John McCallum, Convenor of Cricket
The new season got off to an action-packed start with some great Cricket played in many exciting matches. Boys have been working really well in Year group and now formed into teams for the term, with upcoming games this week against Barker and Knox. I’d also like to welcome and thank all of our Cricket Coaches for their efforts towards a positive start for the boys. As of this week, every Waverley Cricket coach in the Senior school has at least a Level 1 Coaches Certification from Cricket Australia, and they also look forward to a great season ahead.
Our 1st XI lost to Barker in their round 1 clash, with a coaches report later. On coaches, we are wishing Mr John Boyd a great Term 4 on Long Service leave and fantastic travels – this is the first Cricket season in the last 23 years Waverley won’t have Mr Boyd as a 1st XI Coach, but look forward to him back teaching next year. The following boys were selected in the 1st XI, and presented their caps on the Queens Park turf by Brother Brian Murphy, and it was great for parents to also be there for that special occasion.
1st XI:
Alex Ferrara (Captain)
Lachlan Forrest (Vice Captain)
Rory Doyle
Reid McNamara
Harry Whitaker
Leo Shanahan
Liam Andrews
Oliver Ruse
Mac Jenkins
Ryan Smith
Harry Schultz
Brock Preston
Year 12 Cricketer Mac Jenkins has already had a heavy Cricket schedule this season, having captained NSW at the National U17 Cricket Championships in Queensland (Mackay and Brisbane) over the School Holidays. NSW narrowly missed a place in the Semi Finals, but we look forward to having Mac play In a number of upcoming games for the 1st XI. Ryan Smith has also been appointed a the Waverley Captain of Cricket for this season, with his enthusiasm and willingness to support the younger boys going to be great source of leadership.
Two games last Saturday ended in a tied match with wickets on the final ball in the 9A and 10B matches. There have only been two tied games in the last 2 seasons, and here were 2 on the same pitch on the same day! The 9A game was tied on 106 runs, after Maxim Brooks led strongly with 62 runs, before Ryland short took 3 wickets and the final catch to prevent Barker from taking winning run. Sachiel Bass, Liam Joll and Daniel McSweeney all took 2 wickets in a great team effort. The 10Bs had a lower-scoring 86 run ties, with Max Farmeary 20 runs, a 2 wickets apiece to Lachlan Mclean, Jesse Sonego and Charles Jaeger.
Further displays of early season form came from the Year 8 sides. The 8As fell in their chase of the Scots total of 7/169, finishing 8/122 including Scott Swinburn and Liam Wood getting amongst the runs. Jack Crotty scored 22 in the 8Bs and Reece Emmins contributed a strong 44 in the 8C match, with them falling just 5 runs short of Scots. Peter Fragias, James Sonego and Alex Polihoras all took important wickets in some excellent bowling. The 10As were also close to the win, but will need to ensure they pace their batting innings stronger to build momentum with more singles to be able to put more pressure on opposition. Jack Hickey and Dylan Brown both scored 24 runs, with Sam Lodge 2 wickets with his late swing.
TeamApp has all the Cricket Updates for the Season
All boys and parents or supporters are encouraged to download and subscribe to the Waverley College Cricket TeamApp. This is free and available on all electronic devices from the App store or Google Play, and will help the Community be able to enjoy news, live scores or wet-weather updates, photos and weekly team announcements.
All boys are welcome to also support the 1st XI in the CAS Twenty-20 Competition match v Trinity next Tuesday October 30 at Queens Park at 4pm – some big hits and power-Cricket is assured, with Canteen open for a great afternoon!
1st XI Cricket Report – Round 1 V Barker: Greg Elliott and Richard Bryant
Last Saturday saw Waverley’s First XI take the field for the first CAS fixture for the 2018/19 season. Taking on Barker College at Queens Park was always going to be a big challenge and due to rain in the previous week, the game became a one-day fixture. The team were fortunate enough to be presented their 1st XI caps from Brother Murphy. He recited a story from the previous season that inspired the boys to never give up. Congratulations must go to Liam Andrews, Ryan Smith, Leo Shanahan and Harry Schultz for making their debut in the baggy blue.
Unfortunately, today was not the day for another famous victory at QP. Alex Ferrara, walked out to the centre to shake the umpires and opposing skippers’ hands in preparation for the toss. Waverley lost and were sent in to bat on what looked to be a good wicket considering the amount of rain that has been produced of late.
At 4/9, Barker would have been pleased with their decision to send Waverley in. Barker’s opening bowlers bowled with pace and their erratic approach proved too difficult for our lads to face when the ball was on a good length. The score then tumbled to 6/34. Both Rory Doyle and Liam Andrews were able to steady the ship, and get a well needed partnership of 43. A direct hit, brought Doyle undone on 26. This was the end to a solid innings considering the carnage that was occurring around him. From there, Waverley only managed set a total of 85 for Barker to chase.
Harry Whitaker opened the bowling with Brock Preston and needed to strike early. Whilst the pair bowled tight lines, the team was unable to get the breakthrough needed before lunch. Barker, passed the total with 9 wickets to spare.
Special thanks must go to the parents for setting the gold standard by producing once again a quality feed for lunch and afternoon tea. Your work behind the scenes is greatly appreciated and we look forward to working with you for the remainder of the season.
Whilst the result didn’t go our way this week, there are many positives to take out of this game. With the boys working extremely hard at training, these efforts will certainly be rewarded at some stage. We look forward to the opportunity to bounce back against Knox at Curagul in Round 2.
