on the board, Wanneroo’s bowlers had a decent total to defend. Enter Donny Fryer and George Addy—the dynamic duo. Both bowlers were exceptional, with Fryer setting the tone early, and Addy backing him up with some quality deliveries. They each bagged 4 wickets, turning the game on its head and putting the pressure back on the opposition. Addy’s control and Fryer’s flight kept the batters on edge, while Jacob Henneberry chimed in with a tidy wicket of his. The game finished with a classic example of foxing from Cody “goat” Billington to run out the last batsmen.

4th Grade

Perth 8/210 (81) def by Wanneroo 6/212 (54.4)

Round 5 saw the return of two-day cricket and Liam winning his first toss of the season, sending Perth into bat.

Our bowling innings started slow, with Perth getting to 47 before Alex ‘Spitting cobra’ Fitzmaurice took what might be the worst looking wicket ever recorded but then backed it up with one of his better wickets, nipping in, beating the gate and knocking their other opener over. After Alex ‘Hoppo’ Hardiman decided to bowl a ball on the pitch to take a wicket, it was Brock ‘My captain hates bowling me’ Prance’s turn to get in on the action taking 4/26 of his 14 overs, walking off the field telling Liam “I’m him, so bowl me more” or at least that’s what I wanted to here. A good bowling innings from our bowlers, not so much our fielders *cough* Jayden Rotham, saw Perth get to 210 after blocking out a controversial 81st over because the bowlers bowled their overs too quick.

Our batting innings got off to a flying start with debutant Noah Ferguson and Kai ‘Spin keeping specialist’ Richard’s whacking the bowlers to all parts of the ground but both apparently didn’t want hundreds getting out on 73 and 65 respectively. Another two blokes that can’t score a hundred, let alone a run, came in at 3 and 4 both having not memorable innings. From there on other youngster Oscar Chadwick did most of the scoring getting 32 which got the boys to within a couple of runs where it was closed out by Prance.

This win keeps the 4s undefeated for the season, headed to Baysie next week where they look to keep their winning streak alive.

Colts

Willetton 5/170 (20) def Wanneroo 10/83 (17.4)

We arrived at Kingsway on ladies’ day hoping to hopefully have our first win for the colt’s campaign. Started off by winning the toss and sending the dragons into bat.

Nathan De Villiers got things rolling very early with a serious opening spell. He had the ball hooping everywhere and no one could play him. Codsta Billz also chiming in with a great opening spell. After being in the best position, we possibly could with having Willetton 5/9, it was a pretty dismal showing for the next 14 overs. With nothing going to plan, and some very good batting from the dragons, we were chasing leather for the rest of the innings. Willetton recovered their innings to get to 5/170 off their 20 overs after an incredible partnership.

We came out to bat with a bit of confidence because we knew it was a great wicket to bat on. We were off to a decent start with Kaneo the volcano erupting once again. He managed to get 35 and held our innings together for a while. Apart from Kane, there wasn’t much to be very happy about. We ended up being bowled out for 83, falling 87 runs short in another disappointing result from the colters to end our campaign. Plenty of experiences to learn from this season, and we will be back better next year from these.

Premier T20

Willetton 10/107 (20) def by Wanneroo 5/110 (12.4)

The Roos came into the day needing a big win to boost their % and jump Willetton to get them into the finals. Caiden lost the toss, and we were sent out to field which was all part of the plan. The bowlers got off to a great start taking 3 key wickets in the first powerplay. From then on the Roos squeezed the dragons with Maffa Carroll bowling his 4 overs for only 9 runs! Wickets fell throughout which didn’t allow Willetton to get away ever. They finished all out for 107. The pick of the bowlers was George ‘send me your’ Addy, with figure of 3/25 from his 4

The openers made a conservative start before putting the foot down in the last over of the powerplay finishing the first 4 overs on 0/33. Billington soon departed run out for 27 but only brought Aryan ‘Strava King’ Varsani out to the middle where pummelled the Willetton attack for a dashing 37 off 26. The Roos then took the Power Surge and chased down the score of 107 in 12.4 overs to send them through to the Quarter finals.

A great team win and plenty of momentum to take into finals, Go Roos!