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Game III of Season 2006/07
Tuesday 6th February 2007
Conditions: Sunny and Hot
Toss: Porirua (elected to bat)
Result: Hutt Valley won by an Innings & 22 Runs
Man of the Match: Luke Williams
Tuesday 6th February 2007
Conditions: Sunny and Hot
Toss: Porirua (elected to bat)
Result: Hutt Valley won by an Innings & 22 Runs
Man of the Match: Luke Williams
"The Hutt finally got their best side on the park, and the Porirua players were given plenty to mull over for the winter, despite the series already being in their keeping. Kachwalla's bowling was destructive, and William's ton was a brutal coming of age."
To the uninitiated, this game may have appeared a dead rubber. But coming into this match, the all-time ledger read something like this: Porirua won 5, Hutt Valley won 5. Add Porirua’s desire to finish their brilliant campaign with a big exclaimation mark, and the Hutt’s ambition to add a question mark to the chapter of 2006/07 and you had the makings of one heck of a ding-dong affair.
A match without meaning? Hardly.
The Hutt finally decided to roll out the heavy artillery for this final game of the season. Kachwalla was named, and to the surprise of many, actually DIDN’T withdraw this time. The match also marked a return for the newly-engaged Luke Williams. His bride-to-be let him out to play this time, as long as he was home for dinner.
Porirua were yet again the team to bat first. Rose took guard at the House end and got off the mark with a rather streaky single off Kachwalla’s bowling. His opening partner, Lees, was coming off one of the finest individual displays in the history of the shield and confidently faced his first delivery – which went through him like a hot knife through butter and bowled him for a Golden Gozza.
Next over, Rose looked to take the attack to the Hutt when Torrance lost his usually impeccable line. 10 runs from the over steadied the ship for Porirua.
In 2005/06, one of the highlights was the personal rivalry between Denman and Williams – a rivalry akin to Flintoff and Warne, Gregan and Marshall - even Austin Powers and Dr. Evil. This one-on-one battle loomed large over this contest, and we didn’t have to wait long until the opening salvo was fired by Denman. On Williams’ first legitimate ball, Denman got off the mark with a maximum, and followed it up with another the next ball. Also guiding the penultimate ball of the over lovingly to the straight boundary, he plundered 16 off the over.
Kachwalla was seen off, and the next victim for the Denmanator was Torrance, slamming anything dropped short over his shoulder on the hook. 17 was taken and Porirua began to claw their way back into things. But Kachwalla threw them right back into the mire with a vicious off-cutter that bamboozled Rose into an obvious caught-behind. The skipper looked out of touch and was probably lucky to get to 14.
Denman, however, continued unabated. Deciding it was time to take advantage of Au, he helped himself to 23 runs and racked up a valient half-ton to again be Porirua’s top scorer. With a little help, Porirua may have mustered a respectable total but like Rose and Lees, Spencer was up to fuck-all with the bat. Gone for a duck and Denman was on his own.
He looked to avenge Spencer with a six the very next ball against Williams. But it was Williams who laughed last and loudest next over, when Kachwalla eeked out a catching opportunity for Big Willie. It was fairly low, fast and flat but straight to him – so easy, it seemed, that Williams decided two hands were not required, grabbing it rather lazily in one hand easy-as-you-like. Denman finished on 88, contributing to the vast bulk of Porirua’s 106.
And so began the pursuit of these runs. Torrance and Au opened the batting, and Rose opened the attack. Au, in only the second ball he faced, attempted to loft the ball over long-off but succeeded only in skying it to a vacant part of the field. Rose turned around and thundered towards the point it would drop from the clouds, and just got there but spilt the catch. Au had a life, but Lees cut it short. Deciding to take revenge for his golden duck, he took his frustration out on Au and bowled him.
Torrance was expected to fare better, but remarkably he too left cheaply when Spencer continued his rapid rise at the bowling crease – he sent down a confusing yorker which Torrance couldn’t find an answer to and all of a sudden the Hutt Valley were at sixes and sevens in the pursuit of a pretty modest total. Someone would need to step up for the Hutt if they were to avoid a series whitewash.
Kachwalla had been that man in the past, and although he started smoothly with some classy cover drives and a couple of smartly taken singles, Denman bobbed up and put an end to the Indian Iceman for just 16. It looked like it would all rest on the broad shoulders of Luke Williams, a man who just last season had a batting average of 0.8.
He took toll of Spencer first, smashing him for four sixes in his second over, and followed up the demolition with 22 runs off Rose (with Williams surviving a very tough caught-and-bowled opportunity) and another 15 off Spencer’s next. To add to Porirua’s troubles, Lees was having the yips with his line and length, sending down two no-balls and three wides in one over, and one no-ball and three more wides in his next.
Denman was the only bowler that was getting it right. But Williams cunningly decided not to butt heads-on with his main adversary - prepared to see out Denman and target the other three Porirua bowlers who by now were leaking runs like a broken toilet.
Spencer’s third over produced the best chance for Porirua to end the innings. Williams played a tired shot to cover where Rose was positioned perfectly to take a simple catch, but for the third time in the innings he couldn’t latch his mits around it. A real let-off for Williams who would have been ropable to be dismissed just a few runs short of his ton.
And so with a tremendous six over midwicket, Williams brought it up in style becoming just the third player to register a Haywards Shield ton. To rapturous applause from his team-mates, and the Porirua players also, he raised the bat in acknowledgement of his virtuoso performance with the blade. Now, could he push a long way past the 100 mark and really stick the knife in? The answer to that question turned out to be ‘no’ as Rose sent down a sharply lifting ball just outside off-stump which garnered an edge. Williams left the crease with 110 to his name and had built the Hutt Valley into a position of strength with a 45-run first innings lead.
Porirua would need to rediscover their batting form of the first two games if they were to have a chance, but Hutt Valley had their tails up and were not going to be denied. It took just 25 deliveries to end the game as the blue-and-gold batsmen were shot out of the water like sitting ducks. Rose had his stumps destroyed by a hungry Kachwalla for nought, Williams got a dream finish to his day by snaring his nemesis Sam Denman with a caught-behind, Torrance sent down a delivery which was full, straight and to which Lees didn’t play a shot leaving the umpire no choice but to reward the blond, fluffy-haired tyro with an LBW.
Spencer scored a six against Au which Lees (watching from the grandstand) called the ‘biggest hit since the beatles’, but it was the only high point for Porirua as they were staring down the barrel of an innings defeat – and Kachwalla pulled the trigger to blow away Porirua by virtue of bowling Spencer for 10 – the only Porirua player to reach double figures.
An amazing win for the Hutt Valley has shown one and all that they are not a spent force. They would have enjoyed this win – Kachwalla taking five wickets, and Williams taking man-of-the-match honours with two wickets, one hundred and ten runs and a defining (if fluky) catch. Kudos must go to them for not throwing in the towel when it all must have seemed too hard.
2006/07 was not a series of close results – Porirua smacking the Hutt three shades of black and blue in Game I by 286 runs, and piling on the pain in Game II to the tune of over 180 – then the Hutt turning it around in stunning fashion to thrash the shield winners by an innings in Game III. This season’s result means both Porirua and the Hutt Valley have both won 2 series. 2007/08 looks to be one of the most eagerly anticipated summers yet – and will be the fifth season of Haywards Shield cricket. Who will stand up and make their mark? Who will ink his name into the record books? And which skipper will be holding the shield aloft when it’s all over?
Only time will tell. 2007/08 is getting closer by the day – we look forward to your company then.
A match without meaning? Hardly.
The Hutt finally decided to roll out the heavy artillery for this final game of the season. Kachwalla was named, and to the surprise of many, actually DIDN’T withdraw this time. The match also marked a return for the newly-engaged Luke Williams. His bride-to-be let him out to play this time, as long as he was home for dinner.
Porirua were yet again the team to bat first. Rose took guard at the House end and got off the mark with a rather streaky single off Kachwalla’s bowling. His opening partner, Lees, was coming off one of the finest individual displays in the history of the shield and confidently faced his first delivery – which went through him like a hot knife through butter and bowled him for a Golden Gozza.
Next over, Rose looked to take the attack to the Hutt when Torrance lost his usually impeccable line. 10 runs from the over steadied the ship for Porirua.
In 2005/06, one of the highlights was the personal rivalry between Denman and Williams – a rivalry akin to Flintoff and Warne, Gregan and Marshall - even Austin Powers and Dr. Evil. This one-on-one battle loomed large over this contest, and we didn’t have to wait long until the opening salvo was fired by Denman. On Williams’ first legitimate ball, Denman got off the mark with a maximum, and followed it up with another the next ball. Also guiding the penultimate ball of the over lovingly to the straight boundary, he plundered 16 off the over.
Kachwalla was seen off, and the next victim for the Denmanator was Torrance, slamming anything dropped short over his shoulder on the hook. 17 was taken and Porirua began to claw their way back into things. But Kachwalla threw them right back into the mire with a vicious off-cutter that bamboozled Rose into an obvious caught-behind. The skipper looked out of touch and was probably lucky to get to 14.
Denman, however, continued unabated. Deciding it was time to take advantage of Au, he helped himself to 23 runs and racked up a valient half-ton to again be Porirua’s top scorer. With a little help, Porirua may have mustered a respectable total but like Rose and Lees, Spencer was up to fuck-all with the bat. Gone for a duck and Denman was on his own.
He looked to avenge Spencer with a six the very next ball against Williams. But it was Williams who laughed last and loudest next over, when Kachwalla eeked out a catching opportunity for Big Willie. It was fairly low, fast and flat but straight to him – so easy, it seemed, that Williams decided two hands were not required, grabbing it rather lazily in one hand easy-as-you-like. Denman finished on 88, contributing to the vast bulk of Porirua’s 106.
And so began the pursuit of these runs. Torrance and Au opened the batting, and Rose opened the attack. Au, in only the second ball he faced, attempted to loft the ball over long-off but succeeded only in skying it to a vacant part of the field. Rose turned around and thundered towards the point it would drop from the clouds, and just got there but spilt the catch. Au had a life, but Lees cut it short. Deciding to take revenge for his golden duck, he took his frustration out on Au and bowled him.
Torrance was expected to fare better, but remarkably he too left cheaply when Spencer continued his rapid rise at the bowling crease – he sent down a confusing yorker which Torrance couldn’t find an answer to and all of a sudden the Hutt Valley were at sixes and sevens in the pursuit of a pretty modest total. Someone would need to step up for the Hutt if they were to avoid a series whitewash.
Kachwalla had been that man in the past, and although he started smoothly with some classy cover drives and a couple of smartly taken singles, Denman bobbed up and put an end to the Indian Iceman for just 16. It looked like it would all rest on the broad shoulders of Luke Williams, a man who just last season had a batting average of 0.8.
He took toll of Spencer first, smashing him for four sixes in his second over, and followed up the demolition with 22 runs off Rose (with Williams surviving a very tough caught-and-bowled opportunity) and another 15 off Spencer’s next. To add to Porirua’s troubles, Lees was having the yips with his line and length, sending down two no-balls and three wides in one over, and one no-ball and three more wides in his next.
Denman was the only bowler that was getting it right. But Williams cunningly decided not to butt heads-on with his main adversary - prepared to see out Denman and target the other three Porirua bowlers who by now were leaking runs like a broken toilet.
Spencer’s third over produced the best chance for Porirua to end the innings. Williams played a tired shot to cover where Rose was positioned perfectly to take a simple catch, but for the third time in the innings he couldn’t latch his mits around it. A real let-off for Williams who would have been ropable to be dismissed just a few runs short of his ton.
And so with a tremendous six over midwicket, Williams brought it up in style becoming just the third player to register a Haywards Shield ton. To rapturous applause from his team-mates, and the Porirua players also, he raised the bat in acknowledgement of his virtuoso performance with the blade. Now, could he push a long way past the 100 mark and really stick the knife in? The answer to that question turned out to be ‘no’ as Rose sent down a sharply lifting ball just outside off-stump which garnered an edge. Williams left the crease with 110 to his name and had built the Hutt Valley into a position of strength with a 45-run first innings lead.
Porirua would need to rediscover their batting form of the first two games if they were to have a chance, but Hutt Valley had their tails up and were not going to be denied. It took just 25 deliveries to end the game as the blue-and-gold batsmen were shot out of the water like sitting ducks. Rose had his stumps destroyed by a hungry Kachwalla for nought, Williams got a dream finish to his day by snaring his nemesis Sam Denman with a caught-behind, Torrance sent down a delivery which was full, straight and to which Lees didn’t play a shot leaving the umpire no choice but to reward the blond, fluffy-haired tyro with an LBW.
Spencer scored a six against Au which Lees (watching from the grandstand) called the ‘biggest hit since the beatles’, but it was the only high point for Porirua as they were staring down the barrel of an innings defeat – and Kachwalla pulled the trigger to blow away Porirua by virtue of bowling Spencer for 10 – the only Porirua player to reach double figures.
An amazing win for the Hutt Valley has shown one and all that they are not a spent force. They would have enjoyed this win – Kachwalla taking five wickets, and Williams taking man-of-the-match honours with two wickets, one hundred and ten runs and a defining (if fluky) catch. Kudos must go to them for not throwing in the towel when it all must have seemed too hard.
2006/07 was not a series of close results – Porirua smacking the Hutt three shades of black and blue in Game I by 286 runs, and piling on the pain in Game II to the tune of over 180 – then the Hutt turning it around in stunning fashion to thrash the shield winners by an innings in Game III. This season’s result means both Porirua and the Hutt Valley have both won 2 series. 2007/08 looks to be one of the most eagerly anticipated summers yet – and will be the fifth season of Haywards Shield cricket. Who will stand up and make their mark? Who will ink his name into the record books? And which skipper will be holding the shield aloft when it’s all over?
Only time will tell. 2007/08 is getting closer by the day – we look forward to your company then.
