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Only Game of Season 2008/09
Saturday 27th December 2008
Conditions: Mild and Partly Cloudy
Toss: Hutt Valley (elected to field)
Result: Hutt Valley won by an Innings & 14 Runs
Man of the Match: Sam Leslie
Saturday 27th December 2008
Conditions: Mild and Partly Cloudy
Toss: Hutt Valley (elected to field)
Result: Hutt Valley won by an Innings & 14 Runs
Man of the Match: Sam Leslie
"The Hutt Valley were steered to a memorable innings victory by a couple of unlikely heroes. Au and Leslie were not paid the respect they deserved, and they outshone the Williams brothers with wickets and runs aplenty."
When the decision was made by the organising committee that this years’ series would be a one-match, winner-take-all affair, the tension in the air over the lower North Island could have been cut with a knife. Breaking with tradition, one game would rule it all. One game would find them. One game would bring them all, and on the Rosebowl bind them.
With 6 players a-side, five players on debut, and it all to play for, this match had all the makings of being yet another titanic struggle between the two old foes.
On debut for the Hutt were three men - one was the younger of the Williams brothers, Sam. By playing, he and his brother Luke became the first brother combination to take the field in a Haywards Shield clash.
Also making their first Haywards Shield appearances for the Hutt were two non-HIBS old boys: Ben Wallace, and a gangly, unlikely-looking young fellow by the name of Sam Leslie.
For Porirua, two players were breaking their cricketing hymen: they were both in the same travelling party as Wallace and Leslie – Scott Cardwell, and Jack Fletcher: also marquis players who never attended the famous school in Trentham that “encourages and expects excellence”.
Also in attendance at the pleasantly cool, sunny Rosebowl on this day were Luke Williams’ new wife Nicole Williams (nee Brown), and Rebekah Boyland, the girlfriend of Eu-Ving Au.
Conversely, Porirua brought no female company to the table, pretty much summing up what they are up to with the fairer sex – sweet bugger all.
Hutt captain Luke Williams foretold the fall of the coin correctly, bringing Rose’s record with the coin toss to an abysmal 5 out of 14. As has become something of a mantra in the Hutt camp, “you always field in Haywards Shield” – and so it was today. Rose and Lees to open for the blue-and-gold brigade on a pitch which had seen some rain earlier in the day, but had dried off nicely. Some cloud cover overhead could be expected to favour the bowlers.
Luke Williams decided to try to score an early win over his opposing skipper – bowling to Rose he sent down a very tidy over which Rose could only score a single from. Looking stoic at the crease as usual, Rose was trying to bat time and settle in for a long dig. Next up came the tall, imposing figure of Wallace. Rose and Lees calmly dispatched him for 13 runs off the over, and Porirua were off to a flyer at 14-0.
What happened next was a collapse, triggered by a rash shot from the skipper. Until then playing the conservative game, Rose momentarily lost concentration under the black dog of stress. A big swinging six was attempted, but all that was achieved was a catch offered to Sam Williams at square leg which he happily accepted. Johnson was cock-a-hoop with the wicket.
Then followed the procession. Au ripped one through Lees to clean bowl him for just 7 runs. Cardwell came in to replace him, and hadn’t even faced a ball when calamity struck off Leslie’s bowling - Denman played a shot straight to a fielder, but Cardwell set off for a run anyway – despite loud shouts of “NO!!!” from Denman, Cardwell continued barging his way to the strikers end. Denman kept his crease, and they both ended up at the same end - so Leslie just had to whip the bails off and see Cardwell off for the first ever ‘diamond duck’ in Haywards Shield history: out for zero without facing a ball.
Denman was causing some damage, as per usual, but had only just clicked into gear when later that same over Leslie bowled him with a vicious delivery that had Porirua’s best run-scorer at sixes and sevens – gone for 35.
The other two “batsmen” also fell into line – Fletcher scored four on his first ball before being bowled by Au on his second, and Spencer got yet another golden duck to add to his collection, as he gave Sam Williams his second easy catch of the innings.
Porirua all-out for 65 – Au the destroyer with three wickets. That score was so sick-and-sorry-looking that if it were a racehorse, they’d shoot it.
The Hutt came out for their turn at bat opening with L. Willaims and Au. The Hutt skipper resumed his personal feud with Denman, clobbering his wayward bowling for multiple boundaries. He was on 16 off four balls when he decided to defend one – big mistake. The attempted block sent the ball high in the air for Denman to safely pouch off his own bowling. Porirua had the first breakthrough, and a big wicket at that.
Lees had no trouble sending Au on his way caught behind, and Porirua could have been forgiven for thinking that they were in like Flynn.
Johnson and Sam Williams at the crease now. Sam had been a fine cricketer back in the day, while Johnson had yet to post a big score in the shield, but was blessed with experience. These two formed a classy combo, as first Rose was taken for 11, then Cardwell for 17, Spencer for 19 – and already the Hutt had passed Porirua’s score after just four overs. Fletcher tried hard, but couldn’t get a breakthrough as the men from across the hill sought to press home their advantage – the fifty partnership up in double-quick time.
Finally with the score on 88, Denman broke through with a confident LBW shout given against Sam Williams. Could Porirua wrap it up quickly?
Johnson was belying his average with a series of amazing shots – the rope was found with regularity, the timing was exquisite, and he was picking the bowling incredibly well. When Rose came on to bowl his second over, three consecutive fours were struck. Rose was feeling the heat, as his team needed another wicket – and fast.
A thin edge was all that was needed to dismiss Johnson, and that’s exactly what Rose secured. A marvelous innings of 40 was Johnson’s tally – real bonus runs for the Hutt. Next ball, Rose sent down a no-ball for height to the new batsman Wallace – a left-hander. We only got to see one real shot from him though: the one that saw him dismissed. Playing to cow corner, Wallace sent one to a vacant area via the aerial route. Lees scrambled his way to the opportunity, charging like a wounded bull and grabbed the catch.
Five down, and just Sam Leslie left – a man who had never played cricket in his life. A man with no pressure on. A man who decided to make this day his own.
It was Cardwell who asked for the ball first to try to wrap the innings up, and get one over his old friend. He was embarrassed to be smashed for 18 runs – including a couple of massive hits over the straight boundary which the dumbstruck Porirua fielders had quite a job of finding in the long grass, such was the distance they were struck.
Off Spencer, Leslie continued to slay Porirua to all parts. A gargantuan blow over midwicket underscored a baffling innings of big swings that all collected leather and sent the team score rocketing up past 100.
Fletcher didn’t fare any better. Another 18 runs from him, as Leslie brought up his half-century, on debut, off just three overs. Incredible.
In the field, Rose was fuming. This was not part of the plan. As the next round of bowling became available, he opted to bowl himself rather than turn to Denman or Lees – taking it upon himself to bring the innings to a close. When Leslie tried to crunch yet another six back over the bowler’s head, Rose hit the money and clean bowled Leslie for an extremely well-played 51.
The Hutt had scored a respectable 158 held a very cushy lead of 93 on the first innings. It would require a good performance just to make the Hutt bat again.
Fresh from his exploits with the bat, Leslie was promoted to also open the bowling. Despite conceding 13 runs in his over, he got the prized scalp of Lees with a devil of a ball, keeping the big man from being the one to rescue the situation.
Rose and Denman formed a partnership dominated by Denman. Rose was content to see off the dangerous bowlers, scoring only the occasional run – the Porirua captain stayed in for six full overs before finally taking a risk – and when he did, it was the end of him. A catch sent to long-off which Wallace easily snatched to see Rose off for just 4 runs, and later that over Denman departed for 42 with a great ball hitting the pitch and moving away, leaving Denman to only snick an attempted pull. Leslie with all three wickets had just knocked the top off the Porirua order and it was virtually game over right there.
Cardwell put up a brief fight, hitting a good six and a couple of classy fours before Au got his fourth wicket of the day – and his fifth soon followed as Luke Williams got a nice catch to dismiss Fletcher, again for 4.
Just Spencer left, and Porirua still in arrears. It was only ever going to end one way, and it was fitting that the new skipper of the Hutt Valley team got to finish the job by bowling Spencer, and in the process confirming himself as the winning Haywards Shield captain for 2008/09.
An innings victory for the Hutt. The second Porirua innings lasted longer, but again no-one really stood up, with the possible exception of Denman – but even he couldn’t combat the red-white-and-blue tide from washing over the Rosebowl, drowning Porirua in a sea of despond and carrying back the Shield to the Hutt Valley’s shores.
With the only half-century of the day, four crucial wickets, and a significant run-out effected, the man of the match was obvious: Sam Leslie, take a bow. For someone who had claimed he had never played cricket before, he stepped up to the plate, made it look easy with both bat and ball - and in the process, a few Porirua players with big reputations were made to look amateurish.
Later in the day, at the after-match function, former Hutt captain Shukul Kachwalla himself graced us with his presence, and everyone got to hear the great news: he and long-time partner Divya Singh had announced their engagement! Cheers and back-slapping all around was the inevitable result.
From Petone to Pinehaven, from Wainuiomata to Whitemans Valley, and from Silverstream to Seaview the Hutt Valley celebrated long into the night as they reclaimed the holy grail of cricket for the first time since 2005/06. They thoroughly deserved their victory, but you can be sure that Porirua will be keen to reclaim what they see as rightfully theirs next summer. Join us for 2009/10, we promise it will not disappoint.
With 6 players a-side, five players on debut, and it all to play for, this match had all the makings of being yet another titanic struggle between the two old foes.
On debut for the Hutt were three men - one was the younger of the Williams brothers, Sam. By playing, he and his brother Luke became the first brother combination to take the field in a Haywards Shield clash.
Also making their first Haywards Shield appearances for the Hutt were two non-HIBS old boys: Ben Wallace, and a gangly, unlikely-looking young fellow by the name of Sam Leslie.
For Porirua, two players were breaking their cricketing hymen: they were both in the same travelling party as Wallace and Leslie – Scott Cardwell, and Jack Fletcher: also marquis players who never attended the famous school in Trentham that “encourages and expects excellence”.
Also in attendance at the pleasantly cool, sunny Rosebowl on this day were Luke Williams’ new wife Nicole Williams (nee Brown), and Rebekah Boyland, the girlfriend of Eu-Ving Au.
Conversely, Porirua brought no female company to the table, pretty much summing up what they are up to with the fairer sex – sweet bugger all.
Hutt captain Luke Williams foretold the fall of the coin correctly, bringing Rose’s record with the coin toss to an abysmal 5 out of 14. As has become something of a mantra in the Hutt camp, “you always field in Haywards Shield” – and so it was today. Rose and Lees to open for the blue-and-gold brigade on a pitch which had seen some rain earlier in the day, but had dried off nicely. Some cloud cover overhead could be expected to favour the bowlers.
Luke Williams decided to try to score an early win over his opposing skipper – bowling to Rose he sent down a very tidy over which Rose could only score a single from. Looking stoic at the crease as usual, Rose was trying to bat time and settle in for a long dig. Next up came the tall, imposing figure of Wallace. Rose and Lees calmly dispatched him for 13 runs off the over, and Porirua were off to a flyer at 14-0.
What happened next was a collapse, triggered by a rash shot from the skipper. Until then playing the conservative game, Rose momentarily lost concentration under the black dog of stress. A big swinging six was attempted, but all that was achieved was a catch offered to Sam Williams at square leg which he happily accepted. Johnson was cock-a-hoop with the wicket.
Then followed the procession. Au ripped one through Lees to clean bowl him for just 7 runs. Cardwell came in to replace him, and hadn’t even faced a ball when calamity struck off Leslie’s bowling - Denman played a shot straight to a fielder, but Cardwell set off for a run anyway – despite loud shouts of “NO!!!” from Denman, Cardwell continued barging his way to the strikers end. Denman kept his crease, and they both ended up at the same end - so Leslie just had to whip the bails off and see Cardwell off for the first ever ‘diamond duck’ in Haywards Shield history: out for zero without facing a ball.
Denman was causing some damage, as per usual, but had only just clicked into gear when later that same over Leslie bowled him with a vicious delivery that had Porirua’s best run-scorer at sixes and sevens – gone for 35.
The other two “batsmen” also fell into line – Fletcher scored four on his first ball before being bowled by Au on his second, and Spencer got yet another golden duck to add to his collection, as he gave Sam Williams his second easy catch of the innings.
Porirua all-out for 65 – Au the destroyer with three wickets. That score was so sick-and-sorry-looking that if it were a racehorse, they’d shoot it.
The Hutt came out for their turn at bat opening with L. Willaims and Au. The Hutt skipper resumed his personal feud with Denman, clobbering his wayward bowling for multiple boundaries. He was on 16 off four balls when he decided to defend one – big mistake. The attempted block sent the ball high in the air for Denman to safely pouch off his own bowling. Porirua had the first breakthrough, and a big wicket at that.
Lees had no trouble sending Au on his way caught behind, and Porirua could have been forgiven for thinking that they were in like Flynn.
Johnson and Sam Williams at the crease now. Sam had been a fine cricketer back in the day, while Johnson had yet to post a big score in the shield, but was blessed with experience. These two formed a classy combo, as first Rose was taken for 11, then Cardwell for 17, Spencer for 19 – and already the Hutt had passed Porirua’s score after just four overs. Fletcher tried hard, but couldn’t get a breakthrough as the men from across the hill sought to press home their advantage – the fifty partnership up in double-quick time.
Finally with the score on 88, Denman broke through with a confident LBW shout given against Sam Williams. Could Porirua wrap it up quickly?
Johnson was belying his average with a series of amazing shots – the rope was found with regularity, the timing was exquisite, and he was picking the bowling incredibly well. When Rose came on to bowl his second over, three consecutive fours were struck. Rose was feeling the heat, as his team needed another wicket – and fast.
A thin edge was all that was needed to dismiss Johnson, and that’s exactly what Rose secured. A marvelous innings of 40 was Johnson’s tally – real bonus runs for the Hutt. Next ball, Rose sent down a no-ball for height to the new batsman Wallace – a left-hander. We only got to see one real shot from him though: the one that saw him dismissed. Playing to cow corner, Wallace sent one to a vacant area via the aerial route. Lees scrambled his way to the opportunity, charging like a wounded bull and grabbed the catch.
Five down, and just Sam Leslie left – a man who had never played cricket in his life. A man with no pressure on. A man who decided to make this day his own.
It was Cardwell who asked for the ball first to try to wrap the innings up, and get one over his old friend. He was embarrassed to be smashed for 18 runs – including a couple of massive hits over the straight boundary which the dumbstruck Porirua fielders had quite a job of finding in the long grass, such was the distance they were struck.
Off Spencer, Leslie continued to slay Porirua to all parts. A gargantuan blow over midwicket underscored a baffling innings of big swings that all collected leather and sent the team score rocketing up past 100.
Fletcher didn’t fare any better. Another 18 runs from him, as Leslie brought up his half-century, on debut, off just three overs. Incredible.
In the field, Rose was fuming. This was not part of the plan. As the next round of bowling became available, he opted to bowl himself rather than turn to Denman or Lees – taking it upon himself to bring the innings to a close. When Leslie tried to crunch yet another six back over the bowler’s head, Rose hit the money and clean bowled Leslie for an extremely well-played 51.
The Hutt had scored a respectable 158 held a very cushy lead of 93 on the first innings. It would require a good performance just to make the Hutt bat again.
Fresh from his exploits with the bat, Leslie was promoted to also open the bowling. Despite conceding 13 runs in his over, he got the prized scalp of Lees with a devil of a ball, keeping the big man from being the one to rescue the situation.
Rose and Denman formed a partnership dominated by Denman. Rose was content to see off the dangerous bowlers, scoring only the occasional run – the Porirua captain stayed in for six full overs before finally taking a risk – and when he did, it was the end of him. A catch sent to long-off which Wallace easily snatched to see Rose off for just 4 runs, and later that over Denman departed for 42 with a great ball hitting the pitch and moving away, leaving Denman to only snick an attempted pull. Leslie with all three wickets had just knocked the top off the Porirua order and it was virtually game over right there.
Cardwell put up a brief fight, hitting a good six and a couple of classy fours before Au got his fourth wicket of the day – and his fifth soon followed as Luke Williams got a nice catch to dismiss Fletcher, again for 4.
Just Spencer left, and Porirua still in arrears. It was only ever going to end one way, and it was fitting that the new skipper of the Hutt Valley team got to finish the job by bowling Spencer, and in the process confirming himself as the winning Haywards Shield captain for 2008/09.
An innings victory for the Hutt. The second Porirua innings lasted longer, but again no-one really stood up, with the possible exception of Denman – but even he couldn’t combat the red-white-and-blue tide from washing over the Rosebowl, drowning Porirua in a sea of despond and carrying back the Shield to the Hutt Valley’s shores.
With the only half-century of the day, four crucial wickets, and a significant run-out effected, the man of the match was obvious: Sam Leslie, take a bow. For someone who had claimed he had never played cricket before, he stepped up to the plate, made it look easy with both bat and ball - and in the process, a few Porirua players with big reputations were made to look amateurish.
Later in the day, at the after-match function, former Hutt captain Shukul Kachwalla himself graced us with his presence, and everyone got to hear the great news: he and long-time partner Divya Singh had announced their engagement! Cheers and back-slapping all around was the inevitable result.
From Petone to Pinehaven, from Wainuiomata to Whitemans Valley, and from Silverstream to Seaview the Hutt Valley celebrated long into the night as they reclaimed the holy grail of cricket for the first time since 2005/06. They thoroughly deserved their victory, but you can be sure that Porirua will be keen to reclaim what they see as rightfully theirs next summer. Join us for 2009/10, we promise it will not disappoint.
