Cornwall Park Slideshow

Once again you can download any of these excellent photos provided by our "official" photographer; Chris Newey. (Here)

Game v. Cornwall Park (Summary)

Whilst we did not win today, it was good to see that we made sure that Cornwall Park had to fight really hard for their victory. I think on the balance of it, and much as it grieves me to say it, they probably deserved their day in the sunshine. We set them a good (although not great) target which would mean that they had to work to beat us. Ried Hastie (40 Not Out) and Sam Hinds started us off well. Donald Coleman (19) batting at No. 5 started the engine and Cole Briggs (24) and Max Lewis (11) had a good partnership at the end that allowed us to set them 143 to win off 35 overs.

We had a strong game plan; which had been to apply pressure and restrict their runs. However, they did very well at the start and this is probably where they beat us; they attacked our bowlers early and we gave them too much space. We tended to field too deep and it was just too easy for them to score runs. A couple of tough chances went down and a couple of opportunities missed but, to be fair, they really took to us in the first 7 overs. Angus Nicoll was unlucky with a peach of a first ball and Steven Newey and eru Hudson both bowled very well with no reward. Jack Stevenson gave it more air than Michael Jordan and had their batsman in real problems. Max Lewis, Bronson Marshall all battled the wind and bowled tightly. Chris Woodard (1/15) bowled well and took the ball for the last over - which is always a good sign.

We worked hard and came back in to the game. We took a couple of wickets and closed them down for a while by bringing the field in and being more aggressive but, a couple of errors and maidens turned in to frogs as we let them off the hook with some fielding errors; each time we looked like taking control, they had a strong over and took it away from us. At the end they won the game in the last over but, by that time it was their game to lose.

In summary, we stepped up as a side (compared to Manukau); our batting was better and more urgent and our fielding/bowling was good. We need to be more aggressive with the bat, earlier in our innings (dotballs in to 1's, 1's in to 2's ... etc) - we moved on well and looked after our wickets but, must work at finding ways to score. Similarly, in the field, we should be taking charge of games and not letting the other team dictate to us. We are as a good as anyone that we will play and we certainly have the team spirit and in Reid Hastie we have a really good thinking captain.

NHY6 142/7 from 35 Overs (Reid Hastie 40 Not Out, Cole Briggs 24, Donald Coleman 19)

Cornwall Park 143/2 from 34.3 Overs (Chris Woodard 1/15, Reid Hastie 1/9)

Cornwall Park won by 8 wickets

Have a great break; you all looked like you need a break! See you all refreshed and ready to go for Wanganui! Merry Xmas!

v. Cornwall Park (21 December)

It is going to be a beautiful sunny day but, unfortunately, not sunny enough to dry the Stanley Bay wicket out in time. We have decided therefore, to accept Cornwall Park's offer of hosting us on their 1a pitch in front of their pavillion.

The team selected to play Cornwall Park at Cornwall Park will be:

1. Reid Hastie (Captain)
2. Sam Hinds
3. Eru Hudson
4. Christopher Woodard
5. Donald Coleman
6. Bronson Marshall
7. Cole Briggs (Wicketkeeper)
8. Steven Newey
9. Max Lewis
10. Jack Stevenson
11. Angus Nicoll

Be at the ground for 9:15am for a 10am start.

NHY6 v. Manukau (Slideshow)

Once again, we have Chris to thank for these amazing photos. Please feel free to download any of the photos from the online album (here).

Games v. Manukau (Summary)

Wonderful weather and setting for our games against Manukau. Their teams were made up of players from Howick Pakuranga and Papatoetoe Cricket Clubs. They had selected and A and B sides whereas we were happy to remain with our even teams and therefore, knew that potentially we could have had anything from a really hard game to a relatively easy one ... as it happened, this is pretty much the way it ended up. However, that is to take away nothing from either our sides or the Manukau teams.

Their A team set Don's XI a daunting target of 142 from 28 overs. Batting first, Manukau started their innings slowly and surely and we were complimented on our tight bowling and field settings. However, they built on this base and we started to get flustered and tried to bowl too quick - we ended up spraying the ball around and bowling too short (17 No Balls is too many at this level against a team like this) and they went to town on the latter part of their innings with our fielding losing its' shape a little as we got a little bit ragged and under pressure. We then went to bat and whilst, Jake Skellern and Reid Hastie kept their wickets safe, we got bogged down by some very tidy slow bowling. We had set ourselves some batting targets and after 10 overs were already behind our target by 25 runs and by 15 overs were 31 runs down. These are obviously meant to be a guide but, we do need to start thinking about where we are and how we can move forward. To their credit though, they bowled and fielded very well however, we never really looked like we were going to threaten them despite a last gasp swashbuckle from Oliver Peterson and Cole Briggs (Man of the Match). We finished on 102/3 after the 28 overs. A good learning experience for us and hopefully when the dust settles, we can sit down and think through some of our decisions and perhaps, how we might have done things differently.

In the other game, the roles were reversed as Colin's XI put their B team to the sword. Regular wickets and continued pressure in the field. It was only a last wicket partnership of 32 that held us up. They finished on 71 all out - we only bowled 9 extras. Their team currently plays in their prem grade but, due to a mix up at registration time, have been graded outside the top league. They have won all their games against 3rd and 4th teams with great ease and this was an eye opening experience for them. We knocked the runs off in the 20th over with the loss of only 4 wickets. We probably have not learnt a huge amount from this game but, we did bowl very well (Eru Hudson and Max Lewis taking 3 wickets each) and Eru Hudson looked at ease with the bat and deservedly too the Man of the Match medal. It was good to see both Kieran Seedall and Ben Beecroft settle in to the team well and I hope that they get a chance to play again at some point in the future.

Don's XI v. Manukau A
Manukau A 141/4 (Asher Robb 3 overs 0/2, Donald Coleman 3 overs 2/24, Oliver Peterson 4 overs 1/14 and Jake Skellern 2 overs 1/18)
Don's XI 102/3 (Reid Hastie 29 Not Out, Cole Briggs 19 Not Out, Oliver Peterson 12 Not Out)

Manukau A won by 39 runs

Colins XI v. Manukau B
Manukau B 71 All Out (Max Lewis 3 overs 3/4, Eru Hudson 3 overs 3/8, Jack Stevenson 3 overs 1/9, Kieran Seedall 3 overs 1/9 and Ben Beecroft 2 overs 1/10)
Colins XI 72/4 (Eru Hudson 25 Not Out, Luke Dewar 14 and Steven Newey 15)

Colin's XI won by 6 wickets

Well done to both teams, this is a learning year for the boys and both teams will need to take the positives and the negatives from their games and look to the future. The results are supplementary to the knowledge that they will get from playing stronger (and to a lesser extent weaker) teams. I really enjoy being a part of this squad and feel that we have a fantastic set of boys - the team spirit is good and we look like we enjoy our cricket. Keep up the good work.

NHY6/7 v. NH U15 Girls (14 December)

I am looking after a joint NHY6/7 team that will be playing against Simon Down's U15 Girls side at Takapuna Grammar School (Grass Wicket) on the 14th December. I am looking for 5 NHY6 boys to play in this team, preferably boys that are not involved in the Cornwall park game. So far my list is:

1. Rory Douglas
2. Kit Freeman
3. Luke Dewar
4. Matt Strain
5. Max Lewis or Steven Newey

We will look at a 9am start (be there at 8:30am) and we will be playing 40 overs - so should be done by 2pm ish.

Please let me know by email if you are interested (rupertlewis@mac.com).

v. Manukau (7 December)

The two teams to play Manukau at Howick Pakuranga Cricket Club (Lloyd Elsmore Park) are as follows:

Colin's Team (Field 7A)
Luke Dewar
Harry Bartlett
Matt Strain
Bronson Marshall
Eru Hudson
Oliver Petersen
Kieran Seedall
Steven Newey
Max Lewis
Jack Stevenson
Angus Nicoll


Don's Team (Field 8A)
Reid Hastie
Donald Coleman
Evan Cronje
Kit Freeman
Benjamin Beecroft
Cole Briggs
Jake Skellern
Chris Woodard
Bjorn Wojt
Ben Reidy
Asher Robb

Unavailable
Sam Hinds
Rory Douglas
Faisal Ganchi
Jake Meenhorst

Meet at Lloyd Elsmore at 8:45am for a 9:30am start. HPCC and Papatoetoe are two of the strongest clubs in Auckland; this should be a real test of your game. Make sure that you sleep well on Saturday night and don't forget your sunscreen and caps.

Ian O'Briens Blog

A link to Ian O'Briens blog has been added to the side bar. Great insight for young (or old) cricketers in to life with the Black Caps.

Diary Dates

Just a few dates for your diary:

• 7th December 2008: 2 Teams v. Manukau (HPCC and Papatoetoe @ Lloyd Elsmore Park) - CONFIRMED
  
• 14th December 2008: Mixed game with NHY7 v. NHU15 Girls @ TGS (Grass Wicket) - CONFIRMED
  
• 21 December 2008: 1 Team v. Cornwall Park (@ Stanley Bay) - CONFIRMED
  
• 15 February 2009: 2 Teams v. Parnell (@ Parnell) - CONFIRMED
  
• 1 March 2009: 2 Teams v. Western Districts (@ Wainoni Park) - CONFIRMED
  

Oh and don't forget Christmas and New Year!

NHY6 Counties Game (23 November 2008) Slideshow

Thanks once again to Chris Newey.

If you want to download any of these photos click here and the link should take you to the online album where you can select the photo you want.

Counties Game (23 November)

"Got him!"

Keep an eye out for Chris Newey's latest photographical installment. The photo's I have seen so far are fantastic; I will put a slideshow up in the next day or so. Chris does this as a hobby but, they are some of the best cricket photos I have seen. So thank you Chris!

Counties Result (23 November)

Don's XI v. Counties 1
Counties 70/20 overs (Angus Nicoll 3/17, Bjorn Wojt 3/11, Faisal Ganchi 2/5)
Dons XI 90/20 overs (Reid Hastie 20 Not Out, Cole Briggs 21 Not Out)

Don's XI win

Colin's XI v. Counties 2
Counties 87/20 overs (Steven Newey 2/17, Harry Bartlett 2/12)
Colin's XI 82/All Out (Eru Hudson 27)

Colin's XI lost

Don's XI v. Counties 2
Don's XI 99/20 overs (Bjorn 43 Not Out, Jake Skellern 23 Not Out)
Counties 50/All Out (Asher Robb 3/9, Kit Freeman 2/10, Chris Woodard 2/1)

Don's XI win

Colin's XI v. Counties 1
Colin's XI 110/20 overs (Steven Newey 47 Not Out, Evan Cronje 24 Not Out)
Counties 30/All Out (Max Lewis 2/4)

Colin's XI win

So we win 3 out of 4 games and I think, if we are honest, we should have won all 4 games. Colin's XI slumped after losing 4 wickets in 4 balls and were kicking themselves.

Don's XI under the guidance of Reid Hastie showed excellent tactical fielding, making good use of slips and a line of sight short mid-off. There was some fantastic slip catching with four really top class catches taken off sharp bowling from Angus Nicoll, Asher Robb and Bjorn Wojt (Reid Hastie and Chris Woodard with cat like reflexes). This backed up by some good batting; Cole Briggs, Reid Hastie, Bjorn Wojt and Jake Skellern showing a good range of skills - moving the game on when it needed and batting sensibly at the start of the innings.

Colin's XI, as mentioned above, will be disappointed with their first game (only Eru Hudson will be able to sleep without batting nightmares from the first game) however, made up for this in the second game. A good sensible start, from Max Lewis and Steven Newey, gave a solid base for the team to build on. Steven and Evan Cronje did this very well and really set a good strong target. Poor Luke Dewar was treated to a "Yes, No, Sorry" call and run out for a diamond duck but, he took it well and will be back to fight another day. Then the bowlers went to work and ripped apart the opposition - the fielding was aggressive and they deserved their win.

All in all a very impressive display from both teams, with everyone contributing in some form or another. The bowlers that had to work in to the wind, worked out that a shorter run up and concentrating on line and length was the best way forward. However, it took the batsmen a little longer to realise that the ball held up and did not go as far when hitting in to the wind. We also need to work on turning dot balls in to 1's and 1's in 2's by putting pressure on the field and running the first run hard. The fielding/bowling was very good although, we did find that it got a bit ragged about half way through the innings as we started to lose concentration - we must work on focus throughout the game and driving home an advantage. Similarly, whilst batting, the rest of the team should work on keeping up to date with the position of the game and keeping ther batsmen well informed of what is required.

Well done to everyone and thanks to Colin, Don, scorers and parents that turned up and helped out.

Poll News

Tim McIntosh won the vote for the most runs this year ... he started off with a flurry. I think that Reece Young might be leading run scorer at the moment though.

Have a go at the "Mystery Ground" ... had some interesting responses.

Games v. Counties (23 November 2008)

Both games are now confirmed as away (Clive Howe Domain, Patumahoe) and will start at 10:30am - we will need to be there by 10am latest. I have just spoken to their coach and we are going to play two 20-20 games against their teams. It will be a long day and we should expect to finish both games at about 6pm.

The teams will be:

Colin's Team
Luke Dewar
Harry Bartlett
Sam Hinds
Matt Strain (Captain)
Bronson Marshall
Eru Hudson
Oliver Petersen (1st Game)
Jake Meenhorst
Steven Newey
Max Lewis
Jack Stevenson


Don's Team
Reid Hastie (Captain)
Rory Douglas
Donald Coleman
Evan Cronje
Kit Freeman
Cole Briggs
Jake Skellern
Chris Woodard
Bjorn Wojt
Angus Nicoll
Faisal Ganchi
Asher Robb

We will need scorers and umpires, so it will be good to have a few keen parents. It will also be a good idea if we car pool - I have room for a couple of boys (preferably from the Devonport/Takapuna area). Please use the comments section below to offer or ask for lifts.

Cricket Bat Willow

JS Wright and Sons supply the English willow for 90% of the world's cricket bats. I have attached a link to their website which gives some information on wood quality and what it means to a cricket bat. Very interesting if you are currently searching for a new bat.

Slideshow Photos Inter-Squad (9 November 2008)

Big thanks to Chris Newey for the photos.

NHY6 Squad Photo (9 November 2008)

Inter-Squad Game

Excellent game of cricket today - well done to all the boys ... and parents for braving the freezing cold. The end scene very much reminded me of photos of Amundsen's trip to the south pole. Here is a photo of one of the parents watching the game today (Photo). The wind was, indeed, bitter and blew straight down the ground making bowling in to it extremely difficult (and I put this down as the excuse for quite a few wides!) - everyone had a go but, those that drew the short straw and had to bowl two overs in to it, will sleep well tonight.

Batting first, Colin's XII scored 104/8 in 35 overs. Sam Hinds (34 not out) and Matt Strain (19 not out) sharing a 50 plus partnership. The bowling was fast and fiery with Evan Cronje taking 2 for 1 in his 3 overs and Angus Nicoll, Chris Woodard, Bjorn Wojt and Oliver Petersen all chipping in with wickets.

In reply Don's XII knocked off the runs with an over to spare. Donald Coleman (19), Oliver Petersen (14 not out), Jake Skellern (12 not out), Evan Cronje (12 not out) and Bjorn Wojt (11 not out) all chipped in to make the runs. Max Lewis, Matt Strain, Asher Robb, Harry Bartlett and Luke Dewar all managed to get wickets.

Thanks to Colin and Don for umpiring/coaching and to Tim and Peter for scoring. Once again well done to all the boys and parents and I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Games v. Counties (23 November 2008)

We will have two games against Counties on Sunday 23rd November 2008. They will both be played at Belmont Intermediate School (map) and will start at 10:30am.

Inter-Squad Game (9 November 2008)

Sunday 9th November: Inter-Squad Game (at Kumeu CC, Huapai Domain map)

Colin Marshall XII

1. Luke Dewar
2. Harry Bartlett
3. Sam Hinds
4. Bronson Marshall
5. Matt Strain
6. Jake Meenhorst
7. Steven Newey
8. Max Lewis
9. Jack Stevenson
10. Asher Robb
11. Ben Reidy
12. Faisal Ganchi

Don Hastie XII

1. Reid Hastie
2. Rory Douglas
3. Donald Coleman
4. Cole Briggs
5. Kit Freeman
6. Oliver Petersen
7. Jake Skellern
8. Evan Cronje
9. Bjorn Wojt
10. Eru Hudson
11. Christopher Woodard
12. Angus Nicoll

Please come prepared for summer (even if it isn't): Hats, sun cream and water. Please check out the Sunsmart website for further details on sun safety (here).

We are looking to get started at 9:00am, so please be there by 8:30am. This will be a 35 over game (as per NHY6 Saturday rules) and we will look to get finished by about 1pm.

Cricket Resources

Anyone looking for a great site for cricket resources, check out: here

Also, you may want to have a look at Science of Sport - Cricket ... if you go to the following link (here) you will get the first in a series of six programmes on the science of cricket. Well worth a look.

Happy crickternetting!

NHY6 Pre-Season Coaching Sessions

Congratulations to all the boys that were nominated and attended the pre-season coaching sessions. We attempted a different format this year and tried to alleviate the pain and heartache that goes with a one off trial. We also wanted to make sure that everyone learnt something from these sessions and that it gave them a great start to the season.

Once again, well done to the boys that attended; we asked for enthusiasm and good attitude and were richly rewarded with both by the bucket load. The clubs can be proud of their nominations and we sincerely hope that everyone enjoyed themselves and learnt something.

It should be noted that this year is an introduction to NH cricket and we are looking to concentrate on developing a strong base for the future. With this in mind, from the 41 boys that were nominated we will be asking 24 boys to continue a programme of extra coaching and fixtures through the rest of the season. However, this should not be considered as a last chance saloon for those that do not make this squad - we hope to give these boys some feedback and areas to work on for the season, to enable them to come back stronger next year.

Thanks, in particular, to my support coaches; Don Hastie and Colin Marshall. Also, a big thanks to all the parents who respected what we were trying to accomplish and supported us throughout the process - we look forward to your continued support throughout the season.

Blog you soon - keep in touch with this forum and I will try and update regularly.

Rupert