North Harbour Burgundy
What a difference two weeks make! I kept going on about it but, you guys looked like cricketers - you were organised, sharp, worked well as a team and looked like you were enjoying it. Excellent effort by everyone and in particular congratulations to Sam Hinds for a fantastic 50.
We won the toss and Reid Hastie decided to bat; a brave decision on a wet wicket/outfield particularly as, second ball, he was castled by one that kept low and skidded off the surface . However, the belief was in our ability to defend a total and it was justified as a good decision (unfortunately he was forced to leave the field early with a dislocated thumb and was not there at the end to enjoy his team's success) - we all hope that it is not too serious and he will be back soon.
Eru Hudson, who looked much better than his total suggested, Steven Newey (15) and Matt Strain (10) made useful contributions. But, it was the partnership(s) that Jack Stevenson (48 Not Out) and Sam Hinds (57 Not Out) put together that allowed us to score an incredible 205 of our 35 overs.
Western Districts were left with a massive 6 an over required run rate to win. They were never really in it and were finally bowled out for 73 in the 31st over. We were very good in the field, with some excellent ground fielding (3 run outs) and some fine catching. Everyone bowled really well - if I was being hyper critical; there were a few too many wides and I would like these to be eliminated from our bowling. However, that aside, Jack Stevenson can be proud of his day's work with 4 wickets to add to his batting. All the other bowlers were miserly (Bronson Marshall (0/7 from 5 overs) Eru Hudson (0/4 from 3 overs)) and it was good to see Max Lewis, Steven Newey and Chris Woodard all chip in with wickets.
All in all, a very fine performance by a team that looked like they were enjoying their cricket and showed the potential that they have. A very promising sign for the future of North Harbour cricket.
North Harbour Burgundy 205/9 from 35 overs (Sam Hinds 57 Not Out, Jack Stevenson 48 Not Out, Matt Strain 10, Steven Newey 15) Western Districts A 73 All Out (Jack Stevenson 4/14, Max Lewis 1/3, Steven Newey 1/10, Chris Woodard 1/11)
North Harbour won by 132 runs
What a difference two weeks make! I kept going on about it but, you guys looked like cricketers - you were organised, sharp, worked well as a team and looked like you were enjoying it. Excellent effort by everyone and in particular congratulations to Sam Hinds for a fantastic 50.
We won the toss and Reid Hastie decided to bat; a brave decision on a wet wicket/outfield particularly as, second ball, he was castled by one that kept low and skidded off the surface . However, the belief was in our ability to defend a total and it was justified as a good decision (unfortunately he was forced to leave the field early with a dislocated thumb and was not there at the end to enjoy his team's success) - we all hope that it is not too serious and he will be back soon.
Eru Hudson, who looked much better than his total suggested, Steven Newey (15) and Matt Strain (10) made useful contributions. But, it was the partnership(s) that Jack Stevenson (48 Not Out) and Sam Hinds (57 Not Out) put together that allowed us to score an incredible 205 of our 35 overs.
Western Districts were left with a massive 6 an over required run rate to win. They were never really in it and were finally bowled out for 73 in the 31st over. We were very good in the field, with some excellent ground fielding (3 run outs) and some fine catching. Everyone bowled really well - if I was being hyper critical; there were a few too many wides and I would like these to be eliminated from our bowling. However, that aside, Jack Stevenson can be proud of his day's work with 4 wickets to add to his batting. All the other bowlers were miserly (Bronson Marshall (0/7 from 5 overs) Eru Hudson (0/4 from 3 overs)) and it was good to see Max Lewis, Steven Newey and Chris Woodard all chip in with wickets.
All in all, a very fine performance by a team that looked like they were enjoying their cricket and showed the potential that they have. A very promising sign for the future of North Harbour cricket.
North Harbour Burgundy 205/9 from 35 overs (Sam Hinds 57 Not Out, Jack Stevenson 48 Not Out, Matt Strain 10, Steven Newey 15) Western Districts A 73 All Out (Jack Stevenson 4/14, Max Lewis 1/3, Steven Newey 1/10, Chris Woodard 1/11)
North Harbour won by 132 runs
North Harbour Black
The step between club cricket and representative cricket requires either regular exposure or developing a strong team bond - preferably both. Unfortunately, North Harbour Black has lacked the consistency of a regular side and a recent weather affected club season, so it has been difficult to build on the obvious skills that they all have individually and create a really strong competitive unit. This being said, I thought that they did extremely well today and set the Western District side a good total, which would have been much better if they had taken all the singles on offer. However, at a required rate of 4 an over, the bowlers and fielders need to really be on their best game and we bowled too many loose and wide balls.
We started off batting steadily (Kit Freeman, Connor Stuart, Luke Dewar, Rory Douglas and Kieran Seedall all looked very comfortable - until they got themselves out) but, really needed to push on and put some pressure on the field. I have said it before, and will say it again (I am sure!), we must look at turning dot balls in to 1's and 1's in to 2's. The running between the wickets was poor and we were still going at just over 3.5 per over after 28 overs. However, Jake Skellern (21) and Bjorn Wojt (20) finally put on the afterburners and we gave our bowlers something the work with. Donald Coleman (18) and Asher Robb (11) were the next highest scorers but, everyone looked like they were in good form and it is just a case of what could have been if we had pushed the score along and run hard.
So with a "par" total of 145, we needed to bowl full and straight. Unfortunately, despite Colin's plea at the start, it took us till too late to realise this. We bowled too many wides and too many short balls - they ran well, particularly in the middle of their innings. At the end they had wickets in hand and, despite some full bowling (finally) from Asher Robb (2/14) and Bjorn Wojt (1/17), they were able to have a swing and, on a small pitch, knocked the runs off with ease.
So lessons to learn; our strength is in our team and we must start working together as a unit. This means that we need to start running/calling better when we bat. Our fielding/bowling needs to take a step up and we cannot keep bowling wides and short stuff.
North Harbour Black 145 All Out (Jake Skellern 21, Bjorn Wojt 20, Donald Coleman 18 and Asher Robb 11) Western Districts B 149/4 (Asher Robb 2/14 and Bjorn Wojt 1/17)
Western Districts won by 6 wickets
Finally, well done to both captains (Reid Hastie and Ben Reidy) and for the Black team there is a chance for revenge (Burgundy need to not get cocky - you guys have set a very high benchmark!) in two weeks time; we have a re-match at their ground!
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