| rosebowlcricket.co.nz |
|
Game I of Season 2006/07
Saturday 16th December 2006
Conditions: Overcast, Slight Wind
Toss: Hutt Valley (elected to field)
Result: Porirua won by 286 Runs
Man of the Match: Sam Denman
Saturday 16th December 2006
Conditions: Overcast, Slight Wind
Toss: Hutt Valley (elected to field)
Result: Porirua won by 286 Runs
Man of the Match: Sam Denman
"A batting onslaught for the ages from Porirua. The Hutt bowlers were simply brought to their knees in 33 overs of chasing leather. Denman's 172 will never be forgotten by those that were there."
A record-breaking day with the bat from Porirua has seen the blue-and-golds trump the Hutt Valley in Game I of 2006/07.
With the Hutt Valley lineup weakened by the last-minute withdrawl of captain Shukul Kachwalla, there was an air of inevitability about the result of this match before a single ball was even bounced in anger. The Hutt lineup only boasted one all-time great in the form of the blond, fluffy-haired tyro Andrew Torrance - but even his presence could not prevent a crushing defeat being inflicted on the Hutt Valley.
Stand-in skipper Alistair Cockburn won the toss at around 1:30pm on an overcast day at the Rosebowl. A passing shower earlier in the day, and some relatively long grass on both the wicket and the outfield convinced him to send Porirua in to bat. It would be a decision he would come to rue.
Porirua rejigged their batting lineup, with Rose promoting himself to open with Lees, Denman occupying the crucial first drop position, and McHugh put in at number 4 as a lusty hitter down the order. So as Rose and Lees strode out to bat, there was an audible buzz around the famous ground as spectators waited eagerly to see whether this gambit would bear fruit.
It was Rose to face first, with the first over bowled by Au. The very first ball of the 2006/07 Haywards Shield was a wide and much like the Ashes series currently being played in Australia, this set the tone for the Hutt Valley's whole day. Rose got off the mark in style later in the over - first sweeping Au for a six to his favourite hitting area of square-leg/fine leg, then pulling a short one to a similar part of the ground.
Lees, on strike the next over was troubled initially by Kachwalla's replacement, Paul Johnson. However these early nerves were calmed as he too got off the mark with half-a-dozen runs. Cockburn fared no better, showing some rust with four wides in a single over.
Finally the go-to-man, Andrew Torrance was asked to grab the cherry and get a breakthrough. It was puzzling that the Hutt did not lead with their strongest player from the first over as by now Rose and Lees had got their eye in and looked ready to build a considerable partnership. Lees showed his intentions by belting Torrance straight back over his head for a mammoth six.
From this point on it was really a procession as Rose and Lees dismantled the Hutt attack, seemingly effortlessly. Rose played within himself, defending anything straight, leaving anything wide of off-stump and waiting for the poor balls which came regularly. This was not a day to play reckless shots, nor a day to bother with dicey singles. Porirua knew that as long as Torrance could be seen off, the runs were there for the taking.
Two shots to be remembered was a bash over cover by Rose - one of his few shots to that part of the ground - and a slog-sweep which cleared the midwicket trees by Lees.
Lees and Rose brought up the 100 partnership in 13 overs. Slow by Haywards Shield standards, but it layed a platform for Porirua as once Lees was finally dismissed by Au caught behind (after a large protest to umpire McHugh who had originally ruled 'not out'), Porirua already had 102 runs in the bank and the Hutt Valley bowlers tired and demoralised - out goes Lees, in comes Denman. It could be a long day at the office.
And so it proved. Rose continued to go about his work as he was joined at the crease by the star of 2005/06, Sam Denman. Rose brought up his third Haywards Shield half-century with a classical pull shot. It was not a flashy innings like his previous two which were a series of enourmous shots - this was a knock of patience.
But finally, he too was dismissed. Torrance got his man in his 4th over with a beauty of a bowl beating Rose all-ends-up to clean up the Porirua captain's stumps for 61. McHugh came to the crease to join Denman who had already played several impressive shots - including a four on the very first ball he faced.
The carnage continued. Kirker was smacked for 17 in his fourth over as Porirua looked to click into top gear and make good on the platform laid by Lees and Rose. If that platform was impressive, what followed was quite simply breathtaking. Denman, who performed well with the bat in 2005/06 without ever posting a really huge score must have decided that today was the day to make it happen. Despite complaining about a sore foot, he scored right around the ground with spectacular sixes and fantastic fours. McHugh chimed in with several boundaries of his own - including a couple of monster hits over the straight boundary.
It was at this point that the records began to tumble. The highest ever previous team batting total was 171 scored by Hutt Valley in their second innings in 2005/06. Porirua surpassed that with only two wickets down. Before the day was through, many more benchmarks would be set. Hutt Valley may have spied a glimmer of hope of keeping Porirua to a chasable score when McHugh mistimed a ball bowled by Johnson into the air towards cover. Cockburn got underneath it successfully, but fumbled the catch and gave McHugh a life. If the Hutt needed any more indication that this would not be their day, this was it.
Denman continued to wreak havoc at the other end, taking advantage of Johnson in particular - at one stage hitting three fours in a row off him. He passed 50 in much quicker time than Rose managed. McHugh also reached his 50 and brought up the 100 partnership between he and Denman - and then departed for the same score after Johnson found an edge.
The score had raced past 250, and Denman on to triple figures when Spencer came to the crease and with the pressure off, he too got amoungst the runs. He hit a massive six to cover, and a couple of very classy fours before being bowled by Au.
At the dismissal of Spencer, Rose was about to declare when a meeting of the captains decided to make the game a single-innings affair with time growing short. So with the permission to continue and a licence to go for his shots Denman continued to slaughter the Hutt to all parts. He eclipsed the previous-highest score in the Haywards Shield, and pushed on past 150. One over in particular was noteworthy - he slammed Johnson for four sixes, and two fours in the six legitimate balls that were delivered - Johnson also conceded a wide making it the most expensive over in the history of the Shield at 33 runs. Torrance was not spared either - Denman plundering 21 off an over from him.
Finally, Cockburn slipped one through Denmans' defenses to knock over his castle for 172. Celebrations were muted in the Hutt camp, as they faced the fact that Porirua had racked up 372 runs - with two batsmen getting half-centuries, plus Denmans' amazing individual total meaning their chase would be about as likely as Mr. Keys cracking a smile at the sight of a jacketed, skateboard-carrying boy walking into his tutor group 10 minutes late.
Porirua had enough runs to choke a horse - and the fact he had plenty of runs to defend left Rose with the luxury of setting attacking fields with little pressure on defending the total. It would be Kirker and Cockburn to open. The first breakthrough came when Lees clean boweld Cockburn for 2. This brought Au to the crease.
In his first over of bowling, Rose put down a difficult opportunity for caught and bowled when Kirker smacked a catch straight back to him, low and fast. Rose was disappointed, but eventually got Kirker out in the first ball of his next over when Kirker chased a wide ball and got a thin snick on it. This ended a partnership of 37 between Kirker and Au. Torrance strode out as the only real hope the Hutt had left. He started in brilliant fashion - the rest of Rose's 2nd over was hit for two sixes and a four.
Next up to bowl was Spencer who conceded a couple of wides - one too far to the offside, and one too far to the legside - then got one somewhere in the middle and cleaned up the stumps of Au for 15, bringing Johnson to the crease. Johnson let the first ball go for yet another wide - but Spencer took a second wicket in the over as Johnson ballooned a catch towards long-on where Denman was waiting to take a simple catch. The Porirua players ran from everywhere to congratulate Spencer on his wickets - this is the second time he has taken two wickets in an over.
With the fourth wicket falling with the Hutt on 61, Torrance would need to get another 311 runs by himself to snatch victory. Well, if he could have done it we would have to replace the picture of Cairns in the middle of the shield with a portrait of the frizzy-haired, goateed Torrance. But next over, McHugh sent in a ripsnorter of a ball which homed in on Torrance's stumps like a cruise missle. Torrance gone for 38, and the Hutt all out for 86.
Porirua go 1-0 up in their quest to snare the shield for the first time since 2003/04. This was a day where everything went right for the blue-and-golds, and everyone played their part in the best performance in the history of this team. They will be well aware that with Kachwalla hopeful of making a return in Game II that their task will likely be much tougher in the next game - however, it is hard to see the Hutt bouncing back from this embarrassment in just three short weeks - their bowling in particular was very poor and lacked discipline. But we shall see! Game II is on 13/1/07. Join us for more exclusive coverage of the 2006/07 Haywards Shield then.
Records set in this match:
Highest score by a batsman (S. Denman - 172, previous record = A. Torrance - 113* in Game II 2004/05)
Most sixes by a batsman in an innings (S. Denman - 21, previous record = A. Torrance; 11 on two occassions)
Most runs conceded in an over (P. Johnson - 33, previous record = E. Au - 29 in Game III 2005/06)
Most runs conceded by a bowler in an innings (P. Johnson - 116, previous record = P. Johnson - 51 in Game I 2005/06)
Highest team score in an innings (Porirua - 372, previous record = Hutt Valley 171 in 2nd innings of Game I 2006/06)
With the Hutt Valley lineup weakened by the last-minute withdrawl of captain Shukul Kachwalla, there was an air of inevitability about the result of this match before a single ball was even bounced in anger. The Hutt lineup only boasted one all-time great in the form of the blond, fluffy-haired tyro Andrew Torrance - but even his presence could not prevent a crushing defeat being inflicted on the Hutt Valley.
Stand-in skipper Alistair Cockburn won the toss at around 1:30pm on an overcast day at the Rosebowl. A passing shower earlier in the day, and some relatively long grass on both the wicket and the outfield convinced him to send Porirua in to bat. It would be a decision he would come to rue.
Porirua rejigged their batting lineup, with Rose promoting himself to open with Lees, Denman occupying the crucial first drop position, and McHugh put in at number 4 as a lusty hitter down the order. So as Rose and Lees strode out to bat, there was an audible buzz around the famous ground as spectators waited eagerly to see whether this gambit would bear fruit.
It was Rose to face first, with the first over bowled by Au. The very first ball of the 2006/07 Haywards Shield was a wide and much like the Ashes series currently being played in Australia, this set the tone for the Hutt Valley's whole day. Rose got off the mark in style later in the over - first sweeping Au for a six to his favourite hitting area of square-leg/fine leg, then pulling a short one to a similar part of the ground.
Lees, on strike the next over was troubled initially by Kachwalla's replacement, Paul Johnson. However these early nerves were calmed as he too got off the mark with half-a-dozen runs. Cockburn fared no better, showing some rust with four wides in a single over.
Finally the go-to-man, Andrew Torrance was asked to grab the cherry and get a breakthrough. It was puzzling that the Hutt did not lead with their strongest player from the first over as by now Rose and Lees had got their eye in and looked ready to build a considerable partnership. Lees showed his intentions by belting Torrance straight back over his head for a mammoth six.
From this point on it was really a procession as Rose and Lees dismantled the Hutt attack, seemingly effortlessly. Rose played within himself, defending anything straight, leaving anything wide of off-stump and waiting for the poor balls which came regularly. This was not a day to play reckless shots, nor a day to bother with dicey singles. Porirua knew that as long as Torrance could be seen off, the runs were there for the taking.
Two shots to be remembered was a bash over cover by Rose - one of his few shots to that part of the ground - and a slog-sweep which cleared the midwicket trees by Lees.
Lees and Rose brought up the 100 partnership in 13 overs. Slow by Haywards Shield standards, but it layed a platform for Porirua as once Lees was finally dismissed by Au caught behind (after a large protest to umpire McHugh who had originally ruled 'not out'), Porirua already had 102 runs in the bank and the Hutt Valley bowlers tired and demoralised - out goes Lees, in comes Denman. It could be a long day at the office.
And so it proved. Rose continued to go about his work as he was joined at the crease by the star of 2005/06, Sam Denman. Rose brought up his third Haywards Shield half-century with a classical pull shot. It was not a flashy innings like his previous two which were a series of enourmous shots - this was a knock of patience.
But finally, he too was dismissed. Torrance got his man in his 4th over with a beauty of a bowl beating Rose all-ends-up to clean up the Porirua captain's stumps for 61. McHugh came to the crease to join Denman who had already played several impressive shots - including a four on the very first ball he faced.
The carnage continued. Kirker was smacked for 17 in his fourth over as Porirua looked to click into top gear and make good on the platform laid by Lees and Rose. If that platform was impressive, what followed was quite simply breathtaking. Denman, who performed well with the bat in 2005/06 without ever posting a really huge score must have decided that today was the day to make it happen. Despite complaining about a sore foot, he scored right around the ground with spectacular sixes and fantastic fours. McHugh chimed in with several boundaries of his own - including a couple of monster hits over the straight boundary.
It was at this point that the records began to tumble. The highest ever previous team batting total was 171 scored by Hutt Valley in their second innings in 2005/06. Porirua surpassed that with only two wickets down. Before the day was through, many more benchmarks would be set. Hutt Valley may have spied a glimmer of hope of keeping Porirua to a chasable score when McHugh mistimed a ball bowled by Johnson into the air towards cover. Cockburn got underneath it successfully, but fumbled the catch and gave McHugh a life. If the Hutt needed any more indication that this would not be their day, this was it.
Denman continued to wreak havoc at the other end, taking advantage of Johnson in particular - at one stage hitting three fours in a row off him. He passed 50 in much quicker time than Rose managed. McHugh also reached his 50 and brought up the 100 partnership between he and Denman - and then departed for the same score after Johnson found an edge.
The score had raced past 250, and Denman on to triple figures when Spencer came to the crease and with the pressure off, he too got amoungst the runs. He hit a massive six to cover, and a couple of very classy fours before being bowled by Au.
At the dismissal of Spencer, Rose was about to declare when a meeting of the captains decided to make the game a single-innings affair with time growing short. So with the permission to continue and a licence to go for his shots Denman continued to slaughter the Hutt to all parts. He eclipsed the previous-highest score in the Haywards Shield, and pushed on past 150. One over in particular was noteworthy - he slammed Johnson for four sixes, and two fours in the six legitimate balls that were delivered - Johnson also conceded a wide making it the most expensive over in the history of the Shield at 33 runs. Torrance was not spared either - Denman plundering 21 off an over from him.
Finally, Cockburn slipped one through Denmans' defenses to knock over his castle for 172. Celebrations were muted in the Hutt camp, as they faced the fact that Porirua had racked up 372 runs - with two batsmen getting half-centuries, plus Denmans' amazing individual total meaning their chase would be about as likely as Mr. Keys cracking a smile at the sight of a jacketed, skateboard-carrying boy walking into his tutor group 10 minutes late.
Porirua had enough runs to choke a horse - and the fact he had plenty of runs to defend left Rose with the luxury of setting attacking fields with little pressure on defending the total. It would be Kirker and Cockburn to open. The first breakthrough came when Lees clean boweld Cockburn for 2. This brought Au to the crease.
In his first over of bowling, Rose put down a difficult opportunity for caught and bowled when Kirker smacked a catch straight back to him, low and fast. Rose was disappointed, but eventually got Kirker out in the first ball of his next over when Kirker chased a wide ball and got a thin snick on it. This ended a partnership of 37 between Kirker and Au. Torrance strode out as the only real hope the Hutt had left. He started in brilliant fashion - the rest of Rose's 2nd over was hit for two sixes and a four.
Next up to bowl was Spencer who conceded a couple of wides - one too far to the offside, and one too far to the legside - then got one somewhere in the middle and cleaned up the stumps of Au for 15, bringing Johnson to the crease. Johnson let the first ball go for yet another wide - but Spencer took a second wicket in the over as Johnson ballooned a catch towards long-on where Denman was waiting to take a simple catch. The Porirua players ran from everywhere to congratulate Spencer on his wickets - this is the second time he has taken two wickets in an over.
With the fourth wicket falling with the Hutt on 61, Torrance would need to get another 311 runs by himself to snatch victory. Well, if he could have done it we would have to replace the picture of Cairns in the middle of the shield with a portrait of the frizzy-haired, goateed Torrance. But next over, McHugh sent in a ripsnorter of a ball which homed in on Torrance's stumps like a cruise missle. Torrance gone for 38, and the Hutt all out for 86.
Porirua go 1-0 up in their quest to snare the shield for the first time since 2003/04. This was a day where everything went right for the blue-and-golds, and everyone played their part in the best performance in the history of this team. They will be well aware that with Kachwalla hopeful of making a return in Game II that their task will likely be much tougher in the next game - however, it is hard to see the Hutt bouncing back from this embarrassment in just three short weeks - their bowling in particular was very poor and lacked discipline. But we shall see! Game II is on 13/1/07. Join us for more exclusive coverage of the 2006/07 Haywards Shield then.
Records set in this match:
Highest score by a batsman (S. Denman - 172, previous record = A. Torrance - 113* in Game II 2004/05)
Most sixes by a batsman in an innings (S. Denman - 21, previous record = A. Torrance; 11 on two occassions)
Most runs conceded in an over (P. Johnson - 33, previous record = E. Au - 29 in Game III 2005/06)
Most runs conceded by a bowler in an innings (P. Johnson - 116, previous record = P. Johnson - 51 in Game I 2005/06)
Highest team score in an innings (Porirua - 372, previous record = Hutt Valley 171 in 2nd innings of Game I 2006/06)
