Cricket

Administratively, the new Committee is starting to take good shape after the exit of many of the initial parent group who did so much. There are some wise heads and good cricket brains among the new group which points to a strong future for the code over the next few years.

Auckland Cricket 2010 Winter Academy

Congratulations to Matthew Quinn, JJ Mills and Glenn Phillips all of whom were selected in the ACA Winter Academy for 2010.

1st XI

Sacred Heart was seeded through to the fifth round of the 2010 Gillette Cup National One Day tournament. In the first match we met Macleans, which was an unpredictable opponent capable of playing much better than its record suggested. Sacred Heart batted first and posted 180, with Tom Byrne top scoring (52 not out) and Matt Quinn chipping in with 29 at the end. Tight bowling and sharp fielding especially in the ring saw Macleans finish its innings on 163. The feature of this win was the composure when defending a smallish total and the pressure we were able to exert that led to three run-outs at the end of the innings and effectively extinguished Macleans’ hopes

From this, the 1^st XI progressed to the quarter final where it met Auckland Grammar. A great bowling effort backed up by accurate fielding saw Grammar restricted to 137. Bowling highlights included Freddie Klaassen 4/15 and Matt Quinn 3/33. The batting effort did not back up the bowling, however, and SHC was dismissed for 100. Chasing a relatively small total proved too much and our batsmen never looked likely, apart from a glimmer of hope when Jordan Payne was batting. Unfortunately, his injured back hampered him too much and he was unable to get his team through to the next round.

The year began well with Conrad Ullrich (captain), Dominic Jennings and Joseph Bolton taking the lead roles in the team. They led us to some great victories and the team grew as a whole over the first half of the season. The team was coached by Mr Wood on Tuesdays (fielding) and by Mr Dullabh on Thursdays (batting and bowling).

We lost the first match against Kelston, but two good innings from both Joseph Bolton and Cameron Lynch made sure we put up a good fight.

Mr Patrick Dodd, Manager

The first term has been all about consistency. With a mixture of some very good talent combined with a reasonably social make-up, this team has had a few very good performances.

Stand out 1^st innings wins against Auckland Grammar and Liston were helped along by some outstanding batting displays, notably from Matt Nola who has notched up two half centuries and is averaging 51. Some consistent batting from James Wallace at the top of the order was helped along by our own ‘master-blaster’, JT Greaney, who is now feared by spinners Auckland-0wide. Matt Haussrer had a few good knocks early on and was given the chance to move up to the 2^nd XI team, which he took.

The team was well led by Harry Barker. A big thank you to all the parents who are consistently there on Saturday mornings ready to provide scoring services and flat whites. Thanks also to Paul Greaney who kept an eye on the boys when I was away.

Mr Nick Fitness, Coach

The team is made up of predominantly Year 11 and 12 students, and was placed in a section of the competition with schools from the North Shore. Our venues have been as varied as our results, with the match against Whangaparaoa College played at Northcote, the match against Takapuna Grammar played at Hato Petera, a home game against Rangitoto College, a match at Orewa, and the final game against Long Bay College at Westlake.

The Senior B grade plays one-day matches, with a maximum of 30 overs bowled to each team. We lost our matches against Whangaparaoa, Takapuna and Orewa, and won our matches against Rangitoto and Long Bay, the latter being a fitting match to conclude Term 1. We batted first, making 200/5 declared. Jake Flashman and David Crooymans opened the batting and made 22 and 33 respectively; Sam Semple compiled a very solid 45 not out, and Finn Wilson a useful 26. Long Bay then batted and with one over to go, was 192/9; David Crooymans was handed the ball for the last over; his first delivery was hit for four, his second hit the wickets and we were home by four runs.

Mr Peter Hale, Coach

This half season was very successful with the team finishing first in its pool. Tom Ritchie performed consistently with the bat and several bowlers put in very good performances, including Sebastian Salmon, Josh MacKinnon, Conrad Benefield and Tom Ritchie.

Westlake (last year’s champion): 1^st innings win to Sacred Heart. Westlake 157: Sebastian Salmon 5-24; Joshua McKinnon 3-41. 2^nd innings 94-7 - Conrad Benefield 3-33; Tom Ritchie 3-19.

Sacred Heart 164 and 20/1: Tom Ritchie 48; Pierce Fletcher 29; Joshua McKinnon 20 - highlight being a 93-run partnership between Tom Ritchie and Pierce Fletcher.

Sacred Heart 182/7 declared - Cory Larsen 41 not out. 2^nd innings: 39 without loss.

Br Gerard Mahoney, Coach

Under coach Mr John Mahoney, the team has had three good wins so far. Myles Driscoll has been a consistent performer with bat and ball and has been well supported by Tom Rawlins, Sam Semple and Liam McNamara at various stages.

St Kentigern: Day 2 win to Sacred Heart. St Kentigern 152: Myles Driscoll 4/18.

The Stallions got off to a wonderful start, beating Pakuranga College comprehensively. But this first win saw the team get too full of itself and suffer the consequences. We lost the next game against Orewa College with five overs to spare. A notable performance was from Adrian Boughtwood, with a blistering 31, which gave the Stallions a slightly more respectable total.

The next week saw the Stallions take on St Kentigern. On its home ground, St Kentigern was bowled out for 129. In response, Luke Morgan decided he would take the ‘bull by the horns’ and open the batting. He was bowled out first ball of the match and received a royal golden duck. He later re-entered the batting and picked up another golden duck. But the big-hitting Cory Bennenbroek then struck 62 runs, which included 12 fours and a six, before being run out by his sluggish partner. This knock should have secured the win, needing only 12 more runs off six overs with five wickets to spare. However, the Stallions ended up losing the match by 10 runs.

The team has had a strong start to the season, finishing first equal on eight points with Liston College. Captain Nicholas O’Connell was a key member of the team along with Guy Hornblower, Ben Hermans, Liam Roberts, Tom McHugh, Vincent Herbert, Liam Polwart, George Boyan, Angus Cullen, Andrew Todd and Matt Lewis. There were also cameo appearances from Joe Green and Tom Byrne.

Highlights included scores of 52 by Guy Hornblower, 144 by Nicholas O’Connell, and 99 by Ben Hermans.

It has been great start to the season for the Junior A with two first-innings wins, one outright win and a win in its one-day match. We have batted for four innings, have not been bowled out, scored a total of 736 runs, and have only conceded 21 wickets.

Our first match was against Auckland Grammar. We batted first and declared at 246/8. We bowled Grammar out for 144 and in the follow-on at close of play had recorded 36/4. The highlight of the match was a great opening stand by Mitchell Butler and Eli Prasad.

During the first term our team played seven games of which we lost six, and won one, which was against the other 6B team. I think we had a good range of players and we worked well together - it was just unfortunate we lost some games by small margins.

The team:

Nick Williams

The team struggled a little but always played with enthusiasm and commitment. Most of the players practised hard and will benefit from the trainings under coach Stuart Wood. We will do better in the second half with the benefit of that coaching and some general improvement in the fielding, in particular.

The team:

George Caldwell, Eru Witiana, Caine Telea, Liam Rabbidge, Joe Lennon, Max Phillips Ridowski, Edward Keane, Bo Deane Ngawati, Quinn Ngawati, Anju Dharmasena, Harry Brajkovich

Br Gerard Trophy

Sacred Heart had wins in both grades in the morning games, which left them the task of winning the finals in the afternoon to retain the trophy.

Year 7/8 squad:

Anton Illich, Tim Burke, Paul Rassie, Rory King, Nick Matijasevich, Christy O’Brien, Rawiri Short-Wilcox, Hugo Fletcher, Dominic Blake, Nathan Cleary, Tim Dowling, Xavier Taucher.