See the draw for the details

This game was played between two very evenly matched teams and it went down to the wire.

This week we bowled first and restricted Johnsonville to 71 runs. Unfortunately we bowled 21 wides which would be the difference between winning and losing this week. Some tight fielding and backing up meant we restricted them to this achievable total. Luke, Angus and Sam got the wickets. All bowlers had wides this week with the best bowling figures this week we had Nic with 3 off his overs, Luke (6) and Angus (7). Alex also had a fantastic over with only one run scored off it, good effort Alex.

Our turn to bat and Luke and Josh opened with a solid batting partnership of 13, with some good hitting and no wickets. Angus and Lachie had our best partnership of the year with 23 runs and one runout. They picked up a 4 and a number of twos putting pressure on the field and putting us on course for the victory. Alex and Ollie in next and they faced some stiff bowling, they battled away to a 10 run partnership and then it was down to our captain Sam and Nic. They put together a very good partnership with 18 runs and 9 runs off one over. However we fell short by 7 runs. Some very good signs for next week. Special note this week to Nic for some great stroke play, hitting the ball into gaps on the leg and off side.

Captain today was Sam Smith.

Man of the match performance by Luke today with some great batting, tight bowling, fantastic throwing in the field and backing up.

On a drizzly day the Galaxies scored 51 runs batting first, but went down to a well drilled Johnsonville team.

This week batting first Nic and Angus got away to a good start with 16 runs (after taking into account 4 run outs). The pressure was telling in the field, but some sharp throwing caught us out a number of times. Luke and Alex faced some tough bowling and managed 7 runs, with both batters being bowled once in the process.  Josh and Oliver batted next and put on a solid 14 runs with only one runout in the process.  Sam and Lachie closed out our innings with a solid 14 runs and no outs.

Our turn to bowl and all of the oppositions batting partnerships made strong partnerships. Our bowling highlights were Josh getting the only wicket, bowling out one of the opening batters, Angus bowling no wides and only giving away 4 runs total in both overs. We gave away 24 wides this week. Our running between the wickets this week was good and there was some great hitting.

Captain today was Oliver Pope.

Man of the match performance by Angus today with some very good bowling (opposition coach suggested the bowling was the best they had faced). Angus batted and bowled well.

Match result

Collegian Thunderbirds won by 19 runs against Easts Rams.

Played at Anderson Park # 4 in cloudy & damp conditions.

Fenlon Bayley was Thunderbirds captain of the day and won the toss and chose to Bat first.

Thunderbirds had easily their best batting of the season and got a total of 66 with only 4 wickets (1 bowled and 3 run outs).

Thunderbirds continued their improvements over the last two weeks with bowling and fielding of the season, this week getting 5 bowled wickets and 6 run outs and some excellent fielding by all players.

This allowed Easts Rams to only score 47 runs in total.

Thanks to Graeme Basire (Harry's Dad) for scoring this week.

Player of the day = Casper Rifkov

Honours Board performances this week;

• Casper Rifkov = 2 x bowled and at least 2 run outs
• Xavier McKnight = 2 x run outs (and 1 bowled). 

The Collegians Team Photos will be on Wednesday 15 February starting at 4:00pm (with the youngest teams first) and will be held at the club rooms.

Click here for the timetable.

Played at Anderson Park # 2 in windy conditions, first home game of the season

Captain of the day for Thunderbirds, Casper won the toss and elected to bat first.

Thunderbirds were a bit quiet on the batting front and only got 22 runs off the bat (Harry got 10 runs) for a total score of 54.

Champions had a really good opening partnership of 30 runs which saw them through to a win, despite the Thunderbirds all bowling really well, not many wides this week.

Thanks to Rob Pettit (Jack's Dad) for scoring this week.

In our third game of the tournament we were back out at Fraser Park, on an artificial pitch with a lush outfield. We were asked to bat and although Upper Hutt’s swing bowling was wayward in the humid conditions, we were soon in a bit of trouble before Arun Betty and Matthew Robertson steadied the innings with a 50 run partnership. Some strong hitting late in the innings from Thomas Harding and Josh Peake saw us though to 150 off 40 overs.

Upper Hutt’s reply was based around one of their openers, who was unfortunately dropped a couple of times, as he made his way to 53. After 20 overs they were well on target, even though our spinners had slowed the scoring rate. After the break, our spinners started to strangle the run chase, and the return of Ashad Langdana saw their opener depart as he tried to hit out against more familiar faster bowling. The pressure began to build and Upper Hutt fell behind the run rate, needing 6 an over off the last 6 overs. The problem for us was who would replace Ashad after his miserly spell came to an end? Unfortunately runs started to flow again with some straight hitting and cheeky singles, using up both lives from the odd run-out rule of the tournament. Upper Hutt got the winning run, ironically a wide, with 2 balls left.

Honours Board: Matthew Robertson 27, Thomas Harding 26, Ashad Langdana 3 wickets and 2 catches, Finn Chemis 2 wickets and a catch.

We won the toss and opted to bat first on a bouncy artificial pitch, but with long grass. Our openers made by far their best partnership of the season, reaching 79 without loss at the halfway stage. The partnership was broken in the 25th over when Louis Worthington retired for a well compiled 53 from 84 balls. Finnian carried on and completed his 50 in the 35th over from 115 balls. Our innings ended at 178/3.

Petone made a positive reply and were ahead of the run rate through most of their innings, but their problem was that they lost too many wickets too early. In a fiery opening 3-over spell, Josh Peake claimed 3 wickets, mainly when Petone batsmen struggled with the bounce. At 75/6 many felt that the game would be over early, but a 50 run partnership had us worried at 125/6 after 27 overs, leaving Petone to get 54 off 13 overs. Ashad Langdana made the critical breakthrough and then mopped up the tail, ending with 3-15 off 6 overs. The final wicket fell to a spectacular diving catch by Jack Barlow, substituting in from the Year 8 Blue team, off Connor Goggin’s bowling. Petone ended up on 133, to give Collegians their third win in a row.

Apart from our opening partnership and tight bowling against aggressive batting from Connor Goggin and Ashad Langdana, a notable feature of the game was that Petone conceded 47 extras (11 byes, 25 wides and 11 no balls) whereas we conceded 18 extras (0 byes, 16 wides and 2 no balls). Petone therefore bowled 18 extra balls (3 overs) to us, and all these extras and extra balls may have made the difference.

Honours Board: Finn Chemis 50 retired, Louis Worthington 53 retired, Josh Peake 3 wickets, Ashad Langdana 3 wickets, Jack Barlow 2 catches.

Another great team performance. Batting was tricky on a low and slow wicket with odd bounce at times yet our batsmen set a strong, competitive total and once again our bowlers did the job that was required of them. Fielding was sharp and good catches were, on the whole, well taken. What was particularly satisfying for the coaches was to see the team bat out their allotted 35 overs and then bowl the opposition out.

BATTING

Solid batting, particularly from Tim C, Thomas B and Zac Jones helped set a strong score.  Shot selection from some batsmen still needs practice as we make decisions as to which ball to play assertively and which ball to leave or defend.

FIELDING

Fielding continues to be sharp and involved.  Backing up was also improved with boys communicating well.

BOWLING

Wides (22) continue to be an area requiring improvement!  Avalan and Sam again had a good tight opening spell while Shaun, Charlie and Tim C took wickets regularly.