A mixed weekend of results but given the start to the season at least all teams got to play! Good luck to all teams for Saturday 17th which will see the last games of 2016.

MPCC congratulates MP LBJ 3D player Srinath Basaboena who made his maiden century for the club on Saturday. Srinath scored 100 not-out vs Riccarton Singh's XI as MP made 204/8 chasing the 231 made by Riccarton.

Congratulations also to MP Bishop Brothers Senior A player Sam Gillespie who Saturday took his maiden Senior A 5 wicket bag. Sam bowled 6 overs (1 maiden) and took 5 wickets for 22 runs as the team bowled out New Brighton for 105 in a low scoring first day of a 2 Day game at Rawhiti with MP having batted first and been rolled for 113. Sam completed a good weekend with the ball by taking another 4 wickets in the 1-Day Semi-Final loss to Sumner on Sunday.

Congratulations to MP Identity Signs Presidents skipper, Craig "Fish" Dyer whose wicket in a narrow 7 run win against Sydenham Cardinals saw him become the 46th player to have taken 200 wickets for the club.

Lastly, congratulations to MP 4B Rebels player Lucan Ryder who Saturday made his first "50" for the club. Lucan scored 51 helping the team to a winning score off 177 against Richmond Blue.

MPCC Xmas Party ...

The MPCC Xmas Party will be held after team speeches on Saturday 17th December at Edgar Mac.There will be the usual BBQ and Team Fancy Dress theme with prizes and other games. Join your fellow club mates after your games to see off 2016 before the Xmas break.

Sober Driver ... is anyone willing to act as a sober driver for the Xmas Party on Saturday? $20 petrol voucher plus $5 per person from the people who get a lift. Contact, Andy Mayo, Dakesy or Scooter if interested!

Team Reports ...

MP Bishop Brothers Sen.A vs New Brighton @ Rawhiti 1 (2 Day)(Day 1)

The Sen A 2 day competition was back underway this Saturday with MP against New Brighton at Rawhiti Domain. New Brighton were a much improved side from last year who qualified 1^st in the one day competition. Scooter won the toss and decided to bat on what was a pretty good wicket. Merivale opened up promisingly with an opening stand of 28 before Hawes nicked off for 14 in the 13^th over. Scooter then came out and ran out his partner Ben Mayo in the next over for 10 with the score 29/2. From there every batsman got starts then gave their wickets away, with Carr (9), McLellan (15), Dwyer (12), Andy Mayo (9), Dimond (14) and Duncan (17) all getting around the double figure mark. MP were all out for 113 with a top score of 17 runs.

New Brighton looked to score early with the bat, with Norman hitting most deliveries whilst creating chances and runs. McLellan struck his opening partner in the first over and Columbus took Normans wicket with the score 30/2 after 9 overs. The two opening bowlers struck again in overs 11 and 14 which had New Brighton under pressure at 38/4. Wade Burrell and Hughes then consolidated until the drinks break. After drinks Sam Gillespie came on and broke the 30 run stand first ball after drinks, taking the wicket of Hughes for 12. Gillespie then made it his day with the ball, taking 4 more wickets.  New Brighton fell 8 short of the total with 105.

MP were then required to bat for the last hour, with Ben Mayo and Rory Hawes opening up once again. The two built a solid stand of 52 at the close of play with Hawes on 35* and Mayo on 14*.

Overall it was a disappointing batting stand in the first innings but a great bowling innings. Gillespie bowled brilliantly and the team fielded well. Player of the day Sam Gillespie with his first 5-for for Sen. A 5/22 off 6.

Cheers, Ben Mayo.

MP Bishop Brothers Sen.A vs Sumner @ Edgar Mac 1 (1 Day Semi-Final) (Loss)

MP Sen. A qualified 2^nd after a win at Sumner last week and were up against Sumner again in the semi final at Edgar Mac. After a lot of rain on Saturday night play was delayed but all overs were allocated. Scooter once again won the toss and chose to bowl in order to exploit the muggier conditions. Nathan Columbus opened up at the clubrooms end and Sam Gillespie at the other. The pair bowled well early, creating chances regularly. Columbus took the early wicket of Thompson, while Gillespie created some catch chances that were dropped by the field. L. Percasky and C. Wilson built a 20 partnership until Beattie had Percasky out lbw, followed by 2 dropped catches and then had Vann out 3 balls later for 4. This had Sumner 26/3 from 12 overs. From there Wellington joined Wilson to form an 80 run stand until Wilson was caught at deep extra cover from Mayo running from long off which took the score to 103/4. Sam Gillespie followed his 5 wicket haul on Saturday to do the job again in his second spell, taking the wickets of Wellington, Beverage and A.Vann in his last 2 overs. This stalled the runs significantly, leaving Sumner 127/8 with 9 overs remaining. The Sumner tail battled away gaining singles until Columbus came on again and took the 2 remaining wickets in his last over. Sumner all out for 148 in the 42^nd over.

Merivale Pap looked to start the run chase with Rory Hawes and Ben Mayo opening up. The two started well, with some glorious drives from Hawes which ended the opening bowlers spells quickly. Things were looking comfortable at 68/0 until Rory (36) nicked off to Jonny Percasky who struck in the 4^th ball of his spell. Mitch Dwyer then came out and also fell to Percasky lbw in his 2^nd over. 68/2. This started a large collapse of the middle order at the hands of Percasky and Thompson. Mayo fell next caught by a diving mid off fieldsmen (22), then Dimond bowled (4) , and captain James Carr out 2^nd ball caught at slip. All of a sudden it was 72/5. Andy Mayo and James Duncan looked to consolidate and play positively, but both were out for 7 and 5 respectively. The tail were unable to bat their way out of the hole under pressure and MP scampered to 92 all out in the 32^nd over, falling 56 runs short.

Overall, it was really heart-breaking to lose from being 68/0, but that’s cricket at the end of the day. Really proud of how this MP Sen. A team have conducted themselves so far this season in all competitions not only in performance, but how they react to losses like these. Congratulations to Sumner who never gave up and played their hearts out. I am looking forward to how we go in the 2 day competition and in the T20 - there is still a lot to play for!

Click here to view the match Scorecard on CricHQ.

Cheers, Ben Mayo.

MP Cason Kerbing 2nds vs BWU @ Burnside 2 (2 Day)(Day 1)

2B kicked off its 2-day campaign against Burnside’s relegated 2A side at Burnside Park. I lost the toss, as has become the custom, and we were put in to bat on a firm, green deck. Abi Paudel and Craig Dacombe got us off to a great start as the pair brought us to 72 in the 25th over before Dakesy nicked off for 10. Unfortunately, Abi then also nicked off in the next over for an excellent 58 of 82 balls, meaning the innings had to restart. Matt Arscott and Kyle Sloane – promoted up the order – came together to start the rebuild, but Matty returned for 4 with the score at 84, courtesy of another catch in the slips. Dan Fogden joined Kyle and another 25 runs were added before Honey Monster trooped back for 2 after, you guessed it, a nick – 109-4. James Eder and Kyle added a few more before James was caught at square leg for 8. While batsmen fell around him, Kyle continued to bat well, and belligerently, bashing four 4s and two 6s before he eventually drove into the hands of midwicket for 44 of 59 balls – a very valuable knock up the order. So we were 6-136 in the 43rd over, and Ash Reddy and Jacob Wilson were aiming to bat through the remaining overs and add some runs. This, however, didn’t go to plan as Ash was caught and bowled for 4 before I added the team’s fifth nick off as I returned for 1 and we were suddenly 8-137. Once again we suffered from losing wickets in clumps. However, this week the tail remembered how to wag as Tribhuvan Sharma joined Jacob at no. 10. Boy George was a bit aggrieved to be batting below the skipper and set about proving why he should not do so, as he and Jacob combined to add 56 valuable runs through the remaining thirteen overs, with Jacob ending up 26* off 48 and Sharma 25* off 44 in an excellent partnership that combined the odd boundary with a lot of good aggressive running. We thus ended up 193-8 after our sixty overs, which was a pretty good return from where we had been.

          Into the second innings and we opened with Jacob downwind and me bowling one-eyed into the breeze. Both of us picked up early wickets, with Jacob snaring an LBW in his second over and me doing the same in my second. I then picked up another wicket courtesy of a catch at square leg by Abi from a skied slog, leaving Burnside 28-3. However, they continued to play their shots and offer chances, some of which we put down. Jacob added his second wicket as I caught their no.5 behind the non-striker’s end, having previously dropped him an over earlier, and chances also went begging at gully and then through the slips. They went from 4-47 to 5-64 when Rosie grabbed a wicket courtesy of a one-handed catch by Jacob in the slips, after a couple of other chances had gone begging. Burnside looked keen to offer up wicket chances regularly as only their skipper, McKean, managed to compile a solid knock. The bowling was changed up further as James replaced me, and had two chances missed in his first over, with a nick first ball juggled between the keeper and 1st slip without finding a hand, and then another opportunity missed at square leg. He later had another put down at short cover as he bowled very well without any luck at all, before finally getting McKean to snick through to Ash for 56, to make it 6-111. This then quickly became 7-113 as Sharma (1-27) also picked up a nick to Ash in the 33rd over. We were making good time in the innings and so got through our expected 40 overs with time to spare, eventually bowling 46 of Burnside’s 60 overs by close of play, but couldn’t get another wicket as the batsmen largely shut up shop, but picked off any loose balls to end the day on 144-7, 49 short of our total with 14 more overs in the innings to bowl next week. Jacob finished 2-21 off 10, I was 2-29 off 8, James 1-24 off 11 and Rosie 1-19 off 8. We’ll aim to pick off the final 3 wickets cheaply next week, before compiling a strong lead. A bit of catching practice during the week will also be a good idea!

          Player of the day could well have gone to Abi or Kyle for their fine knocks, but I gave it to Jacob for his 26* followed by tight bowling and a slip catch.

          Dave M.

MP Accessman 3A vs Halswell @ Edgar Mac 1 (Loss)

The 3a’s lost against an aggressive Halswell side. We were bowling first on a hot and windy afternoon and Halswell started strongly. Josh O and Chris opened the bowling, bowling tight lines. However, it was 10 overs before Josh O broke the opening stand with probably his worst ball of the day. Stunner of a catch at square leg by Dean. We were bowling well but Halswell were batting solidly and not giving their wickets away. Nemo and Jason were our change bowlers, both bowling well to begin with. Nemo was forced to take a spell after just 3 overs due to an ongoing shoulder injury and Jason got hit around a little. Josh O made a breakthrough before drinks, but with Halswell being 100-2, they were on track for at least 230. Jamal came on soon after drinks taking a wicket in his first over after being pumped for 6 first ball. A few overs later he got their opener who scored a brilliant 70, caught at long on. Nemo came back with a vengeance, taking 3 wickets in just 4 overs, brilliant spell of fast bowling. So, thanks to some tight bowling (Josh 2-32, Nemo 3-26 and Jamal 2-33) we managed to restrict Halswell to 194. We went into the sheds feeling good, after keeping them to 40 less than what they really should have got.

We had a shaky start to our reply, with Milky getting bowled in the second over, and Timba soon following. Matt came in, and played some strokes but soon became our third victim to some tight bowling. We were reeling at 15-3 and 195 was looking a long way away. Enter Jamal, our North West call up, and Dean. Together these two set about rebuilding the innings with a great partnership of 90 runs. Jamal scoring a brilliant 52, and Dean with a nifty 31. With 10 overs to go, we were in with a shot Jamal and Dean were at the crease and we required 85 runs. As we tried to pick up the run rate wickets began to fall. Steve made an aggressive 25 and the tail gave it a good go, but it wasn’t enough. We eventually were bowled out for 158 with 9 balls to go still needing 37 runs.

Unfortunate, but plenty of positives to take from the game. Young guns really proved their worth today. Cheers guys. 

Josh Oliver.

MP Little Brown Jug 3D vs Riccarton Singhs XI @ Ilam 6 (Loss)

This week we came up against the Riccarton Singh’s XI at Ilam Park. After losing the toss and being put into field we started off rather poorly with the openers destroying our bowlers for the first few overs. After just 7 overs we were forced to change our usual plan and bring on our secret weapon Ronald Khuu and in his first over he was able to get the breakthrough. But with the main aggressive opener still out there the run rate stayed up until he missed a low full toss from Tom Dryden to be out for 50 off about 30 balls. Things started to slow down a bit after that with Ronnie and Tom bowling a tight spell, then with the pressure back on them Ronnie struck twice in a row with a good catch by Sanjay at mid-off and a stumping the very next ball. Ronnie bowled his 8 overs on the trot and well unfortunately having a couple of expensive overs at the end and a very poor bit of slip catching finished on 3-40. Jono replaced Tom and started off first ball going back over his head for a one bounce 4 but after the loose one bowled decently getting a couple of wickets. He (somehow) bowled his 8 on the trot but after being 2-15 off his 7 probably needed a rest with his last over going for 12 with some erratic bowling. The last 10 or so overs the team went from average to being terrible with Riccarton looking to push on there were many dropped catches and loose bowling to match with the score ballooning out to 230 for 9 with their lower order hitting some handy runs.

Coming out to bat Andy and Nick both started very well as usual cruising along for the first 15 overs at a good pace trying to set us a good platform. Unfortunately as usual we failed to make use of that good start with Andy (31) Nick (31) Sam (0) Kyle (3) all falling within a few overs to leave us in a dangerous position. Step up Srinath Basaboena. Busa kept the team in the game for our entire run chase hitting boundaries when needed and keeping the strike rotating with Sanjay. Busa batted better than I have ever seen before in an innings that included 5 sixes and 6 fours to bring up his first MPCC century in the final over. Unfortunately, the lower order couldn’t support him enough to get us over the line. We finished on 204 off our 40 which was a positive sign, and to see a guy bat like the way Busa did was a pleasure. Ill discipline with the ball and poor fielding (10 dropped catches) really cost us this week, got a lot to work on at training this week.

Jono.

MP 4B Rebels vs Richmond Blue @ Spreydon Dom.1 (Win)

On Saturday we played the Richmond Blue team at Spreydon Domain. I won the toss and chose to bat. We opened with Sam Roose and Balfour. Balfour was out for a duck which brought Rafe to the crease with Roosey for a few runs till Roosey was bowled and heading back on 6, out came Flats and Rafe at the other end got to 18 quick before being caught. This brought Lucan to the crease with the score 26/3 in the 8th over. Flats and Lucan batted the next 20 overs amassing 105 runs together, 51 for Lucan and 57 for Flats. Lucan got out first and this brought Tommo in. Flats went the next over. The tail hit a 4 and got out while Tommo at the other end got to 21 and was looking good until he got run out by some bad calling between wickets by me then I played a block shot and got bowled so all out for 177 off 34.

Bowling we started off with Cam and Balfour. Cam picked up the first wicket with a caught and bowled. A few overs later Balfour hit the stumps picking up his first wicket in a while (3 games). He must have got the taste for it because he did it again the next over. Both Cam and Balfour bowled 8 each on the trot. Then I came on to have a go in the 17th and had a bit of luck first ball getting the opener that was left to edge off first ball straight in to Sams gloves and repeated the luck first ball of my 2nd over but this time Rafe taking a great slip catch. Not long after Josh picked up a couple at the other end and the run rate had slowed right up. Rafe and Lucan came in to finish the overs off but without luck but still bowled well. In the 39 over the batsmen had a bit of confusion and Mitch who filled in for us picked up a runout. Richmond finished there 40 overs 124/8. Bowling Cam 1/25 off 8, Balfour 2/43 off 8, Jason 2/7 off 6, Josh 2/20 off 8. Player of the day Lucan Ryder for his all round effort and great knock.

Cheers Jase.

MP Accessman 4B vs Richmond Gold @ St Albans 3 (Loss)

No report submitted.

MP Bishop Brothers Presidents vs St Albans @ Hagley 3 (Loss)

  Found ourselves at the recently developed area of Hagley Park designated number 3 this week, where Mayo continued tradition and promptly lost the toss against home side St Albans.  Asked to bat, we went in with the new opening combination of Dwayne and Winz when Pickle managing to get himself lost and wasn’t available to don the pads at the appropriate time.  A slow but relatively steady start between the two, put on 25 before Winzy (12) fell trying to hit out in the tenth over.  Pickle next in, tried to up the run rate (somewhat recklessly), but was bogged down in part due to some innovative fielding placements and plan bowling.  Ended up picking the wrong ball to try to go down the ground with, yorked for 11.  Dwayne lasted another two overs before, he too, succumbed to frustration, caught for a very useful 24.  The Hume/Mayo partnership that had performed wonders in the previous two weeks, unfortunately came to practically nothing when Mayo (1) wafted past a straight ball and had the woodwork disturbed.  Pricey came, missed a few, blocked a few, then got a rubbish leg side ball which he planted into short fine legs hands, departing for no score.  Paul went out with intent and started to get us back on track before he also mishit a ball on 11, curtailing his innings.  Crimpy joined Humey “the Rock” with us looking down the barrel, having only 70 after 26 overs.  These two took it back to the Saint’s bowlers, smacking 89 off the next 13 to give us some semblance of a decent score.  Hume had the misfortune of falling one short of another half century on the last ball of the 39^th, so it was up to Skudz (1*) and Cam to finish off our batting innings, Bluebird really coming into his own with an impressive (and unbeaten) 39*.

  165 runs on the board on an unproven track representing a reasonable return, so a bit of confidence going into the change of innings.

  Confidence bolstered when Pickle had Hampton caught at cover by Dwayne first ball.  Then what occurred were one of those periods of play you really don’t want to be on the wrong side of…  Plays and misses, plays and edges (squirting all around fielders, mishits finding every gap imaginable, punctuated by the odd good shot gave Jimmy and Jacko a very healthy partnership of 106, broken only by a Winz LBW.  Much of the same after that, until they overhauled our total in the 39^th, our only other success created by Cam, and executed by Muzz, was a standard caught behind.  This was a game that could have gone either way, “Lady Luck” just not on our side this time.  Still, an excellent match to participate in and shows we can be competitive in this grade.

  Looking for better news next week,

  Cheers Steve (“the statman”).

MP Identity Signs Presidents vs Sydenham Cardinals @ Edgar Mac 2 (Win)

The MP Identity Signs Presidents played Sydenham Cardinals on Ed Mac 2. Sydenham won the toss and put us in to bat. 4 balls in and we were 1 down with Wagga missing a straight one. Harrington and Ice set about resurrecting the innings before Harrington (19) like Wagga, missed a straight one. 39/2 turned into 44/3 when Ice (17) holed out. Rooney (0) and newbie Brown (14) soon joined the others on the sideline and after 17 we were 59/5. Not too flash really. Nana joined Knoxy and we got through to 90 in the 28^th over before Nana departed for a very subdued 9 (off 31). Knoxy and Bellsy then rescued us from potential disaster with an unbroken partnership of 76 in 12 overs, with an injured Knoxy getting a superb 58no and Bellsy a run a ball 33no. We finished 166/6, probably 20 short of what we wanted but a reasonable total anyway.

In the field we opened with Tonka and Nana. While both bowled well Sydenham punished anything loose. Fish somehow managed a direct hit from his weak arm to send one of their openers (who got 86 last week) back to the sideline without facing a ball. Tonka got the very dangerous Laughton for 13 and Fish snared their no3 lbw for 14. While we were taking wickets they were scoring freely. After 10 overs they were 56/3. I brought Bellam and Brown (the spin twins) on and they slowed things down a touch as well as getting a wicket each. At 20 they were 86/5 with Guy and Winder doing it easy. I figured that Wagga would have plenty of energy due to his short innings, so I brought him on to bowl for the first time this season. Turned out it wasn’t a bad option as he bowled 8 straight with figures of 1-27, getting Guy out for 40. After 30 Sydenham were 129/6 and looked to be travelling well. I brought the spin twins back and had immediate success when an out of position Harrington caught Winder (26) in the deep while looking into the sun. Sydenham who were now 8 down needed 9 off the last 2 overs. Bellsy bowled the 39^th and as he has done many times before bowled brilliantly to clean bowl both batsmen which allowed us the win by 7 runs. Bellsy 4-17 and Brown 2-24 were the pick of the bowlers and did an awesome job. Many thanks to Knoxy who while injured joined us to play at 11 30am on Saturday morning so we could have 11. The game was played in great spirit and we all sat together with a beer afterwards to congratulate and commiserate each other. The tough ones are great to win aren’t they.

Cheers, Fish.

MP Featherstones Dairy Women Div.1 vs Sydenham @ Somerfield 1 (Loss)

This week we played a T20 at Somerfield Park against Sydenham on a beautiful hot day!

After losing the toss we were in the field opening again with Tatiana and Maya. Sydenham had a couple of very talented batsmen opening for them and at the 10 over mark they were still in with the score at 63. Shortly after drinks, Tut swooped in on the ball that was pushed to mid off and fired it back in at the stumps and with a direct hit ran out their number two batsman. Their number one retired which brought in their remaining batsmen who took to our bowlers with the exception of Kate who in her second over bowled a double wicket maiden.  Her first wicket was a skied edge through to myself at keeper and the very next ball another edge through to the keeper caught one handed up high to the right. Tatiana also took two wickets one just clipping the bail off and nothing else and the second was caught by Mikayla at point. Sydenham ended their innings 5/141 (20).

Tracey and Tut opened the batting with a hiss and a roar taking the score to 76 at drinks. Unfortunately myself and Maya could not finish the job (Maya out on the second to last ball). We were faced with very wide deliveries or bang on deliveries which limited the score considerably. We ended on 3/122 (20) losing by 19 runs.

We were let down by some very sloppy fielding and the middle overs of bowling were just too expensive. Personally disappointed with my batting performance but Tracey, Tatiana and Kate were the shining lights for the day.

Tatiana Gibbs 2/15(3), Kate Hastings 2/7(3)  Runouts – Tatiana x1, Catches – Davina x2 and Mikayla x1

Tracey Watts 42, Tatiana 31.

Davina.

MPCC Draw for Saturday 17th December 2016 ...

• MP Bishop Brothers Sen.A vs New Brighton @ Rawhiti 1 (2-Day)
• MP Cason Kerbing 2nds vs BWU @ Burnside 2 (2-Day)
• MP Accessman 3A vs Sumner @ St Leonards 1
• MP LBJ 3D vs ECS North Bolts @ St Albans 1
• MP 4B Rebels vs City Eagles @ Spreydon Dom.2
• MP Accessman 4B vs Lancaster Park Orcas @ Edgar Mac 2
• MP Bishop Brothers Presidents vs BWU Foxes @ Edgar Mac 1
• MP Identity Signs Presidents vs Hornby @ Denton 1
• MP Featherstones Dairy Women Div.1 vs OBC @ Bradford 1

MPCC Subs for 2016/17 ...

• Mens Subs for Season 2016/17 … Men’s full subs to remain at $240 for a season if fully paid by 12 November, 2016 or if an AP has been established by 12 November, 2016. The club's bank account number is 03 0866 0269318 000, use your name and mention "subs" in the reference. Otherwise the subscription to be increased to $280 for late payment. ($120 for students and team captains, or $160 for late payment).
• Womens Subs for Season 2016/17 … Women’s full subs to remain at $130 for a season ($65 for students) if fully paid by 12 November, 2016 or if an AP has been established by 12 November, 2016. The club's bank account number is 03 0866 0269318 000, use your name and mention "subs" in the reference. Late payment would incur a further $40.

• 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 contributions or queries send us an email to mpcricket@xtra.co.nz