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Game I of Season 2009/10
Saturday 19th December 2009
Conditions: Overcast, Still & Humid
Toss: Porirua (elected to field)
Result: Hutt Valley won by 121 Runs
Man of the Match: Shamiz Kachwalla
Saturday 19th December 2009
Conditions: Overcast, Still & Humid
Toss: Porirua (elected to field)
Result: Hutt Valley won by 121 Runs
Man of the Match: Shamiz Kachwalla
"Shamiz Kachwalla made a mess of the bowling that was sent his way, ably supported by his elder brother. After such an imposing first innings total from the Hutt, Porirua were never really in it."
In summertime village cricket is the delight of everyone. Nearly every villiage has its own cricket field where the young men play and the old men watch. In the village of Pauatahanui in the city of Porirua, they have their own ground (the Rosebowl), where they have played these last 7 years. They tend it well. The wicket area is cut by sheep, and mown before games. The outfield is kept short. It has a good club house for the players and seats for the onlookers. The Haywards Shield is played there each summer.
This year it brought the players together again from far and wide - for the Hutt, Shukul Kachwalla returned to the Rosebowl from as far away as Melbourne for his first match since the dead rubber fixture Game III 2006/07. Shukul was joined by his younger brother Shamiz, a player who was on debut, and was resplendent in his 'class of 2006' incarnation of the HIBS leavers jersey.
Two important changes were made to this year's shield. The powerplays, a source of so much controversey since their introduction in 2005/06, were removed due to a growing perception it fostered 'hit and giggle' play, taking away from the very serious business of competitive Haywards Shield cricket. Also, with a full 3-match series across three different days no longer practical to fit into each summers calendar, it was agreed to hold three single-innings games in a single day in lieu of the traditonal two-innings game fare. The success of this move is debatable, with one respected former player labelling the move as further evidence of the insidious, creeping influence of the 'namby-pamby, switch-hitting Twenty20 scourge' mindset infesting the grand old game of cricket.
For the first game, the toss finally took place at 11:15am (after Johnson arriving a full hour late) on a Rosebowl pitch with extremely short grass cover, but under a sky containing extensive cloud cover. The clouds were threatening like a dodgy lamb curry from the night before, looking to pick it's moment to break forth and ruin a perfectly good morning-after. However, for the most part conditions were fair and competitive, and promised a good day of action.
Rose won the toss, and asked the Hutt Valley to bat first. Opening for the red-white-and-blues was Shukul Kachwalla, and Luke Williams - two men who both have captained their province at various times during the past seven seasons. Today it was Kachwalla with the (c) next to his name, but both of these two would be looking to instil the sort of leadership into the spine of the Hutt Valley that this team has become famous for.
McHugh was the opening bowler, and in his first over he looked firey - mainly due to his horrendous ginger beard that he was sporting. Enough to make anyone's stomach turn, and it was little wonder that it took the Hutt batsmen some time to adjust to the sight.
Lees continued his long-running tradition of starting his bowling spell with an outrageous ball delivered WAY over the top of the backboard, but otherwise he kept it fairly tight, as did Rose. The Hutt were scoring in singles. Once Spencer started bowling, however, the shackles were unleashed - four boundaries in the over kickstarted the Hutt tally. As their respective styles and reputations would predict, Kachwalla was looking to work the ball into gaps, while Williams took to playing the power game. The batting of these two was going like gangbusters, until with the score on 38, Rose got Williams to play a false shot - an attempted pull was skied high in the air to short midwicket, where Rose ran forward to call loudly and snatch the return catch.
The two Kachwalla brothers were now together at the crease. How would Shamiz begin his Haywards Shield career? Well, it began with a dot ball but it was followed by a mammoth six off the wicket-taker Rose over long-on. This early shot was a sign of the confidence the brothers had brought to the Rosebowl today.
Porirua found these two very tricky to dislodge - Shamiz in particular was playing with flair and gusto. Turning back the clock to their days in the HIBS cricket setup, these two made Porirua chase leather. Shukul with wristy flicks to fine leg and point, Shamiz with massive blows to all parts - but particularly to the straight boundary, shots that made the fielders clamber over fences were damaging Porirua psychologically as well as on the scoreboard.
It was only after Shamiz had brought up a rapid-fire half-ton, and the two had put on 90 runs together that finally Rose got his second wicket by getting Shukul to edge a fairly wide short ball into the board, stopping the man from Mumbai four runs short of a fifty of his own. Johnson came to the crease and lasted all of two balls, out for a duck as Rose scattered his stumps like birdseed.
Shamiz, however, continued unabated. His goal was to assure his place in history, and with his team cheering every shot he made every post a winner. Spencer got the treatment, going for 21 runs in his third over alone - bowling too short, too full, or just too slow for it to trouble Kachwalla-the-younger.
Determined to bring proceedings to a halt, and having already claimed all three of the Hutt's wickets so far, Rose brought himself back to bowl the first over of the next spell. This was a move that backfired quite badly, as Shamiz took advantage of the tiring Porirua skipper - taking 19 runs off the bat and watched as Rose bowled three wides too, losing his rhythm.
The century for Shamiz was brought up with a tonk over deep backward square. Six runs took him to 103, and the applause of everyone at the ground. As so often happens in the shield, just a few balls later the centurion was slain - today it was Lees who nabbed the final Hutt wicket, with Shamiz offering a sharp catch to Spencer at cover. This brought to an end a magnificent batting effort by the Hutt Valley.
Porirua would have to chase the lofty score of 194 to take the game, a difficult task at the best of times with just four players in the side, but especially so since their gun batsman Sam Denman was indisposed, currently on an O.E. It is clear where this man's priorities lie.
Rather than get off to a confident, assured start, Porirua employed a strategy known as "if you're in a hole, dig to China". In just the second over of the chase, Lees played the first delivery he faced well, timing a nice off-drive into a gap. Rose set off quickly, encouraging Lees to look for two. The two batsmen had an absolute Weston-super-Mare. Rose called for the second run, and Lees faithfully set off, but then Rose brutally changed his mind and sent Lees back. Shamiz Kachwalla was quick to the ball and was successful in effecting the run-out - Lees well short of his ground and out for a first-baller with just 1 run to his name.
Joining Rose at the crease was Paul Craig Spencer, promoted to number 3 in the Porirua batting lineup as a ploy to protect the more accomplished McHugh. The ploy was wholly unsuccessful, though, as Spencer claimed yet another golden duck to add to his collection after having his stumps demolished in spectacular Chris Martin fashion. Shamiz was cock-a-hoop, as he had taken a wicket with his first ever delivery in the Haywards Shield.
The Porirua run rate was slow, and already they had lost Lees and Spencer. With just two wickets remaining, most of the target still remained - it would be down to McHugh and Rose to do their best. Johnson arrived at the bowling crease, and 12 runs were taken from him. However, Porirua's problem was the overall calibre of the Hutt's bowling was such that it was difficult to target any one bowler, as all were experienced and no-one could be picked out as being particularly weak.
Rose set about the task, looking very uncomfortable against Kachwalla, looking to leave the ball whenever possible, and playing unconvincing defensive prods whenever necessary. The exception was a dirty slog across the line which garnered four runs. Williams also kept it tight with a maiden. McHugh and Rose were slowly accumulating runs from the others, doing their best to work Porirua back ino the game.
Johnson was the hero who got the breakthrough to break the 50 partnership that McHugh and Rose had forged, when he got a ball to dip in straight towards the Porirua captain's stumps. Unlike a series of lucky escapes that Rose had so far enjoyed, this time he was goneburger for a handy 43. On another day, this contribution would have helped Porirua post a respectable tally, but chasing nearly 200 it wasn't enough to make the Hutt sweat.
McHugh, batting alone, faced and survived a hostile over from Kachwalla and looked to kick things into gear when Williams stepped up again to the bowling crease. On balls two, three and four of the over, McHugh played three excellent shots to score 4's, including a particularly impressive lofted smash to wide long-off. With his wife watching though, Williams wasn't going to take such an insult lying down, and he gave McHugh his comeuppance by drawing an edge from the Johnsonville club player. Porirua had been bowled out for 72 - a win to the Hutt by 121 runs in the first game of the day.
For a class-filled hundred on debut, a good bowling spell, and affecting the crucial run-out of Lees, the man-of-the-match went to Shamiz Kachwalla, continuing a long tradition of players performing well in their first games at the Rosebowl. Shamiz must have been smug at not only being instrumental in defeating the flower of Porirua's youth, but also in accomplishing a feat that his brother had yet to fulfil - a Haywards Shield century.
With bodies tired and weary from 33 overs of cricket, the decision was made to take a lunch break at this point. Porirua would need to win the next game to keep the series alive.
This year it brought the players together again from far and wide - for the Hutt, Shukul Kachwalla returned to the Rosebowl from as far away as Melbourne for his first match since the dead rubber fixture Game III 2006/07. Shukul was joined by his younger brother Shamiz, a player who was on debut, and was resplendent in his 'class of 2006' incarnation of the HIBS leavers jersey.
Two important changes were made to this year's shield. The powerplays, a source of so much controversey since their introduction in 2005/06, were removed due to a growing perception it fostered 'hit and giggle' play, taking away from the very serious business of competitive Haywards Shield cricket. Also, with a full 3-match series across three different days no longer practical to fit into each summers calendar, it was agreed to hold three single-innings games in a single day in lieu of the traditonal two-innings game fare. The success of this move is debatable, with one respected former player labelling the move as further evidence of the insidious, creeping influence of the 'namby-pamby, switch-hitting Twenty20 scourge' mindset infesting the grand old game of cricket.
For the first game, the toss finally took place at 11:15am (after Johnson arriving a full hour late) on a Rosebowl pitch with extremely short grass cover, but under a sky containing extensive cloud cover. The clouds were threatening like a dodgy lamb curry from the night before, looking to pick it's moment to break forth and ruin a perfectly good morning-after. However, for the most part conditions were fair and competitive, and promised a good day of action.
Rose won the toss, and asked the Hutt Valley to bat first. Opening for the red-white-and-blues was Shukul Kachwalla, and Luke Williams - two men who both have captained their province at various times during the past seven seasons. Today it was Kachwalla with the (c) next to his name, but both of these two would be looking to instil the sort of leadership into the spine of the Hutt Valley that this team has become famous for.
McHugh was the opening bowler, and in his first over he looked firey - mainly due to his horrendous ginger beard that he was sporting. Enough to make anyone's stomach turn, and it was little wonder that it took the Hutt batsmen some time to adjust to the sight.
Lees continued his long-running tradition of starting his bowling spell with an outrageous ball delivered WAY over the top of the backboard, but otherwise he kept it fairly tight, as did Rose. The Hutt were scoring in singles. Once Spencer started bowling, however, the shackles were unleashed - four boundaries in the over kickstarted the Hutt tally. As their respective styles and reputations would predict, Kachwalla was looking to work the ball into gaps, while Williams took to playing the power game. The batting of these two was going like gangbusters, until with the score on 38, Rose got Williams to play a false shot - an attempted pull was skied high in the air to short midwicket, where Rose ran forward to call loudly and snatch the return catch.
The two Kachwalla brothers were now together at the crease. How would Shamiz begin his Haywards Shield career? Well, it began with a dot ball but it was followed by a mammoth six off the wicket-taker Rose over long-on. This early shot was a sign of the confidence the brothers had brought to the Rosebowl today.
Porirua found these two very tricky to dislodge - Shamiz in particular was playing with flair and gusto. Turning back the clock to their days in the HIBS cricket setup, these two made Porirua chase leather. Shukul with wristy flicks to fine leg and point, Shamiz with massive blows to all parts - but particularly to the straight boundary, shots that made the fielders clamber over fences were damaging Porirua psychologically as well as on the scoreboard.
It was only after Shamiz had brought up a rapid-fire half-ton, and the two had put on 90 runs together that finally Rose got his second wicket by getting Shukul to edge a fairly wide short ball into the board, stopping the man from Mumbai four runs short of a fifty of his own. Johnson came to the crease and lasted all of two balls, out for a duck as Rose scattered his stumps like birdseed.
Shamiz, however, continued unabated. His goal was to assure his place in history, and with his team cheering every shot he made every post a winner. Spencer got the treatment, going for 21 runs in his third over alone - bowling too short, too full, or just too slow for it to trouble Kachwalla-the-younger.
Determined to bring proceedings to a halt, and having already claimed all three of the Hutt's wickets so far, Rose brought himself back to bowl the first over of the next spell. This was a move that backfired quite badly, as Shamiz took advantage of the tiring Porirua skipper - taking 19 runs off the bat and watched as Rose bowled three wides too, losing his rhythm.
The century for Shamiz was brought up with a tonk over deep backward square. Six runs took him to 103, and the applause of everyone at the ground. As so often happens in the shield, just a few balls later the centurion was slain - today it was Lees who nabbed the final Hutt wicket, with Shamiz offering a sharp catch to Spencer at cover. This brought to an end a magnificent batting effort by the Hutt Valley.
Porirua would have to chase the lofty score of 194 to take the game, a difficult task at the best of times with just four players in the side, but especially so since their gun batsman Sam Denman was indisposed, currently on an O.E. It is clear where this man's priorities lie.
Rather than get off to a confident, assured start, Porirua employed a strategy known as "if you're in a hole, dig to China". In just the second over of the chase, Lees played the first delivery he faced well, timing a nice off-drive into a gap. Rose set off quickly, encouraging Lees to look for two. The two batsmen had an absolute Weston-super-Mare. Rose called for the second run, and Lees faithfully set off, but then Rose brutally changed his mind and sent Lees back. Shamiz Kachwalla was quick to the ball and was successful in effecting the run-out - Lees well short of his ground and out for a first-baller with just 1 run to his name.
Joining Rose at the crease was Paul Craig Spencer, promoted to number 3 in the Porirua batting lineup as a ploy to protect the more accomplished McHugh. The ploy was wholly unsuccessful, though, as Spencer claimed yet another golden duck to add to his collection after having his stumps demolished in spectacular Chris Martin fashion. Shamiz was cock-a-hoop, as he had taken a wicket with his first ever delivery in the Haywards Shield.
The Porirua run rate was slow, and already they had lost Lees and Spencer. With just two wickets remaining, most of the target still remained - it would be down to McHugh and Rose to do their best. Johnson arrived at the bowling crease, and 12 runs were taken from him. However, Porirua's problem was the overall calibre of the Hutt's bowling was such that it was difficult to target any one bowler, as all were experienced and no-one could be picked out as being particularly weak.
Rose set about the task, looking very uncomfortable against Kachwalla, looking to leave the ball whenever possible, and playing unconvincing defensive prods whenever necessary. The exception was a dirty slog across the line which garnered four runs. Williams also kept it tight with a maiden. McHugh and Rose were slowly accumulating runs from the others, doing their best to work Porirua back ino the game.
Johnson was the hero who got the breakthrough to break the 50 partnership that McHugh and Rose had forged, when he got a ball to dip in straight towards the Porirua captain's stumps. Unlike a series of lucky escapes that Rose had so far enjoyed, this time he was goneburger for a handy 43. On another day, this contribution would have helped Porirua post a respectable tally, but chasing nearly 200 it wasn't enough to make the Hutt sweat.
McHugh, batting alone, faced and survived a hostile over from Kachwalla and looked to kick things into gear when Williams stepped up again to the bowling crease. On balls two, three and four of the over, McHugh played three excellent shots to score 4's, including a particularly impressive lofted smash to wide long-off. With his wife watching though, Williams wasn't going to take such an insult lying down, and he gave McHugh his comeuppance by drawing an edge from the Johnsonville club player. Porirua had been bowled out for 72 - a win to the Hutt by 121 runs in the first game of the day.
For a class-filled hundred on debut, a good bowling spell, and affecting the crucial run-out of Lees, the man-of-the-match went to Shamiz Kachwalla, continuing a long tradition of players performing well in their first games at the Rosebowl. Shamiz must have been smug at not only being instrumental in defeating the flower of Porirua's youth, but also in accomplishing a feat that his brother had yet to fulfil - a Haywards Shield century.
With bodies tired and weary from 33 overs of cricket, the decision was made to take a lunch break at this point. Porirua would need to win the next game to keep the series alive.
