BCCC Juniors report March 12
Year 5 Cobras
Coach Aaron’s strategy to have a big hitter partnered with a strokemaker seemed to pay off.
The Birkenhead Cobras played against ECB Junior Blackcaps at Glenfield Intermediate School. Ben was captain for the day but lost the toss and ECB decided to bat first. They made a good start and their first two partnerships were building towards a good total. However, the Cobras fought back well and got back into the match during the second half of the innings, although wickets were hard to come by. Ben made up for losing the toss by getting two wickets (both bowled) to end up with 2/12 off 2. Alfie continued his great form in the field taking another good catch to give Ryan S (1/14 off 3) a wicket, and there was a great run out by Joe – his throw was straight over the stumps and Cameron did the rest. All the boys bowled and fielded well – so well, that they again received a compliment from the opposition…saying that the Cobras were the most consistent bowlers that they had come up against!
The ECB Junior Blackcaps finished on 138 runs and the Cobras went in to bat thinking that the total was definitely achievable, although the condition of the outfield meant that this was never going to be a high scoring game. A lot of really good shots stopped short of the boundary due to the long grass. Cameron and Joe opened the batting – and coach Aaron’s strategy to have a big hitter partnered with a stroke maker seemed to pay off and they had a partnership of 30. Alfie and Ben were in next to continue the theme, and although they struggled early on with the bowlers swinging the ball, they kept up the required run rate, together scoring 23.
In next were Brodie (playing his first game of hard ball cricket) and Jackson. They both hit some wonderful shots to their tally of 25 to keep the Cobras in the hunt. After Liam replaced Jackson and hit a great boundary to keep the score ticking over, it was starting to look like a very close finish. Ryan S combined with Krish as the final partnership needed 22 runs off the last four overs. Just when they looked to be cruising to a well deserved victory, a very controversial run-out decision resulted in an extra 5 runs required. With the whole of the Cobra team screaming their support, the boys managed to score 9 runs off the final over to draw the game 138 all!
Congratulations to Ryan S for getting player of the day – a much-needed wicket from his bowling and fantastic batting at the death resulted in his highest score to date.
Year 5 Vikings
We batted first and did a reasonable job of protecting our wickets. We only lost 5 wickets but in the end, as the score suggests, we didn’t score anywhere near enough runs. Harry top scored with 23 with Tobias not far behind on 17. Leo also made a good contribution with 12 runs.
This week it was our bowling that let us down. We were very inconsistent and continued to bowl down legside to batsmen who had no problems dispatching the loose deliveries to the boundary. NSCC scored 23 boundaries including 3 sixes. I don’t want to take anything away from the NSCC batsmen, they were good, but we did make it easy for them. We really need to target off stump and be able to adjust our bowling and field placements when the other team score runs.
Our fielding in general was an improvement. We do need to be able to adjust if the batsman is a left hander. Also, our communication and walking in was better this week, but we still need to work on our concentration when fielding. – Greg Hart
Daniel – Coach’s Choice for protecting his wicket.
Tobias – Player of the day.
Vikings 150 lost to NSCC Lonestar 226
Year 6 Curtling
BCCC 199/6 beat Kumeu 149/6.
Year 6 Green
For round 12, against Takapuna Tiger Turf, we lost the toss and were put in to bat. Our top three batsmen lost their wickets early, all bowled, with Shiv holding on longest for 17 balls. Damon settled in and faced 57 balls before being run out for 16, and then followed a spate of wickets. Navick did hit two boundaries before succumbing to a great bowler. Curtis held up his end and faced 32 balls, and found the boundary once along the way before being run out. The total was a pretty sorry 82 after 24 overs.
We started our bowling attack well; Shiv opened with a maiden over. The opening bowlers of Shiv, Jackson, Sam K and Curtis managed to contain Takapuna to 13 after 6 overs. But wickets were hard to come by – our first came when the score was 20, and the next when it was 44, caught behind by Sam H. The third wicket, at 55, came from a sensational piece of fielding from Jack Whale. Those sunglasses had a laser beam locked onto the vital wicket and he was well chuffed with his work. But Takapuna easily went on to meet the target in 23 overs. The boys Shiv, Damon and Jack Whale can all be proud of their maiden overs today and Jack Whale’s two overs for 1 wicket , 1 maiden and only 2 runs conceded was a successful day of cricket for him. Well done Jack. And better luck next week boys. – Tina Walsh
BCCC 82 lost to Takapuna 83/3
Under 12 Girls, Dragons
The girls had a great game against Papatoetoe who made the long journey to our home ground. Papatoetoe won the toss and elected to bat first. With wickets taken by Molly (1/22 off 4), Annabel (2/15 off 4), Leyla (1/9 off 3), Rose (1/0 off 2) we ended up chasing their 103/5. We had our first high-score retiree of the season, Brooke who scored 27, what a great effort! Rebecca and Annabel hit the double digits too and we only lost two wickets. Our player of the day was the birthday girl, Annabel. The girls had an awesome morning, with some great bowling and batting, and I always am so thankful for their amazing team spirit and support for their team mates. And special thanks to Brooke who came up trumps with a specially baked batch of muffins! Well done Dragons. – Stacey Nicholas
BCCC 103/2 beat Papatoetoe 102/5
Year 7 Pacers
This was a semi-final game between the 2nd placed Cornwall Fleming team and our own 3rd placed Pacers. The weather conditions on the day were fine and sunny, a little moisture on the ground to start, and a hint of autumn chill in the air.
We had played, and beaten, the Cornwall Fleming side previously in the (now infamous) ‘Mankad’ debacle. So, was it going to be ‘Return of the Mankads’ ? It wasn’t, thanks to a quiet, but firm word with the opposition’s coach from Pawl, our designated umpire for the match. The monstrous Mankad had been duly locked away in its cage before a single ball had even been bowled.
The scene was now set for a proper game of cricket (and for Pawl, a career in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force now beckons).
Our team consisted of Brandon, Shayan, Vivek, Joseph, Taine, Travis (from the afternoon team), Seb, Joe, William and Orlando with Ben as captain for the day. As usual, we lost the toss and Cornwall elected to bowl first. Our opening batsmen were Brandon and Shayan.
In the 2nd over, Cornwall gained an early wicket dismissing Brandon, caught for 1 run when the score was just 4. In came Vivek, and things settled down nicely, though Cornwall missed several good opportunities for run-outs and catches. By drinks, Shayan had made 26 and Vivek 25 giving us a total of 65 (including extras).
The monstrous Mankad had been duly locked away in its cage before a single ball had even been bowled.
After drinks, it didn’t go all our way, initially. Vivek was clean-bowled in the 15th over – out for a respectable 26 from 35 balls. Ben then joined Shayan who was starting to look comfortable at the crease. This steady partnership lasted until the 23rd over when Ben was bowled for 12. By this time, however, we had notched up a score of 107 with Shayan still there.
Joseph joined Shayan and consolidated our total for the next few overs until, in the 27th over, it was time for Shayan to retire after reaching a fabulous 57 from 97 balls, finishing off in style with two boundary 4s in his last over. Travis then came in for the remainder of the innings making a tidy 7 not-out from 4 balls. Joseph finished on 13 not out, bringing our total for the innings to a respectable 147 for 3 after our 28 overs.
Joe and Taine opened the bowling for us with Seb as our wicket keeper for the first half. Cornwall’s opener got off to a good start with four boundary 4s in his first 3 overs. However, Taine made an early breakthrough with the first ball of his 4th over and Vivek caught him out for 19. This was a major scalp. Travis grabbed a wicket in 5th over, caught by Shayan. Vivek then effected a run-out much to the batsman’s annoyance who was out for a duck, even though his bat was “far enough up off the ground to limbo under” according to umpire Pawl’s post-match analysis. Cornwall were now on 31 for 3.
Cornwall’s run-rate was now slowing with some good economy from the overs of Orlando and Ben, with Ben securing a maiden in his second over. Brandon then castled the Cornwall wickets in the 13th over, and Cornwall was 64 for 4 at drinks. This was only 1 run behind our total at the same stage, so still all to play for. Taine took over the keeper’s role from Seb.
Whatever it was our guys drank during the break, I’d certainly like to get hold of some. They came out guns blazing, on fire. Brandon quickly claimed a wicket with the second ball of the 15th over, nicely caught by Vivek for 1. This was followed four balls later with another great delivery from Brandon that was hit high into the air to be brilliantly caught by Ben – the batsman out for a duck. The worm had definitely turned in our favour. Cornwall were now on 68 for 6 – and rattled.
Some excellent economic bowling continued from Joseph, Vivek and William. The 18th over – William’s 1st – deserves a special mention. It was a team wicket maiden, with a fabulous run-out from Ben who fielded the ball from square leg hitting the stumps with the smallest of targets to aim for. Cornwall were now 73 for 7.
The next over saw another wicket fall to Vivek who clean-bowled a batsman (75 for 8) and in the 21st over Seb commenced his bowling taking a wicket, nicely caught by Travis. (80 for 9)
Shayan took the final spoils in the 24th over – caught and bowled. The final score for Cornwall was 97 all out.
Wow. The Pacers had won, and convincingly too. What a fantastic performance from our guys – worthy finalists. There was great team work and spirit throughout the whole match.
Everyone played their part brilliantly. Shayan’s performance with the bat did enough to win him Player-of-the-Day, but it was a real team effort that got them through to the final. We just have to keep an eye on the ladder to make sure we have the points once it’s updated!
Well done, team ☺ – Ray Simpkin
BCC 148/3 beat Cornwall 97 a/o
Year 7 Strikers
After losing the toss and being asked to take the field, BCCC Strikers quickly got into their work with spinner Nathan Holloway and seamer Jared Menezes pegging the Eden Roskill openers back in their opening spells. More great bowling from Harry and Spike followed to restrict the opposition to just 2 runs per over after 12 overs. The tight bowling continued with Eden Roskill struggling to score runs and with the pressure building, the breakthrough finally came through in the 26th over with a great caught and bowled to Pat. Eden Roskill tried to up the run rate, but lost wickets regularly to end with a modest 142/7 at the end of 40 overs.
In near-perfect batting conditions, the Strikers got their run chase off to a cautious start before consolidating and cruising to victory. Some
powerful hitting by Pat (32), Harry (31*) and Jesse (31*) took the Strikers home with 12 overs to spare for a comfortable 6-wicket win.
Great all round team effort – a well deserved victory!
BCCC beat Eden Roskill 142/7
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