Page 27 - WPHCC 2023-2024 Cricket Season Yearbook

D1 Grade
WPHC Blue (Agniva) 4/137 defeated Beecroft 133 Day 1 – Beecroft 9/131
Over the last week or so, one thing remained constant at the nets “its end of season! How will we cope with cricket less Saturdays for the next 5 months?” While the answers ranged from travel, spend time with family, even winter cricket, what was talked about even more was how this team evolved over the last 6 months to be where we are! Another talking point was Agni’s horror show with the toss in the last couple of rounds and clearly the pressure was mounting!
So much so that Agni decided to leave his Saturday morning bacon egg roll trip to the local cafe to be at the ground by 10.30, the anxiousness of playing the grand final was a tough one to tackle over the night! Praneel joined hands as well and by 10.45, the cones were up, stumps in place and Chintan spending all his spare time with the blower to remove the miniscule particles from the surface, almost felt like he does this every morning at the backyard!
The toss came as a surprise to Agni himself, and when it went in his favour, there was no hesitation with the decision to send Beecroft in to bat, knowing that hasn’t been their most talked about point this season! The second umpire made a run for square leg just as Ravi was at the top of his run up! Apparently, he went to a wrong ground, clearly the Umpires Association isn’t as organised about the logistics as our Ross Anderson!
The game plan was simple, not to let Beecroft get away with a flyer on a lightning quick Greenway!
That is exactly what happened, Ravi and Chintan pressed hard and by the first drinks break they had only scored 20 odd with 2 wickets going to our Cheetah aka Ravi Gunna! From there we saw a batting inning which was nothing short of a surprise - was definitely expecting a bit more aggression! While the next 40 mins or so didn’t see many runs on the board, we didn’t have much success with the ball either with Beecroft only scoring off full tosses!
As the day evolved, wickets fell at regular intervals, and we never let any partnership develop due to some super aggressive fielding from the entire squad. The day ended with Beecroft at 9-131, probably a below par score at a ground this quick! 3 wickets to Chintan, 2 to Ravi, 1 each to Amith, Agni, Nirav & Mridul.
One thing to call out was the amazing support shown from the stands and also on the field!
Almost the entire C2 Reds team (Arun, Aniket, Vikas, Brij, Saurabh, Amitava, 2x John) were there to cheer on! Something Beecroft weren't too excited about as every run stopped, every catch taken and every wicket falling were cheered!
Quan and Ross from the club were there to be with the team, helping everyone with the much-needed motivation!
We hope to wrap them up as early as possible and hunt the runs down! The team spirit remains high, and they would not make things any easier for the opposition for sure!
Day 2
In the quaint suburb of Cherrybrook, where the cricket is as much a part of the community as the local bakery, the grand final between WPHCC and Beecroft was set to unfold. The stage was set, the stakes were high, and the players were ready to etch their names into the annals of local cricket folklore.
The Great Towel Dry-Off
The second day dawned with the promise of a thrilling conclusion to the grand final, but Mother Nature had other plans. Overnight showers had turned the pitch into a makeshift pond, and the WhatsApp group was abuzz with the prospect of a washout. Mridul, the ever-diligent groundsman,