Despite the dismal forecast all sides got some cricket in although there were 1 or 2 sides that probably wish the rain had settled in earlier in the day! Unfourtunatly Sundays Chairmans Cup game was cancelled due to that rain!

The coming week is a busy one with both the Championship and Div.1 sides playing in their latest T20 matches on Thursday night (1st Dec), normal Saturday cricket and then Chairman's Cup on Sunday. Good luck to all those who will be playing in the various sides over the coming days and we look forward to hearing and reading about each teams performances next week, Meanwhile enjoy this weeks Newsletter as its a big one! To start with enjoy a few words from Coach Mario below .. 

Coaches Corner ..

What a rollercoaster the past few months have been. I’ve coached the Central Districts Women’s team for a few years and worked with the likes of Sarah McGlashan, Rachel Candy, Aimee Watkins, Kendra Cocksedge (Black Fern and World Cup Winner) and Rachel Priest amongst others. They were very rewarding times and in a time before 20/20 cricket at the advent of technology. When I took on the Merivale Papanui role, I never knew it would be so rewarding. The talent in our top two teams is the best I have had the privilege to work with over my 40 years in cricket.

Today I just want to make a note on the mental aspects of the game. We can put in hours in the nets but it is the 10% of mental application that is most needed. Whatever your major skill, the psychological challenges in cricket are immense and most challenging. It is a team sport with the unique feature of individual performances making up a team’s performance.

Key Points: (from Inspiring Excellence)

· The mental side of cricket is increasingly becoming the most important part of the game, whatever level you play at.

· Managing expectations is hugely important as batters will get out more times than they go on to score the runs that they’d like to get.

· Focusing in on what you can control is vital as when you do get out it can be for many reasons, often it is out of your control and this can mess with your head.

· Remembering your good shots, positive self-talk and visualisation can help you remain in a confident headspace.

Cheers

Mario Williams

Congratulations ..

To Championship / Senior A player Rory Hawes on achieving 100 Championship caps for MPCC.

Rory becomes just the 12th player registered to have played 100 matches for the Championship side sitting with some of the clubs biggest names!

Rory has been a constant in the Championship side since his debut at the club in 2016/2017, he has over the years shown a strong level of commitment to the Championship side, and always leaves everything he has out there on the field, setting high standards for the rest of his team.

Congratulations Rory!

Congratulations ..

To division 3 player Masood Chakari who top scored with 23 runs today in a tight game against Marist Harewood Mavericks where MPCC only managed 103 after 36.3 overs but a very good team bowling performance saw MPCC win by 14 runs with Masood bowling 8 overs on the trot with 5 for 14 including a hattrick and only 4 scoring shots from his bowling!! This is Masood's 2nd Hattrick for MPCC, His 1st in the 2018/19 season with 3/22 in Division 8.

Congratulations ..

To David Frost who on Saturday 26th November took his maiden MPCC 5 wicket bag with figures off 5/18 in a tight win against Riccarton Everest Warriors for his divsion 7 side.

Chairman's Cup Round 1 ..

Thanks to the weekend weather MPCC has been rescheduled to play St Albans at Nursery Ground - Hagley Park this Sunday 4th December in Round 1 of this season's edition of the Chairman's Cup 40-over knockout competition with the match as always scheduled to start at 12:00pm. 

Boss's birthday sale! ..

As per the attached picture, it is the boss's birthday sale down at our major club sponsor Sporting Edge, head on down and grab yourself some good deals on not only cricket gear but hockey, tennis, softball, shoes and more!!

Match reports from Saturday 26th November

MP Sporting Edge Championship vs OBC and Halswell @ Edgar Mac 1 (T20) 

First of all, congrats to Rory for his 100 games. Takes a hell of a lot of longevity and consistency to get to that milestone and is the first one I’ve seen in my time at the club to achieve this mark. So, hats off. First up OBC. After losing our first T20 last Thursday we were hoping for a quick turnaround in results. Unfortunately, things didn’t start overly positive losing wickets early and struggling to get going after being put into bat. And if it wasn’t for Rory, “Red Ink” Teddy Gibson and Lewis Bedwell combining at the end that we wouldn’t have made our way up to 130. Unfortunately, when it came to the bowling aspect things were over after six overs with score already over 60. This meant they could just canter to the score at 4 an over. Getting there in the end in the 19th. So, 0-2 wasn’t a great start and after another rough start against Halswell it wasn’t looking great. Although Az got a good 39 at the top it was once again the middle order that pushed us up to 150 this time. A total that should have been more than enough and although their opening pair threatened us with our fielding was letting us down we were too good for them in the end. They ended up 30 runs short with Lewis getting three wickets being the pick of the bowlers. Could have been 6 with some better fielding. Hopefully the start of a good run in these t20s to get us some more points.

Cheers

Sam Gillespie

MP Sporting Edge Division 1 vs Heathcote @ Beckenham Park and Hornby @ Hagley Corner 3 (T20) 

Heathcote vs Mpcc, We turned up at Beckenham Park to face a very strong Heathcote, we did not start well with only handful of players there at 930 while most of our players arrived when we well into the final stages of their warmups, Gilly lost the toss and the opposition decided to bat first with the intention of setting a big total but our opening bowlers were very good and made use of very slow low pitch to not let them get away early. Kyle 3/25 and Nikhil 1/22 picked up early wickets and with good first change bowling from Josiah 3/14 and Jase 0/21 we had them very worried at 7/49 unfortunately that’s when our day took a turn for the worse, Heathcote put on a very good partnership with Shawn Berryman 45* and Joe Barratt 27* to set us a very challenging total of 121. At the break we were upbeat and confident to chase the total as we batted deep but as expected Heathcote bowled very well and the top order struggled to get anything away on the slow pitch, Joel was the only batsmen to stick around for a while with 25(49) summing up a very average effort with the bat. Even though the loss was gutting considering we were on top at one stage we could / should have taken a lot of confidence into our next game as Heathcote had at least 6-7 players that could easily be playing in their prems team. POM : Kyle Sloane

Mpcc vs Hornby We arrived (didn’t) at hospital corner for our second game against a young-looking Hornby team. Gilly lost the toss again and Hornby decided to bat. We did not start as well as we did in the previous game with a few extras and some very tired boys. Hornby lost a couple of wickets early and with not too many runs on the board it seemed like some of us have taken the foot of the pedal with a very average effort, the bowlers tried hard to limit the damage but unfortunately did not get backed in the field. In the end one player from Hornby got away from us scoring at will on his way to 78. Hornby set us a total of 154 to chase in the end. We shuffled the batting order for this game but the performance was just as bad or worse than the first game with only Abhay 27 and Bevan 18 worth mentioning in what was probably our worst defeat (in my opinion) this season. We were all out for 106 in the end. Hopefully we can learn from our mistakes and actually show up for our next game and put on a performance that we can walk away with some pride. It is hard to be positive when you don’t win games but we need to back each other and believe that things will change. # few beers and a yarn cant be too far away.

Cheers Ash Reddy

MP BBS Timbers Division 3 vs Marist-Harewood Mavericks @ Edgar Mac 2

MPCC Div 3 were at home on the hallowed turf of Edgar-mac this week taking on the might of Marit-Harewood. Matty got second at the toss but as the number 2 ground has got lower and slower this season, as games go on, we got to bat first which was our preference.

Nana and Super Mario strolled out to start us off but unfortunately for us with the MH bowlers hitting great lengths early on they were soon both back on the sideline . MPCC G.O.A.T Darren Leigh was next in and straight away showed his class by defending when needed and working the ball around taking any runs on offer. When Darren was on 15 and travelling well disaster struck with his body letting him down and he limped off with a pulled achillies. Princely was then Joined by Ice (Ice Baby) who was having his first run for the season and they set about a resurrection of sorts. They got through the next little bit with Ice (Ice Baby) striking a couple of boundaries  before falling. Princely batted with maturity and put away the big shots trying us get to a defendable total by working the ball around but when he fell it was left to Masood to try to get us through to a defendable total. He mixed defence with attack and ended up top scoring in difficult conditions with 21 out of our final total of 103 all out.

We took to the field with the intent to make runs as difficult as possible knowing that this will bring wickets as the pitch was so slow and low.

Rowey struck early with a brace and Bellsy got 1 to have them on the back foot but it wasn't until the man of the day Masood came on until we really started to believe. He bowled superbly and only offered 4 scoring shots in his 8 overs destroying the MH middle order taking a season best 5-14 off his 8 including a hat trick. His single minded determination and belief was never more apparent than when about to bowl his hat trick ball he paused to move a fielder 2 feet to the left so as to not block the cameras view. Apart from a wee scare near the end where the MH numbers 10 and 11 got a few blows away we were dominant and skittled them 15 runs short. We had a definite improvement in our ground fielding with everyone chasing hard preserving every run  and apart from one indiscretion catching ( i'm sure he will be catching not hitting catches at training this week at training) we were on fire.

So 2 from 2 in our last couple of games and good signs from a few players that a big score is just around the corner. Also big ups to the honesty of the MH side giving us no less than 6 LBW's unheard of in this grade.

Player of the day without doubt is Max and we are all looking forward to the highlights and slow motion replays.

Have a great week 

Bellsy

MP Frame ‘n’ Copy CMCA/North Canterbury vs woodend @ Gladstone Park 1A

Unfourtuantly no report supplied .. 

MP Geeks on Wheels CMCA/North Canterbury vs Riccarton Everest Warriors @ Centennial Park 3

With the threat of lightning, storms, flash floods and light winds hanging over the match, the Geeks on Wheels team were looking for our 5th straight win of the season, up against Riccarton Everest Warriors at Centennial Park.

The pitch inspection hinted that possibly a flash flood had already occurred, but only covered 3/4 of the pitch. Both ends were dry, but the middle (where the ball actually hits) was little short of a swamp.

Still, Riccarton looked like they were short a couple of players, (while we ourselves were also short a player after a very last minute withdrawal) and when Barrel (Sammy G) actually won a toss, we decided to bat.

For a while, it seemed like a very unfortunate decision. Alan and Thomas opened the batting, and Alan was out lbw 2nd ball for a blob, bringing myself to the crease.

It was extremely hard going. The ball was hitting the bog and either nearly stopping, or virtually rolling, or both.

Credit to Riccarton though - they knew where to bowl, and they stuck to it extremely well.

The run rate was only around 2 an over, before I was caught for a tortoise-like 7, bringing Harry to crease.

Who decided that attack was the best form of defense, and proceeded to merrily swing the bat at virtually anything - and more often than not it came off.

From 2/19 we got through to post-drinks before Thomas went for 14 - 3/61. Harry went soon after for an innings reviving 38 (including 6 boundaries - the entire team only hit 8!). 4/67.

The innings really didn't go far after that unfortunately, with wickets falling at regular intervals with not a lot of runs being scored.

Jitender went for 2 (5/71), Pratik 0 (6/75), Barrel 3 (7/85), Ritwik 9 (8/87) and Frosty (David F)  7 - all out for 105 in the 37th over.

Only 2 batsmen hit double figures, with extras @ 17 the 2nd highest scorer.

In the end it was a reasonable total, considering the conditions. Hopefully Riccarton would find the going just as tough.

Just like Harry, they seemed to have the mindset that attack was the way to go - the problem is, they all thought that from ball 1.

Barrel and Nithissh opened the bowling, and  Nithissh struck first in his opening over (1/7).

Despite that early loss, Riccarton didn't change their approach, and it cost them. The runs came at a faster rate than in our innings...but so did the wickets.

Nithissh got his second not long after (2/10), then Barrel got in on the action (3/21).

Change of bowlers, no change in the falling of wickets. Pratik struck, leaving Riccarton in real trouble @ 4/33. Frosty was feeling left out, and had them 5/51. Ritwik chimed in - 6/64. Not to be outdone, Frosty struck again - 7/69. And again - 8/69. And again, 9/75. And AGAIN - all out for 79 in only the 23rd over.

So a win by 26 runs. A solid all round performance in the field, and an excellent bowling display. Especially by David Frost with his first 5 wicket bag - 5/18 from 6.5 overs.

Nithissh was also excellent with 2/11 from his 4, Ritwik 1/12 from 4 (plus a fine catch in the slips), Barrel 1/20 from 5, and Pratik 1/18 from 6.

That win continues our unbeaten season so far - the highlights being Harry's batting and Frosty's bowling, plus a good solid performance in the field from the whole team.

cheers

Richard Judkins

MP Bombay Tandoor Presidents vs East Shirley @ Bishopdale Park

The MP Bombay Tandoor gold Presidents hosted the Strikers from East Shirley Saturday at the Bish. With a decided plan established earlier in the week Hume won the toss and asked Arun and his lads to have first use of the batting conditions with Pickle and Mendis getting to share the new ball. Fairly true to form it was Kelum that produced the first wicket in the fourth, Mayur picking out Robbie at midwicket to fall for 9. Arun was joined by a classy looking Pradeep and the pair tried to establish something of note. Unfortunately for them resistance only lasted 5 overs as Pickle broke through Arun's defenses bowling him for 7. More success followed when an extended appeal for LBW on the incoming Tarun (1) was upheld for Steve reducing the visiting team to 3/25.

Kapralos tagged in for Mendis and generated some controversy almost immediately when, to most of the fielding team, saw ball remove bail on the way to Humes gloves but dropped back towards the stumps only to be denied by square leg umpire and adamant protest from the batsman whom may have received a bit more push back over that particular incident than should have been allowed. In the end the cost of the wicket was light as Pickle threw down the stumps directly to close that chapter, Hemal gone for 5. Pradeep and Abhishek got together and played out an extended period of time picking up some good runs against Frankie and P.K. A bit of a too and fro ensued for about 8-9 overs before Frankie got the triple breakthrough, Pradeep getting under a short ball scooping to P.K. at midwicket going for 32, forcing Abhishek to stumble out of the crease for Hume to whip off the bails for 12 and following up bowling Navi for 2, absolutely ripping the guts out of the batting line up. This bought Gaurang and Abdul to the crease to negotiate some heighten pressure. Both ended up leaving within an over of each other Gaurang (13) getting stitched up and run out by a direct hit from Andy Zwies and Abdul being bowled by Rob for 3. That left 4 over left to pick up the final wicket which, in the end, we were unable to achieve. Strikers finishing up on 106/9 from their allotted overs which I don't think they overly happy about, to be frank we were also a little disappointed not to finish things off earlier. Frankie 8/1/15/3 and SVG 8/2/11/2 dominating the wickets.

Moving onto the batting reply we tried a new combination of Andy Zwies and Pickle to get some quick movement out of the blocks. Somewhat successful until Andy's hamstring went score at 26 after 3, limping off retired hurt for 13 (10). Bell parried away a chest height full bunger and obviously was playing a different grade in his head and expecting a free hit, launching into an extremely ambitious full blooded lofted drive to, in his words, the "ball of the century" from Azhar and having his off stick knocked back departing without scoring. Hume in and off the mark first ball, then proceeded to farm the strike for 15 balls getting himself in. This may have been a determining factor in Steve's dismissal as the first ball faced, juicy half volley outside off was smoked directly at Abhishek at short cover where his act of self preservation resulted in the ball sticking in the hand and him on his back being congratulated by his teammates. Pickle forced to the sideline for 13 (12), Navi getting credit for the wicket. Not to be out done Hume collected a boundary and was then promptly caught down the ground by Arun making some very good ground, gone for 8 (20), MP reduced to 3/38. Rob and Jase occupied the crease, with Rob struggling to find some timing going scoreless for 15 balls before going Australian on us finding the boundary with increasing regularity. Steeman, on the other hand, was conservative and able to rotate the strike well. This pair got through the change bowlers and put on an extremely valuable partnership of 61 when the introduction of Arun in his second over picked both players up, Rob being bowled for 38 (44) and Jase being dismissed the same way two balls later 11 (24), MP looking slightly unsteady at 100/5. Losing Mendis three runs later was disappointing, Arun's straight ball good enough to get the LBW but Petros 2* (6) and Wade 4* (7) held the nerve to finish off the target in the 21st, 107/6. Arun being the pick of the striker bowlers 3/0/9/3 with Azhar having a good showing at 5.3/1/24/2.

Thankfully the forecast showers held off to ensure a completed game and a fairly long dissection session of tactics over a couple of cold ones was concluded.

Cheers, Pickle.

Facebook ..

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

• Click Here for Merivale Papanui Cricket Club
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If you have any queries send us an email to mpcricket@xtra.co.nz

Article added: Wednesday 30 November 2022 by Matt Wilcock