Page 26 - West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Cricket Club

From one end of the pitch, the ball was bouncing all funky and one ball stayed very low and went under Luke’s bat onto the stumps. The pavilion was quite stressed at the point as only a few singles had been taken after the second wicket.
Parin and Lakshya put some music for the scorers, somehow that resulted in fours and sixes from Praneel and good support from Agniva. A six almost went over the M2 wall. Unfortunately, Praneel scooped a short ball up in the air and was out after adding 49 valuable runs.
Parin got out for his third duck in 5 innings this season but was determined to make up for it with the ball. After making a few runs, Nirav was given LBW by the official umpire. Then came the ultimate partnership between Amit and Siby. They kept getting those sneaky runs from all directions. Even though, all the fielders were very close, both batsmen kept adding runs by taking quick singles.
Another amazing swing ball saw the end of Siby. Tonoy and Amit in the end added some precious runs to come to a respectable total of 151 as we cheered for every single and even defensive blocks by the end of the innings.
After some fielding warm up, Praneel and Parin opened the bowling but the batsmen were out there just to get some quick runs. Lakshya and Nirav also bowled 3 quick overs between them and Nirav’s bowing is still as tricky for them in the third match against us this season as it was in the first one.
We are determined and confident to get those 10 wickets quickly tomorrow and open all those beer bottles for the after party!
Day 2
Grand Final Day 2, perfect conditions for us to take those 10 wickets and win the championship. Thank you to all the spectators for raising our spirits both days.
Everyone came early and did a short warm session in the nets. Captain Nirav was awake since 4 in the morning watching movies and thinking about the game as were many other players probably. We were determined to get that trophy after months of training sessions, sometimes even 3-4 times a week.
The dressing room was a bit tense after St Ives’ overnight score. But Amith and Siby started well and kept their line and length on the money throughout their spell. Amith got the first wicket (lbw) through some amazing variations in swing and bounce. Siby on the other end kept building up the pressure for the young batsman. Eventually, the batsman got a thick edge off one of Siby’s good length balls and the leather landed in Agniva’s safe hands.
Their top batsman, came to the crease looking to bat long. But Siby and Amith’s tight line just frustrated him, and Agniva took a great catch considering how fast that ball went to him. Soon after Nirav and Praneel started their spell looking to keep the pressure high for the St Ives team. Nirav’s spin and Praneel’s pace was almost unplayable. They kept getting many chances and the game had almost stalled.
Then suddenly their patient opener started trying to get some runs off Nirav’s bowling and scooped the ball very high up in the air. Lakshya called for it loud and clear and took the catch as he felt the pressure floating away from his shoulders after. The wickets then just kept coming from both ends.
Another batsman trying the glory shot missed the ball completely and was a victim to Luke’s lightning-fast stumping. The umpires were spot on throughout the match to give him out as his bat was still in the air. Praneel’s quick pace finished the innings with a clean middle stump hit for the final wicket. We are the Premiers!
Congrats to Nirav for leading us to victory in his first season as the captain. Congrats to Siby and Parin for breaking a 40-year-old bowling average record. And finally, congrats to the whole team who gave it their all in the field and outside to get this well-deserved result.
We finished the day by celebrating at the club with the other Premiers, congratulations to all!
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