Page 54 - West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Cricket Club

UNDER 8 – TEAM REPORTS
U8 White
Coach: Steve Schmidhofer Manager: Steve Manton
If only we had recorded the first game and the last game of the season.... What a tale of progress it would tell! It was pleasing to see the way the boys worked so well as a team as the season went on – calling
and backing each other up in the field, running between the wickets, celebrating success and giving encouragement after a mistake. A pleasure to coach and manage!
So many highlights to distil from the season but a few noteworthy awards:
The ‘Screamer’ Award - Sam McMurtry - for the catch of the season. Full stretch dive, one hander... a screamer in every sense of the word. Sam’s passion and enthusiasm was infectious. Sam sometimes spent more time on the ground than on his feet but this was just reflection of his desire to save or make every run he could for the team.
The ‘No Bendys’ Award - Viaan Virmani - for most improved bowling action. What started with a bent arm became a tall, straight and accurate action to be feared. The perfect example of practice pays off.
The Closer Award – Inesh Balaji - for a double wicket maiden to close out a win. Not that the scoreboard matters (....or at least we try to tell them that) but this was clutch bowling with scoreboard pressure personified. Inesh always brought his accuracy radar with him to game day.
The ‘Hat-trick Award’ – Asher Rehman - for three wickets in three balls in the first over of a game. Ok, not technically a hat-trick because there was a run out but it was the bowling pressure that caused it so I say claim it! Asher is a talented all-round cricketer who showed great commitment to the team by continuing to turn up each week after he relocated mid-season with a long drive to games.
The ‘Don’t run when you hit it to me’ Award - Sam Manton - for outstanding fielding efforts. Sam is a natural with good hands and a good eye. Batsman soon learned not to hit it in Sam’s direction because a run out was on the way. Another one that improved their bowling action significantly as the season went on due to lots of hard work!
The ‘Quick Single’ Award - Peter Olsen – for outstanding running between the wickets. We couldn’t hear a peep from Peter at the start of the season, relying on telepathy to run between the wickets! By the middle of the season, Peter was our loudest caller and our best runner between the wickets. Regularly pinched singles and turned 1s into 2s – he lifted the standard for the whole team!
The ‘Glenn Maxwell Ramp Shot’ Award – Oliver Schmidhofer - for the most creative shot of the season.
A fast full toss at head height (accidental) had the coach nervous at square leg, but no need to be because Oliver stepped inside it and played a deliberate ramp shot over the keeper’s head for 4. He couldn’t understand my surprise....... The T20 generation!
The ‘Googly’ Award – Hussain Abbas – whether it was a fast ball, slow ball, wrist spin or finger spin, short run or long run, Hussain would try anything suggested to him. Hussain’s nothing is off limits attitude will hold him in great stead as he continues his cricket journey.
A big thanks to Steve Manton for his fantastic role as manager and to all of the parents for their continued support, chauffeuring and treats after the games.
Well done boys, a season to be proud of!
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