The Seasons first 2 day matches concluded last weekend, with mixed Results for Summer Hill CC. Div 1 lead the way, with a solid 2 day win in their new Grade – well day to Rehaan and the Div 1 boys, who are sitting atop the Div 1 Ladder. Enjoy the view from the Top! Div 5, 6 Blue and 6 Gold didn’t fare so well, with defeats.
Div 2 and Div 7 played 2 One Day matches – with Div 2 getting 2 wins, and find themselves in 2nd place on the ladder in their new Division. Well done to Jay and stand in Captain, Umer.
We’ve ticked off another milestone this season, with our first Hattrick! Congratulations to Rayhan Islam from Div 5 on an outstanding day with the ball – 6/56 from 15 overs – ably assisted by some great catching by Rohan Fernando at leg slip, Phil Tarbox catching an unwelcome slog to mid-wicket, and for the paid umpire doing the right thing for the plum LBW for the hattrick.
Congratulations to 2 Club Stalwarts passing significant Club Milestones last week as well - Madushan Bandara continuing on last years fine form, passing 5,000 career runs, and long time Club servant Khurram Mahmood, passing 2,500 runs. Well done to you both.
Finally, our Saturday morning Team started their season last weekend, and are well placed in the match. Let me know if you are interested in playing the odd game.
Saturday Morning Cricket
The Morning season started last weekend, with play starting at 9am, concluding at 12:30pm. All matches are 50 over per side 2 day games. You do not need to commit to playing both weekends, with 16 players named for each team
For our afternoon players, there are no additional fees to play in the morning team. You would not need to play every week – but you are very welcome to do so if you would like.
So, if you would like an extra match on a Saturday every now and then, or every week, please contact me or Khurram Mahmood.
Umpiring Course
International umpire Claire Polosak will again be providing training for Summer Hill CC. She will be just back from the ICC Womens T20 World Cup, and I’m sure will have some stories to tell.
Many of our matches require self-umpiring, and there is so much to learn about our great game. It would be great to see players from each Senior Team there on the night.
When: Monday, November 4th
Where: Magpies Sports – 40 Hampton St, Croydon Park
When: 6pm for a 6:30 start. Finishing at 9pm
Register: Online here
Cost: Free. Non compulsory $40 Exam fee will be reimbursed for SHCC players
Batting and Bowling highlights
Batting:
89 Mitchell Selwood Div 1
87 Ronnie Lawrence Div 1
84 Wade Kkerk Div 2
71* Arup Saha Div 2
63* Madushan Bandara Div 2
63 Umer Aijaz Div 2
56 Kavit Parekh Div 6 Gold
Bowling
6/56 Rayhan Islam Div 5
Club Milestones
Runs
5,000 Madushan Bandara Div 2
2,500 Khurram Mahmood Div 1
500 Hamza Malik Div 6 Blue
Wickets
50 Sidhant Nidimoru Div 5
Fantasy Cricket
And our Fantasy Cricket Competition is in full swing – how great is it selecting your team from Summer Hill players! Such a great initiative of Div 2 Captain, Jay Karim. It is not too late to join – sign up for free online here:
Thanks to 2nds Captain Jay Karim for organising.
Training
When: Every Thursday
Where: Lees Park - Harmony St, Ashbury (Park in Crieff St and walk down the alley)
When: From 5:30pm until dusk – and there may be a few there earlier too
Enjoy your Cricket!
Phil
Phil – President
m 0417 234 761
1st Division
Round 3: Summer Hill 296 def Illawarra Catholic Club 175
Best Batting:
89 Mitchell Selwood
87 Ronnie Lawrence
49 Rehaan Nawaz
31 Khurram Mahmood
Best Bowling
2/4 David Greenhalgh
2/17 Khurram Mahmood
2/23 Daniel Lopes
2nd Division
Round 3: Summer Hill 4/204 def Gorkhali Rhinos 8/201
Best Batting
84 Wade Kkerk
63* Madushan Bandara
31 Umer Aijaz
Best Bowling
2/30 Madushan Bandara
2/35 Abdul Ahsan
2/45 Niloy Mahmood
Round 4: Summer Hill 3/162 def Sydney Risers 158
Summer Hill entered round 4 buoyed by 2 wins on the trot. A sense of anticipation and excitement spread around the group as whispers were going around that we were about to face the number 1 team in the comp. After the toss, there was a sense of optimism after finding out that were we going to chase yet again.
Sydney Risers began very shakily as Sallu and Wassi put on a clinic opening the bowling. The batters were swinging like the 60’s, only occasionally fluking boundaries over cow-corner and through 3rd man. Sallu and Wassi’s relentless line and lengths outclassed the Risers batsman and Wassi eventually snared a breakthrough. Maruf then took the ball showing skill far beyond park grade level. Employing well-guided slower balls and accurate lines, the wily Maruf toyed with the Risers batters and picked up 3 crucial wickets. Accompanying him was the ever-reliant captain Jay, who again outclassed the opposition. Jay’s superb bowling landed him impressive figures of 1-18 off 7 overs, with most of the runs coming from rare loose balls or snicks just missing the slips cordon that ran for 4. Both Umer (3-12 off 5 overs) and Niloy then showed their class to finish off the innings. Umer bowled craftily as always and Niloy’s outstanding leg-spin bowling was very impressive and gave the risers nothing. Finishing with 2-37 off 8 overs, it was clear his hard work practising ‘spot-bowling’ in training sessions was paying off.
However, a couple of crucial dropped catches gave the Risers some reprieve and they were able to build some momentum. They tripled their score from the halfway mark after a very poor start. Nevertheless, Summer Hill felt confident chasing a target of 158 which seemed about 20 runs below par.
Umer opened the innings and backed up his excellent bowling performance with the bat. Shane Watson claims that an all-rounder’s confidence grows exponentially with the bat after having a good bowling spell. Umer was proving his point. Playing with supreme confidence, Umer showed both power and touch to frustrate the opposition. He was later joined by the flamboyant Arup and both were ruthless.
Umer and Arup put on a batting clinic - remaining stoic and getting the job done. The pair put on a match winning 100 run partnership, flaying the ball to all areas of the ground.
Summer Hill now have 3 wins and are ever growing in confidence.
Best Batting
63 Umer Aijaz
71* Arup Saha
Best Bowling
3/12 Umer Aijaz
3/37 AFM Maruf
2/37 Niloy Mahmood
5th Division Match Report – Phil Tarbox
Round 3: Summer Hill 79 def by Lakemba Stars 239
With several key players back in the side, 5th Div were confident of a good showing in their first 2 day match. Rohan Fernando struck in the 3rd over, nicking off their opener to first slip with the assistance of the breeze behind him – this looked like it would be a good day for us.
Lakemba scored mostly in singles and boundaries, but steadily, with around 60 runs every session. Wickets were hard to come by, with Asher bowling a sizzling spell of great pace, but his outswinging Yorkers well on their way to taking out middle stump were no match for some superb shotmaking by the Lakemba batters.
Looking for answers we turned to the spin pair of Rayhan Islam and Owen Gibson – they got us out out of a few tight spots last season, and hopefully they could again. Both delighted with flight, turn and change of pace, Rayhan rewarded with a wonderful taking a hattrick in a wonderful spell of 6/56. Rohan Fernando kicked it all off with the 2nd of his catches at short fine leg, and some ill-disciplined shots bringing about the next 2 wickets, and wild on field celebrations.
Sadly, our batting target for week 2 was 240 – we were confident that a smallish field and sensible batting would see us there if we could bat 60 overs.
Before we knew it, we were 2 down for no score, with Luca and Phil at the crease much earlier than expected. They steadied, taking the score to 47 before Luca departed, kicking off another collapse.
A wonderful spell of a T-Shirted bowler with a mean and full in-swinger did the damage again and again. Summer Hill all out for 79.
We were duly sent back in again, with Lakemba going for the outright. Our Bowling hero, Rayhan opened the batting with Jud, with the 2 putting on our best opening stand of the season with 41. First year SHCC player Grant Murphy found some runs with a much needed 23 – more than ably supported by Jud Agius with 42. Thanks to the rain, the ball was wet and not swinging by this stage – much easier batting conditions led to some runs, and a bonus point.
Best Batting – 1st Innings
40 Phil Tarbox
Best Batting – 2nd Innings
42 Jud Agius
23 Grant Murphy
20 Rayhan Islam
Best Bowling
6/56 Rayhan Islam
2/54 Owen Gibson
6th Division Blue
6th Division Blue
Round 3: Summer Hill Blue 147 def by Panania East Hills 177
Best Batting
41 Prabhu Rajendran
Best Bowling
4/9 Gourvav Tripathi
2/23 Muniraj Mahajan
6th Division Gold
Round 3: Summer Hill Gold 183 Def by Brighton Lakes CC 200
Best Batting
56 Kavit Parekh
40 Dan Jeffrey
36 Roland Cheung
Best Bowling
3/46 Tushar Gupta
3/27 Kavit Parekh
7th Division
Lucky 7’s Match Report
Round 3: Summer Hill 5/118 def by St Christopher's Gold 1/122
In this Round 3 clash, SHCC Lucky 7s faced a tough defeat at the hands of a rejuvenated St Christopher’s team. St Christopher’s have bolstered their lineup with some key players, including former SHCC stars Sarf and Zeesh, alongside an impressive new bowler who wreaked havoc on SHCC’s top order.
After losing the toss, SHCC was sent in to bat and quickly found themselves in deep trouble. The top order crumbled, with three wickets falling for just 12 runs, thanks to some brilliant bowling from the new recruit. Things went from bad to worse, as they found themselves at 5 for 35. However, a spirited fightback from SHCC’s strike bowlers, Young Declan Cohen and Old Jimmy Bandas, provided some much-needed stability. Both players notched up gritty 30s to push the total to a potentially defendable 5 for 118.
Despite their valiant efforts with the bat, SHCC’s strike bowlers were unable to replicate that success with the ball. St Christopher’s openers remained untroubled early on, and although some hard-hit catches narrowly evaded fielders and a couple of simple chances went down, the game was nearly out of reach by the break.
The star of the match was St Christopher’s left-hander, Dylan Day, who continued his sensational form this season. Having only been dismissed once and boasting a staggering batting average of 174, Dylan cruised past his half-century. Alongside him, Malik—who had destroyed SHCC’s top order earlier—looked composed and in complete control.
The match was wrapped up in the 25th over with St Christopher’s losing only one wicket. The sole breakthrough for SHCC came when Dylan’s assumed relative, the other Day, was caught by Dave Ward after being lured into a mishit by PJ. However, it was too little too late, as St Christopher’s coasted to victory.
Final Result: St Christopher’s win by 9 wickets.
Best Batting
37 Jim Bandas
36 Declan Cohen
7th Division
Round 4: Summer Hill 103 def by Earlwood Cricket Club 140
SHCC Lucky 7’s Fall Short in a Thrilling Contest Against Earlwood
On a bright Saturday afternoon at Earlwood Oval, the SHCC Lucky 7’s delivered a scintillating performance in the field but fell just short in their chase, losing a match that was well within their grasp against a determined Earlwood side.
The day began with SHCC captain making some clever tactical moves. With some funky bowling changes and aggressive field placements, the pressure was on from ball one. Earlwood struggled to find momentum, as sharp catching and disciplined bowling kept them in check. Neil set the tone by removing both openers early, giving SHCC the dream start they wanted.
In the field, SHCC were electric, with eight of Earlwood’s 10 wickets coming through brilliant catches, showcasing their sharp reflexes and coordination. Leading the bowling charge was Connor, who finished with impressive figures of 2 for 20. PJ Rosenberger was equally effective with 2 for 19, while Micah Edwards cleaned up the tail brilliantly, taking 2 for just 8. Earlwood were bowled out for 140, a score SHCC knew they could chase down.
The chase began confidently. Wardie led the charge, scoring a quickfire 35, while Kaustav chipped in with a solid 26. At 3/70 by the break, SHCC seemed to have one hand on victory, needing just 71 more runs with 17 overs to go.
However, the post-break innings unraveled in unexpected fashion. Wickets started falling at a rapid rate as batsmen, instead of building partnerships, went for big shots when patience was needed. A steady 3/70 quickly turned into a disastrous collapse, with SHCC stumbling to 4 for 74, then 5 for 79, and eventually 8 for 91. Despite some spirited efforts, the tail couldn’t hold, and the team was bundled out for just 103, leaving them 37 runs short of the target.
It was a match where SHCC’s fielding and bowling were exceptional, but the batting faltered at crucial moments. A golden opportunity was missed, but the team can take heart from their impressive start and build on this performance for the next round.
Best Batting
35 Dave Ward
26 Kaustav Gupta
Best Bowling
2/8 Micah Edwards
2/19 PJ
2/2 Conor McLaren
2/45 Neil Gordon