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Only Game of Season 2010/11
Monday 3rd January 2011
Conditions: Cloudy & Mild
Toss: Porirua (elected to field)
Result: Porirua won by 4 Wickets
Man of the Match: Andrew McHugh
Monday 3rd January 2011
Conditions: Cloudy & Mild
Toss: Porirua (elected to field)
Result: Porirua won by 4 Wickets
Man of the Match: Andrew McHugh
"The McHugh brothers showed today they are the equal of any family duo that has played Rosebowl Cricket. With the platform laid, Cardwell's pants-down six to finish the game was one of the great Shield moments."
Another year rolls by. Another dynamic Haywards Shield contest in the offing. Porirua keen to right the wrongs of the past two seasons with a victory in 2010/2011 - the Hutt Valley keen to make history by being the first side to win three Haywards Shield victories in a row. It had all the makings of a ding-dong affair.
The nucleus of Porirua's side had been plucked like an aborted embryo from the womb owing to several of the side's members tottering through Europe. Spencer, Lees and Denman all were MIA: spread throughout the Old World in various stages of employment and undress.
Nathan Rose and Jason McHugh were still there to hold the flag for the men from the western half of the Haywards Hills. Joining them were two debutants : there was Andrew McHugh, brother of Jason, son of Mark. Also Daniel Armstrong (disappointingly, no relation to Neil Armstrong). Scott Cardwell also made a welcome re-appearance for the blue-and-golds.
The Hutt contained regulars in Johnson, Williams and the newly-married Eu-Ving Au. Mrs. Au and Mrs. Williams were both in attendance. Johnson must have been casting a nervous glance their way, and reminding himself not to drink from the Hutt river: the incidence of marriage would seem to indicate 'there's something in the water' over there in that innocuous-looking stream. And as for that Shukul Kachwalla: well, don't even get this cricket reporter started.
Rose had told Leslie, Wallace and Cardwell to arrive an hour before everyone else. The plan worked to perfection: they arrived only 45 minutes late.
Jason McHugh drew the ire of his skipper when he arrived at the match sporting a pair of shoes which looked like rubber feet: complete with toes. They looked like something you might swim in: appropriate for the wet conditions of 2004/2005, but not at all suitable for the dry conditions that greeted the players on this day. Apparently these shoes are all the rage with the youngsters these days. Still, all doubts were erased when McHugh began his bowling spell. Facing up to arch-nemesis Luke Williams, Jason McHugh drew a snick with the very first delivery of the season's Haywards Shield! Onlookers were incredulous, but grateful all the same as the Hutt's most accomplished batsman on the field was sent packing for a golden duck.
Johnson took advantage of some lackluster bowling from Rose - the captain suffering from several looseners as he sent down wides and slow long hops that were easily put away. However, soon it would be time for Andrew McHugh to send down his first over in the Haywards Shield. Bowling off a short run-up, he nonetheless managed to generate very troubling pace and wild bounce. Although he wasn't to take a wicket in his first over, there was enough to like to convince onlookers that this young man would take to Haywards Shield cricket like a duck to water.
Cardwell had not taken a wicket in his only previous Haywards Shield match. His first few deliveries were swallowed by the Malaysian Mauler, dispatching him for a couple of fours and a cheeky two - but upon reaching double figures, Cardwell decided enough was enough and made Porirua's second breakthrough; once again caught behind.
At two down, the Hutt needed a recovery. Armstrong's over gave them some hope, but it was as fleeting as a ray of sunlight in a Wellington day in July. Johnson was happy to help himself to 18 runs, but they would prove to be the last of the innings as a fiery ending was quickly brought to the Hutt's innings with two fiery-haired characters providing the closing rites of passage. McHugh the elder shot out Wallace for a duck. McHugh the younger first removed Johnson four runs shy of what would have been his maiden Haywards Shield fifty, and then bowled Sam Leslie, the man-of-the-match from the victorious 2008/2009 Hutt Valley team, just a couple of balls later.
With only 65 runs on the board, the Hutt would need to pull a rabbit out of the hat - or more preferably, Porirua wickets. It would be a wicket they would get before any creatures of the oryctolagus cuniculus variety: Rose was removed from the crease courtesy of a full toss that Rose got an edge on. Trudging off, Rose would have been heartened by the sight of the bowling heroes once again joining forces to knock off the deficit.
And the McHugh brothers were soon into their work. Runs were nurdled at first, building time at the crease. By the time Leslie and Johnson were brought on, the pair were settled and ready to cash in. A characteristic of both players was their instinctive understanding of one another as they ran between the wickets picking up singles, and also their delight in stroking fours to the fence, rather than bludgeoning the ball for sixes as many rookies are wont to do in Haywards Shield cricket. Sixteen runs were scored off the bat in each of Leslie and Johnson's overs.
Au was rated the Hutt's strike bowler, and with the only wicket to his name and impressive accuracy he sped in to deliver his second over. By now, though, Andrew McHugh was looking ominous and collected another 14 runs. The deficit was already gone, and only one wicket down. Captain Luke Williams was looking down the barrel of an embarrassing first innings deficit.
But is so-often the case in the Haywards Shield, the time at which things look the bleakest is when the tide turns. William's resolve was obvious as he steamed in to bowl his second over. Jason McHugh, the man who cut him down in the first ball earlier in the day was struck on the leg - and an appeal for LBW was accepted by Scott Cardwell, standing at umpire. Now, historians will forever argue over the dismissal's validity: blind historians of a profoundly Hutt Valley bent will insist that the dismissal was fair, however those with any neutrality, or a vague concept of vision (even in the sense of being able to tell basic two-dimensional objects from one another at a distance of twenty-five meters) will of course be of the view that there was no way in hell that the LBW should have been given. Still, it was, and the Hutt had their second wicket. Jason McHugh was shooting his team-mate daggers as he cursed his way off: Cardwell would have to put it all behind him and make up for his shocking decision with the bat.
He was out the very next ball. Good work Scott. Really good work.
Still, Andrew McHugh continued to dominate. Fours were achieved with relative ease. Sixes were smashed with alacrity. William's hat trick ball was safely seen out, but he ensued the deficit would not be of monstorous proportions when he took his third wicket of the innings to finally retire the free-scoring younger McHugh brother for 74.
Armstrong was now on his own and decided that it was time to have some fun. He scored two more fours - one of which will go down in the record books for it's sheer entertainment value: a one handed, no-look flick while standing on one leg to help the ball to the square leg. Excellent stuff. When Johnson removed him with a fiendish inswinging yorker soon afterwards, Porirua's lead was 81 runs. No team had ever lost from such a position, but the Hutt would be determined to make this day the first.
To set Porirua a reasonable target would require their big guns to fire. The Hutt Valley elected to open with Au and Johnson, and Au was seen off almost immediately with Andrew McHugh again the destroyer. The other opener was soon removed when Cardwell took his second wicket of the day, clean bowling the man they call 'Pocky'.
Luke Williams would need to make ammends. Forging a great partnership with Wallace, who after two ducks to begin his career finally got of the mark and began to look the goods. Williams exploited poor bowling by his opposing skipper to smash 27 runs off a single Rose over. Armstrong was similarly given the wham-bam-thankyou-m'am treatment by Wallace. Could these two push on to give the Hutt a really big score?
Williams continued a rich vein of form against the McHugh brothers, but with a century begging was caught behind off the bowling of Cardwell. The frustration was palpable, still, his contribution was sizable and it would be down to the two men from Marlborough Boys College to build the Hutt to a defensible lead. Leslie had big shoes to fill. It was a mix-up in communication that gifted Porirua its next wicket. Wallace stroked a shot towards long-on, straight to Jason McHugh. Leslie set off for a suicidal run leaving Wallace stranded at the non-strikers end when the ball was collected cleanly and rocketed to Rose right over the stumps for a simple run-out.
Leslie waved the bat at a few and collected several times to add a few more to the Hutt tally, but was unable to recapture the confident form of yesteryear. The Hutt finished on 130 in their second dig.
Needing just 50 to win, Rose was desperate to make a statement. He and Cardwell would open, and wished to score the runs without any drama. In the end, the runs would be scored - but as we would expect in any Haywards Shield contest, the drama could not be kept out of the equation.
Williams would dismiss Rose for a duck with just six runs on the board. The Hutt didn't quite have a sniff of a twist in the tale, but perhaps had a whiff.
Johnson began the bowling of the next over. That whiff could have become a distinctive pong, if only the chance he produced could have been held. Cardwell danced down the pitch but succeeded only in skying the ball to short midwicket. Hutt players converged. Any one of three could have taken it. Johnson called for it, but simply grassed the easy opportunity. This was the moment when Hutt heads drooped, and Porirua must have known that the day would belong to them.
Andrew McHugh had joined Cardwell at the crease, and punished Johnson for his mistake in the field by blazing three sixes and a four off the remaining five balls in the over.
Cardwell stared down Leslie, his old friend and oftentime sparring partner in contests of sport, drink and womanizing. Leslie had hardly stopped crowing about his half-century and four wickets in December 2008. With only a 13 runs needed to win, Cardwell had the opportunity to win the match and get one over his mate at the same time - an opportunity too good to miss.
Leslie helped him out with a couple of wides. A six was struck over the boundary off a no-ball. With the win now just a single hit away, Cardwell did the unheard-of, dropping his pants - exposing everything for all to see: including a couple of disgusted-looking wives of the Hutt players. It was a ballsy decision, as Leslie could have had the last laugh if only he could have ripped one in on-target. Such a feat would certainly usurp the loss of the game... But no. Cardwell smashed a six with a magnificent straight hit that won the game for Porirua, snapping a two-season losing streak.
Debutants often dominate in the Haywards Shield arena. Ryan Harper, Shamiz Kachwalla, Sam Leslie. Andrew McHugh joined that illustrious company today, with over 100 brilliant runs and four wickets. Given more opportunities, it may be very possible for him to grow even further in stature and play more matches for Porirua.
With eight seasons of the Haywards Shield now complete, thoughts begin turning to the ten-year anniversary coming up not next summer, but the summer after. Ideas include guest umpires, a return to a three-match series, the construction of a pavilion to celebrate the milestone, and lots of drinking. Next summer will determine who goes into that crucial year with the advantage: the overall series winners locked at four-all.
But for today, congratulations to Porirua, winners by four wickets.
The nucleus of Porirua's side had been plucked like an aborted embryo from the womb owing to several of the side's members tottering through Europe. Spencer, Lees and Denman all were MIA: spread throughout the Old World in various stages of employment and undress.
Nathan Rose and Jason McHugh were still there to hold the flag for the men from the western half of the Haywards Hills. Joining them were two debutants : there was Andrew McHugh, brother of Jason, son of Mark. Also Daniel Armstrong (disappointingly, no relation to Neil Armstrong). Scott Cardwell also made a welcome re-appearance for the blue-and-golds.
The Hutt contained regulars in Johnson, Williams and the newly-married Eu-Ving Au. Mrs. Au and Mrs. Williams were both in attendance. Johnson must have been casting a nervous glance their way, and reminding himself not to drink from the Hutt river: the incidence of marriage would seem to indicate 'there's something in the water' over there in that innocuous-looking stream. And as for that Shukul Kachwalla: well, don't even get this cricket reporter started.
Rose had told Leslie, Wallace and Cardwell to arrive an hour before everyone else. The plan worked to perfection: they arrived only 45 minutes late.
Jason McHugh drew the ire of his skipper when he arrived at the match sporting a pair of shoes which looked like rubber feet: complete with toes. They looked like something you might swim in: appropriate for the wet conditions of 2004/2005, but not at all suitable for the dry conditions that greeted the players on this day. Apparently these shoes are all the rage with the youngsters these days. Still, all doubts were erased when McHugh began his bowling spell. Facing up to arch-nemesis Luke Williams, Jason McHugh drew a snick with the very first delivery of the season's Haywards Shield! Onlookers were incredulous, but grateful all the same as the Hutt's most accomplished batsman on the field was sent packing for a golden duck.
Johnson took advantage of some lackluster bowling from Rose - the captain suffering from several looseners as he sent down wides and slow long hops that were easily put away. However, soon it would be time for Andrew McHugh to send down his first over in the Haywards Shield. Bowling off a short run-up, he nonetheless managed to generate very troubling pace and wild bounce. Although he wasn't to take a wicket in his first over, there was enough to like to convince onlookers that this young man would take to Haywards Shield cricket like a duck to water.
Cardwell had not taken a wicket in his only previous Haywards Shield match. His first few deliveries were swallowed by the Malaysian Mauler, dispatching him for a couple of fours and a cheeky two - but upon reaching double figures, Cardwell decided enough was enough and made Porirua's second breakthrough; once again caught behind.
At two down, the Hutt needed a recovery. Armstrong's over gave them some hope, but it was as fleeting as a ray of sunlight in a Wellington day in July. Johnson was happy to help himself to 18 runs, but they would prove to be the last of the innings as a fiery ending was quickly brought to the Hutt's innings with two fiery-haired characters providing the closing rites of passage. McHugh the elder shot out Wallace for a duck. McHugh the younger first removed Johnson four runs shy of what would have been his maiden Haywards Shield fifty, and then bowled Sam Leslie, the man-of-the-match from the victorious 2008/2009 Hutt Valley team, just a couple of balls later.
With only 65 runs on the board, the Hutt would need to pull a rabbit out of the hat - or more preferably, Porirua wickets. It would be a wicket they would get before any creatures of the oryctolagus cuniculus variety: Rose was removed from the crease courtesy of a full toss that Rose got an edge on. Trudging off, Rose would have been heartened by the sight of the bowling heroes once again joining forces to knock off the deficit.
And the McHugh brothers were soon into their work. Runs were nurdled at first, building time at the crease. By the time Leslie and Johnson were brought on, the pair were settled and ready to cash in. A characteristic of both players was their instinctive understanding of one another as they ran between the wickets picking up singles, and also their delight in stroking fours to the fence, rather than bludgeoning the ball for sixes as many rookies are wont to do in Haywards Shield cricket. Sixteen runs were scored off the bat in each of Leslie and Johnson's overs.
Au was rated the Hutt's strike bowler, and with the only wicket to his name and impressive accuracy he sped in to deliver his second over. By now, though, Andrew McHugh was looking ominous and collected another 14 runs. The deficit was already gone, and only one wicket down. Captain Luke Williams was looking down the barrel of an embarrassing first innings deficit.
But is so-often the case in the Haywards Shield, the time at which things look the bleakest is when the tide turns. William's resolve was obvious as he steamed in to bowl his second over. Jason McHugh, the man who cut him down in the first ball earlier in the day was struck on the leg - and an appeal for LBW was accepted by Scott Cardwell, standing at umpire. Now, historians will forever argue over the dismissal's validity: blind historians of a profoundly Hutt Valley bent will insist that the dismissal was fair, however those with any neutrality, or a vague concept of vision (even in the sense of being able to tell basic two-dimensional objects from one another at a distance of twenty-five meters) will of course be of the view that there was no way in hell that the LBW should have been given. Still, it was, and the Hutt had their second wicket. Jason McHugh was shooting his team-mate daggers as he cursed his way off: Cardwell would have to put it all behind him and make up for his shocking decision with the bat.
He was out the very next ball. Good work Scott. Really good work.
Still, Andrew McHugh continued to dominate. Fours were achieved with relative ease. Sixes were smashed with alacrity. William's hat trick ball was safely seen out, but he ensued the deficit would not be of monstorous proportions when he took his third wicket of the innings to finally retire the free-scoring younger McHugh brother for 74.
Armstrong was now on his own and decided that it was time to have some fun. He scored two more fours - one of which will go down in the record books for it's sheer entertainment value: a one handed, no-look flick while standing on one leg to help the ball to the square leg. Excellent stuff. When Johnson removed him with a fiendish inswinging yorker soon afterwards, Porirua's lead was 81 runs. No team had ever lost from such a position, but the Hutt would be determined to make this day the first.
To set Porirua a reasonable target would require their big guns to fire. The Hutt Valley elected to open with Au and Johnson, and Au was seen off almost immediately with Andrew McHugh again the destroyer. The other opener was soon removed when Cardwell took his second wicket of the day, clean bowling the man they call 'Pocky'.
Luke Williams would need to make ammends. Forging a great partnership with Wallace, who after two ducks to begin his career finally got of the mark and began to look the goods. Williams exploited poor bowling by his opposing skipper to smash 27 runs off a single Rose over. Armstrong was similarly given the wham-bam-thankyou-m'am treatment by Wallace. Could these two push on to give the Hutt a really big score?
Williams continued a rich vein of form against the McHugh brothers, but with a century begging was caught behind off the bowling of Cardwell. The frustration was palpable, still, his contribution was sizable and it would be down to the two men from Marlborough Boys College to build the Hutt to a defensible lead. Leslie had big shoes to fill. It was a mix-up in communication that gifted Porirua its next wicket. Wallace stroked a shot towards long-on, straight to Jason McHugh. Leslie set off for a suicidal run leaving Wallace stranded at the non-strikers end when the ball was collected cleanly and rocketed to Rose right over the stumps for a simple run-out.
Leslie waved the bat at a few and collected several times to add a few more to the Hutt tally, but was unable to recapture the confident form of yesteryear. The Hutt finished on 130 in their second dig.
Needing just 50 to win, Rose was desperate to make a statement. He and Cardwell would open, and wished to score the runs without any drama. In the end, the runs would be scored - but as we would expect in any Haywards Shield contest, the drama could not be kept out of the equation.
Williams would dismiss Rose for a duck with just six runs on the board. The Hutt didn't quite have a sniff of a twist in the tale, but perhaps had a whiff.
Johnson began the bowling of the next over. That whiff could have become a distinctive pong, if only the chance he produced could have been held. Cardwell danced down the pitch but succeeded only in skying the ball to short midwicket. Hutt players converged. Any one of three could have taken it. Johnson called for it, but simply grassed the easy opportunity. This was the moment when Hutt heads drooped, and Porirua must have known that the day would belong to them.
Andrew McHugh had joined Cardwell at the crease, and punished Johnson for his mistake in the field by blazing three sixes and a four off the remaining five balls in the over.
Cardwell stared down Leslie, his old friend and oftentime sparring partner in contests of sport, drink and womanizing. Leslie had hardly stopped crowing about his half-century and four wickets in December 2008. With only a 13 runs needed to win, Cardwell had the opportunity to win the match and get one over his mate at the same time - an opportunity too good to miss.
Leslie helped him out with a couple of wides. A six was struck over the boundary off a no-ball. With the win now just a single hit away, Cardwell did the unheard-of, dropping his pants - exposing everything for all to see: including a couple of disgusted-looking wives of the Hutt players. It was a ballsy decision, as Leslie could have had the last laugh if only he could have ripped one in on-target. Such a feat would certainly usurp the loss of the game... But no. Cardwell smashed a six with a magnificent straight hit that won the game for Porirua, snapping a two-season losing streak.
Debutants often dominate in the Haywards Shield arena. Ryan Harper, Shamiz Kachwalla, Sam Leslie. Andrew McHugh joined that illustrious company today, with over 100 brilliant runs and four wickets. Given more opportunities, it may be very possible for him to grow even further in stature and play more matches for Porirua.
With eight seasons of the Haywards Shield now complete, thoughts begin turning to the ten-year anniversary coming up not next summer, but the summer after. Ideas include guest umpires, a return to a three-match series, the construction of a pavilion to celebrate the milestone, and lots of drinking. Next summer will determine who goes into that crucial year with the advantage: the overall series winners locked at four-all.
But for today, congratulations to Porirua, winners by four wickets.
