It was unfortunately a tough week finding enough available players for some of the sides this week (thank you to those that filled the vacancies) but two sides who had no problem finding 11 were the Presidents sides who were playing their first derby against each other this season and were lucky enough for this match to be drawn on Hagley Oval! The Richie Mayo led MP BBS Timbers "Canaries" side enjoyed the experience more than the Mario Williams led MP Blue side coming away with a well deserved win and the bragging rights.

  Congratulations to MP Sporting Edge Championship bowler Michael Beattie whose last wicket in 5/32 in the 1st innings against St Albans at Hagley 5 on Saturday was his 100th Championship (Senior A) wicket for MPCC. Mike went wicketless Sunday in the 2nd innings on Day 2 but contributed his Championship best score of 29 as the MP side almost got the 238 runs they needed for outright victory after taking the first innings at the start of the day with the side finishing the day 230/9 and having to settle for a close draw against last seasons grade champions.

  Slightly disjointed week ahead as we head into Show Weekend with all Cavaliers T20 games being played Thursday (11th Nov) evening and No Presidents grade games which means just 5 MPCC sides scheduled to play on Saturday 13th November.

MPCC Poker Night, Saturday 13th November ...

  An MPCC Poker Night has been scheduled for this Saturday 13th November and will start straight after team speeches at the Edgar Mac Clubrooms. Buy-in is $30 which includes a free stubbie or soft drink and snacks.

  To confirm your entry please put your name on the board at the clubrooms or email davidrmonger@yahoo.co.uk ASAP.

Match Reports from Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th November ...

MP Sporting Edge Championship vs St Albans @ Hagley 5 (2-Day)(Draw)

  We went into the third round of the two day competition up against one of the stronger teams from last year, St Albans for a Saturday/Sunday double header. With the easterly blowing and us setting up camp directly into it, we had already decided to sit on the other side of the park for Sunday. With overhead conditions looking good for swing bowling after winning the toss Lingy decided we would have a bowl. Alex Brogan and Beattie started us off looking to get a couple of early wickets, we had to wait until the fifth over for Beattie to get a double breakthrough before Brogan got on the board in the 16^th over. Cam, Josh and Jamie Chapman all had stints at the bowling crease, but only Cam had any luck with the one wicket. James Deeley bowled tightly as usual at one end, ending up with figures of 2-26 off his 13. Brogan managed one more wicket at the end of the first innings with their number 11 leaving one on off stump, to the delight of one of the St Alban’s players. Beattie ended up with figures of 5-32 off 14 bringing up his 100^th Senior A wicket for the club.

  In to bat we knew the deck was good and we had about 50 overs to see out day 1. Things didn’t start well when Lingy was out early for 8. Brogan and Aaron Chapman had a good partnership of about 60 but another clump of wickets (Deeley and J Champan for 0) and A Champan out not long after for a well compiled 33. This brought together J Duncan and M Thorpe who reestablished our innings and put on a very good 80 run partnership with Duncan doing most of the damage to their spinners. Duncan was the last man out leaving us 12 behind first innings going in to day 2. The highlight of our batting innings was James Duncan bringing up his debut Senior A fifty with a trademark loft over wide long-on off the spinner, unfortunately he was out just short of the end of day 1.

  In to day 2 we were looking good, needing 12 to get first innings with high hopes of getting a good first innings lead, unfortunately this wasn’t the case when we lost 3 for none to start the day (Hawes 2, Beattie 0 & Thorpe a well-made anchoring 23 made on day 1) leaving Josh and Cam to get first innings points. Cam added to his boundary and not out count (6*) and Josh made a valuable 9 to limp us over the first innings line before being bowled looking to accelerate.

  In to bowl, there isn’t a huge amount to say, we bowled inconsistently with no real highlights (apart from some R Hawes magic picking up a wicket off his first ball of his only over) and we were really bailed out when St Alban’s declared on 240/4 after 43 overs, leaving us 51 overs to chase 238. A very sporting declaration and one which we expected to chase down on a good wicket.

  Into the final innings we lost the early wicket of Brogan for 0, Lingy looked to make good for his lower score in the first innings and was out for 32 (both instances with some potential doubt). Ling was the second wicket at 66-2 after 13 ish overs after a good stand with Aaron who was missing Lingy and was out 2 balls later for another 30 odd score. Deeley made 12 before driving at a wide one leaving us at 100/4 in the 20^th over, still looking good to chase the score down but needing a couple of partnerships. J Champan made an excellent 53 keeping us in the game, but we continued to lose wickets at reasonably frequent intervals. At 167/7 with the tail to bat and 70 odd to win we needed a bit to go our way, some slight tail end resistance from Beattie (29) and Dyer (26) gave us some hope, but with about 20 needed off the final two overs we settled for the draw ending 230/9. 

  On to Sumner this weekend, which is always a great club battle!

https://www.crichq.com/matches/961186/1st_innings

Mike Beattie

MP Sporting Edge Div.1 vs Halswell Canta Lions @ Bishopdale 1 (2-Day)(Draw)

Day 1

  This week we were at drawn at Bishopdale Park against the newly promoted Halswell Canta Lions side. Gilly lost the toss and we were asked to bat first which suited us fine as we had two players showing up late.

  Ash and Matty opened the batting and set about seeing off the new ball cautious before Matty was the first victim falling to a well disguised leg cutter sneaking through the gate. Ash was caught behind chasing one a few overs later leaving Joel and the skipper Gilly to steady the ship. Both batsmen worked the ball around quite comfortably for a few overs before Joel was cleaned up by one that slid through low off a length and Gilly followed a few balls later bowled by another leg cutter. Srinath put up a valiant effort to hold the innings together but wickets fell at regular intervals around him. Fill-in Ryan Hawkins was unfortunate to middle a short wide delivery straight to point and quickly after we lost Louie and Russ Chapman both to LBW shouts that proved unpopular with said victims. Srinath meanwhile not content to go down with the sinking ship began to counter attack with some nice shots including a lovely six. The fastest hands in the west Chris McBride met the fastest finger in the east (name supressed) and came off second best to a howler of an LBW decision. Late fill-in Damien added some late runs with Sri but we ultimately succumbed for a very poor score of 65. Although the batting was poor and some of the umpiring a little generous, credit must be given to the Canta Lions bowlers who shared the wickets between them in a disciplined effort.

  Needing a big start with the ball Chris and Matty opened the bowling and unfortunately we lost Ash Reddy to sniper fire while chasing down a ball in the field on the 2^nd ball of the innings. Cold spray was administered and the foot was successfully reattached but Ash was unable to return to the field of play. The very next ball however Chris strangled one of the openers down the leg side for a duck. Chris perhaps motivated by the tragic end to his batting innings bowled a fantastic opening spell picking up another two quick wickets LBW and bowled to have Canta Lions on the ropes at 15 for 3. Ryan then came in first change and asked a lot of questions and unfortunately had a couple of easy catches go down at mid-on and mid-off. Chris picked up the 4^th wicket of the innings to a rash shot hit straight to Dave/Louie at long on. At this point they were 40 for 4 with two relatively new batsmen at the crease things weren’t looking so bad, however the pitch continued to get easier to bat on and the dropped catches helped turn the momentum. Canta Lions batsmen Amila and Sam put together an excellent counter attacking partnership that provided the veet to our very hairy bowling efforts through the middle overs. Amila was unfortunate to get a rough LBW decision for a rapid fire 50 from 55 balls. The joy of the breakthrough was short lived however as Sam continued to plunder our attack with new partner Thusita who also wasted no time scoring boundaries at will. The rest of the innings really doesn’t require much discussion as Sam and Thusita applied a pre Victorian era colonoscopy to our struggling bowling attack. Young Damien bowled some impressive deliveries but it was a very tough ask with both batsmen hitting boundaries at will. Sam brought up a very quick century and Thusita not to be outdone also finished on a 100 off 60 balls. It should be noted he was clearly stumped on 90 odd. In the end Canta Lions surprisingly batted their full 45 overs ending the day declared on 325 for 6 with a lead of 260 runs. Chris McBride the only shining light with 4-86 on a brutal day for the bowlers.

Day 2

  Unfortunately  for this round both days were played over the weekend so we arrived stiff and sore back at Bishopdale Park to set about the task of batting 90 overs to force a draw. Mitch Dwyer came into the side for Ash, Sloane returned from jockeying at the Melbourne Cup to replace Ryan and Gilly sold his soul to the devil to recall Jonno “Judith” Collins back into the side replacing Damien. Louie opened with Matty and set the tone with a grinding opening stand that lasted 15 overs with Matty receiving some short stuff and plenty of chat before eventually being bowled for 2 (42). Louie was out caught in the slips a few overs later for 14 (57) which left the wall himself Jonno Collins and Mitch Dywer to regain some control. Mitch who only plays once or twice a year looked in great touch scoring freely while Jonno blocked it out at the other end. Their partnership lasted almost 20 overs before Mitch was caught at mid-off for 40 (55). Jonno continued to gratify his personal kink of facing as many balls possible before eventually squirting one down short legs throat for a marathon effort of 21 (145). At this point we had almost reached the 60^th and the skipper Gilly was accumulating runs at the other end while the opposition rotated through as many as 9 different bowlers. The foot longs had long since settled in our stomachs and the days end was all of a sudden just a few hours away.

  Sadly disaster struck and the skipper was bowled by the spinner for 30 (63) which brought Joel to the crease who you will all know is not a noted blocker of cricket balls. Nevertheless Joel did his best to get a big stride in and dead bat the spinner while Srinath held the seamers at bay from the other end. There was plenty of discussion amongst the fielders and a few moments of controversy with a claimed catch and Sri pushing the limits of cynical time wasting taking guard every second ball. The pair saw off a further 10 overs before Srinath edged one to gully for 12 (41) and then Joel was pinned in front a couple of overs later for 7 (30). We had now reached the 74^th over but our remaining wickets were dwindling. Sloane and McBride dug in and got us through another 5 overs with McBride falling to the spinner for 1 (13). Things were now getting very tense with the last hour starting and Sloane doing a great job at holding an end up with Russ joining him at the crease. For a little while there it looked like Russ might be looking to go for the win as he slashed a few balls away through point but still keeping any danger balls out. Sloane had been farming the strike quite well but it was eventually his undoing as he was bowled trying to retain the strike for 9 (44). This left us with our last batsman the stoic Dave Monger to somehow, along with Russ survive another 7 overs. They did an awesome job at keeping out everything the opposition bowlers could throw at them for over after over until the impenetrable defence of Dave had seen off the last ball of the 90^th over. Against all odds after a horrific pounding just the day before we managed to bat out the full day to finish on 177 for 9 with Russ ending not out 7* (27) and Dave 6* (23). Everybody contributed something to the cause and it was a real credit to the team that we were able to shrug off what happened yesterday without any sulking or complaining and show up to do the business on Sunday with a smile. This team has already shown what we can do together this early in the season so watch this space!

https://www.crichq.com/matches/961015/1st_innings

Cheers, Joel Singer

MP Bombay Tandoor Div.3 vs ECS Tridents @ Edgar Mac 2 (Loss)

  Playing the East Shirley Tridents at Edgar Mac 2 this week our first challenge was to get 11 players, and this was (so we thought) finally sorted mid-morning of the game. Without our skipper who was seconded to Div.1, Patto won the toss and decided to bat first, a decision he was rethinking after the first 5 balls of the game! Brijesh opening the bowling with his left-arm seam honing in straight away on the stumps seeing Timba 0 (1) & Knoxy 0 (4) back on the sidelines early. Patto and Max set about rebuilding the innings and fought their way through to drinks with the score around 48/2. Looking to be more positive after the break Max put Patto out of his misery by running him out for 25 (80)  with the score at 59/3 then Max following 12 runs later for 34 (67), 71/4 after 26 overs. This very quickly became 73/7 after 28 overs with Muscles 1 (6), Bro (2 (10) & fill-in Todd 0 (1) and we were struggling big time and with Timba’s mate Phil having failed to appear we found ourselves batting with 10 and just 2 wickets left. Josiah Leigh 45* (30) and Jase Swensson 14 (29) then rescued the innings with an outstanding 8^th wicket partnership of 59 before Jase was undone by a very good yorker and the score now a much better looking 132/8 after 37.3. Pratik 1 (3) was last man out to see us finish with 139/9 after 38.3. The best of the Tridents bowlers not surprisingly being Brijesh Patel with 4/16 off his 8 overs.

  The Tridents needing 140 to win and if we could bowl with discipline and put their top order under pressure, we fancied ourselves a good chance of earning the win. Opening with Josiah and Max and we got off to a good start with Max bowling their opener in the 2^nd over which brought Alpesh to the crease and if we could get him early that would put us in a very good position. Max created the edge with Alpesh on 0 which unfortunately we failed to accept. Josiah struggled in his first couple of overs and was replaced by Jase who picked up a couple of wickets to have ECS 31/3. Alpesh & Brijesh then put on 78 runs together before Brijesh (18) holed out off Pratik, 109/4. Josiah returned from the opposite end from that which he had started and was a completely different bowler taking a couple of late wickets but in the end on the back of Alpesh’s 67 not-out the Tridents got through to 142/6 off 28.3 overs. The wicket takers for MP being Max with 1/5 off 5, Josiah 2/25, Jase 2/32 & Pratik 1/12. Our fill-in Todd Ehau bowled very well and looked a promising young cricketer and we thank him for his efforts at short notice.

  In what was a good game of cricket against some familiar ex MPCC faces we certainly had our chances but a couple of costly chances off Alpesh and far too many extras (32 wides & 2 no-balls) didn’t quite allow us to create the pressure we wanted to on their batting line-up.

https://www.crichq.com/matches/961512/1st_innings

Patto

MP Frame'n'Copy Div.6 Panthers vs Southern Districts Misfits @ Beckenham 1 (Win)

  Panthers registered their first win of the season vs Southern Districts Misfits at Beckenham Park. Skipper Andy Richards won the toss and elected to bat first. Surprisingly Andy gave an opportunity to Harsha to open innings with Dean August. Both Harsha and Deanno looked very comfortable and added quick 24 runs in the first 4 overs. Deanno lost his wicket very unfortunate way. Just after hitting six on the leg side, Harsha was caught at mid-off (As skipper Andy said to him last week, Harsha needs to learn how to respect good deliveries). Richard played responsible innings scoring 25 runs including three boundaries. Misfit’s bowlers bowled consistently in great areas after drinks. At one end Andy Richards got settled and was looking in good touch but at the other end, Panthers batsmen lost their wickets so quickly without adding many runs on board. Panthers were on just 84 runs when last batsmen Ronnie came to bat. From there Ronnie and Andy Richards took the game away from Misfits adding 51 runs for the last wicket in just 11 overs. Both Ronnie and Andy were unbeaten scoring 7(31) and 52 (82) respectively. That was a remarkable display of the fighting spirit of the Panthers from Ronnie and Andy which helped the Panthers to reach a competitive total of 134 runs.

  Chasing the target of 135, Panthers got the dream start they wanted. Andrew Anderson (4/16) and Jonno Abbott (2/21) both striked very early and gave us a sensational start. Half of the Misfits batsmen went back to the pavilion inside 7 overs scoring just 19 runs. Andy Anderson bowled exceptionally well, took 4 wickets in his first spell. Thereafter Adam (1/17) and Harsha (2/32) bowled a few decent overs. Adam joined the party by taking the wicket of their set batsman with a quicker delivery onto the stumps. After drinks, the skipper’s idea to bring Jonno Abbott and Andy for bowling worked well, Jonno bowled another set batsman with a beautiful in-swinging delivery. Fines for Andy Anderson for not getting Fifer! Harsha bowled consistently around the 4th and 5th stump got two wickets. Great bowling efforts from Panthers bowling department resulted in Misfits getting wrapped up for just 100 runs and that was a 34 run victory and the first win of this season.

  Despite winning the game, there were a few lessons needs to be learned. Batsmen need to work on the shot selection a bit. Fielding wise there were few catching opportunities missed by our fielders but luckily that didn’t cost us much. Jonno Abbott grabbed a sensational one-handed catch at covers and Dean took a couple of decent catches behind stumps. Thanks heaps to Hayden Richards for filling in, who added value to our team by taking an excellent catch at the first slip off their opener. Panthers looking forward to playing with Riccarton Lions at holy Edgar Mac 2 this Saturday.

https://www.crichq.com/matches/961561/1st_innings

Harsha Reddy

MP Geeks on Wheels Div.7 vs Riccarton Everest Warriors @ Spreydon Dom.2 (Loss)

  With just 8 players available this week Geeks on Wheels Div.7 were lucky to get a game. With Steeman, Frank and Nibbles offering to fill in we managed to scrap to 11 at 11am on game day. So after a cheeky pint at the classy Black Horse we headed down to Spreydon Domain. Winning the toss and having struggled to defend scores the previous few weeks I decided to have a bowl first. We opened up with Sanath who struggled to hold onto the new ball, spraying it around like a 2016 Beattie and was quickly given a breather. Frank was brought on and bowled some decent balls but also struggled to keep a consistent line with the Nepalese batters enjoying anything dropped short. David Frost bowled a very tight wicket to wicket line in his first spell while picking up the opener and the number 3 to be sitting on 2-15 while the other end was going at over 8s per over. Knowing we were only playing with 3 regular bowlers David was taken off and replaced by the St Bedes pairing of Collins and Bennie. Bennie bowled a few tight overs before gassing out after 3 overs. Collins cleaned up the other opener who was trying to hit him back to the Black Horse. Ex Merivale snake Paudel entered at 5 and got off to a flying start showing Collins who his Daddy was. After a quick rest Bennie (2-30 off 8) got into the wickets picking up the Nepalese wall who batted about 15 overs for 6. While both bowlers were threatening at times, Paudel put away anything loose racing to a run a ball 50. Last minute fill in Steeman (0-23 off 3) was given the ball and bowled a mixed bag and made captaincy a breeze deciding before both his 2nd and 3rd overs that he wanted to be taken off only to then decide he wanted to bowl. Golden arm Daly (0-13 off 2) was given a chance but wasn’t the lucky charm today. Frank (0-54 off 8) was brought back on but was bullied by Paudel. Frost returned at the death and managed to get Paudel out trying a reverse sweep and pinning Sunil next ball. Sanath (1-21 off 3) was given another over picking up a wicket and looked a lot better with the older ball. With the 9 and 10 batting together and currently looking like a good candidate for the Fantasy wooden spoon Collins (3-25 off 7) brought himself back on, picking up the 10 and 11 in consecutive balls. Everest Warriors 187 all out off 38 overs, Frost being the pick of the bowlers with 4-18 off 7.

  Daly and Nibbles opened up and got us off to a solid start seeing off the new ball before Daly missed a straight one. Having been sent out to umpire to give the spectators a rest, Steeman then decided to trigger Nibbles for 3. Frank (0) in at 3 didn’t stick around long but his wicket brought in the inform Laurent who once again looked positive. Faiz (4) top edged a half tracker before Laurent (10) was caught by a sharp reflex catch at gully. At 45-5 things were starting to look embarrassing but a handy partnership between Frost and Pavi got us to 70 before Frost tried one too many late cuts and was walking back for 12. One muscled 4 later and Pavi (16) was following him back. Balfour hit a nice 4 before being bowled for 6 and Steeman (0) hit a long hop to cover. Collins (24*) and Sanath (1) put on 25 for the 10th wicket but we found ourselves well short of the target to be all out for 114 in the 37th over. The lack of bowling depth hitting us hard this week with only 3 bowlers going at less than 6 per over. Thanks to the fill-ins for helping us out and Malcolm for doing the tablet during our innings. 

https://www.crichq.com/matches/961531/1st_innings

Jono

MP Presidents Blue vs MP BBS Timbers Presidents Gold @ Hagley Oval (Loss)

No match report submitted by this team.

https://www.crichq.com/matches/961790/1st_innings

MP BBS Timbers Presidents Gold vs MP Presidents Blue @ Hagley Oval (Win)

  Two MP teams arrive at Hagley Oval for a home club derby. What a beautiful ground it is, pristine outfield and used but hard looking deck. MP Blue captain Mario Williams and myself discussed preferences without a toss. Gold were keen to field and Blue to bat so no toss required. Williams and van Tongeren opened the batting with Hume and Van Grunsven bowling for Gold. Van Tongeren went early smashing one to the big fella, Jonny Skudder at short cover, Barnes enters. Williams and Barnes took the score to 54 before Barnes was adjudged LBW to Hume. Andy Mayo next looking in an aggressive mood. A straight long on was set, Andy hit one straight to him, Rob Campbell sneared a tough one to send an in-form Mayo back to the Hagley Pavilion, 60/3. Mario went soon after 62/4, bowled by Crimp. Stu Rooney held up an end for a period, eventually caught by Richie Mayo at mid-wicket off Wade Millar for 27. Craig Dyer doing the exact same for 7. Some rearguard action from Dave Harrison 11 allowed Blue to arrive at a total of 141/9 off 40. Others to bat were Townrow 0, Columbus 4 who graciously walked after gloving one to Pricey behind the stumps. Not out were Smith and Kapralos. Solid effort for us in the bowling and fielding departments. Hume 3/33, Van Grunsven 0/24, Crimp 2/13, Millar 3/34 and Campbell 1/7.

  Jonny Price & Gav Strachan open for Gold. Jonny slashing a wide one off Harrison to Andy Mayo at gully, a sharp catch, 0/1, Hume enters. Hume/Strachan take the score to 74 when Gav was caught by Townrow for 38. Van Grunsven next chipping a long hop to Columbus for 3, 87/3. Campbell aggressively made his way to 10 before running himself out, 106/4. Crimp adjudged LBW first ball, 108/4. Meanwhile Hume causing havoc for Blue at the other end. Richie Mayo enters to attempt to bring it home without further wickets. Mayo 9* and Hume a brilliant 62* managed to reach total 5 down in the 31st over.

  A memorable win for Gold with the first win over Blue in 6 yrs of Pressies grade cricket. A game played in great spirits at an awesome venue. Cheers to Mario and the lads. 3 from 4 now from us. Long may it continue.

https://www.crichq.com/matches/961790/1st_innings

Cheers, Richie Mayo

MP Cavaliers T20 vs Southern Districts BB @ Polo 3a (Win)

https://www.crichq.com/matches/962017/1st_innings

Sporting Edge MPCC Draw for Thursday 11th November:

• MP Cavaliers T20 vs Sydenham Cardinals @ Sydenham 3 (5:30pm Start)

Sporting Edge MPCC Draw for Saturday 13th November:

• MP Sporting Edge Championship vs Sumner @ St Leonards 1 (2-Day)(Day 1)
• MP Sporting Edge Div.1 vs Halswell Vikings @ Halswell 1 (2-Day)(Day 1)
• MP Bombay Tandoor Div.3 vs Marist-Harewood Mavericks @ Redwood 2
• MP Frame'n'Copy Div.6 Panthers vs Riccarton Lions @ Edgar Mac 2
• MP Geeks on Wheels Div.7 vs The Wanderers @ Centennial 2
• MP Presidents Blue (No Presidents Grade this week due to Show Weekend)
• MP BBS Timbers Presidents Gold (No Presidents Grade this week due to Show Weekend)

Mens Subs for Season 2021/22 … 

Men’s full subs to be $260 for a season if fully paid by 31 October, 2021 or if an AP has been established in writing with the Treasurer by 31 October, 2021. Otherwise the subscription to be increased to $300 for late payment. ($130 for students and team captains, or $170 for late payment).

• MPCC 5-Year Adult Membership … $1100 (To be paid immediately and in full).
• MPCC 10-Year Adult Membership … $2000 (To be paid immediately and in full).

Internet Banking ...

When paying your subs by Internet Banking ...

• The clubs bank account details are:
• Westpac 03 0866 0269318 000
• Merivale Papanui Cricket Club Inc
• When making a transfer please state your full name as a reference.

Facebook ...

 Both the Senior and Junior sections of MPCC can be found on Facebook ....

• Click Here for Merivale Papanui Cricket Club
• Click Here for Merivale Papanui Junior Cricket Club
• Be sure to "LIKE" both pages.

• If you have any queries send us an email to mpcricket@xtra.co.nz  

Article added: Tuesday 09 November 2021