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Annual Report for 2009

Cricket Committee

The Committee is in the early stages of reviewing the 2007-2010 Strategic Plan with view to developing the next one. Many of the issues identified by the current document have been or are being addressed and resolved but we can’t sit back and rest. The next Strategic Plan will only work if we are as inclusive and far reaching into the local cricket community as we can be.

Facility development

2009 saw significant progress in the provision of the practice and playing facilities. The first major project completed was the upgrade of one of the four practice net blocks. It included the addition of a third net to the block, the use of back and side netting instead of hurricane wire, lengthening of the batting strip and an artificial run up area for the bowlers. The other significant addition was that of two more artificial wickets specifically for the allocation to the year 7 and 8 Saturday morning teams. Both of these projects were funded by the Cricket Committee who would like to acknowledge the generosity of those who gave time and direct contributions as well as the school Board who contributed funds to the net upgrade.

The 2010 Cricket budget requests to the Board include another practice wicket block to be upgraded, the main grass wicket and oval to upgraded and the water reticulation to the First XI oval to be improved to a point where the wicket block and outfield can receive the watering and maintenance work that is required to keep the block and outfield to the high standard it needs to be, especially later in the season in February and March.

Growth

Sacred Heart fielded 11 teams in the secondary school competition in 2009 and three Year 8 sides in the ACA U14 competition including a team in the Premier grade. This was on a par with the previous year with fewer teams in the senior social grades being compensated for by more Year eight teams being entered. If this trend continues there is likely to be some growth in the secondary competitive sides over the next two to three years.

Most teams had coaches many of whom were staff members who gave up their afternoons and Saturdays to provide a high level of support to the boys. These included:
Phil Berrill, 1st XI
Raj Dullabh and Graham Stoddard, 2nd XI
Nick Fitness, 3A
Peter Hale 3B
Erin McWilliams 3B
Anne McMillan 4B
Br Gerard Colts
Christopher Hill 5A
Stephen Albertson 5B
John Mahony 6A
Shoruban Pasupati (coach) Y8 Premiers
Br Anthony Year 8 A and B grade

Thanks also to willing parents who assisted with teams, including Lionel Flashman (4A), various 6B parents and Richard Keane (Year 8 Premiers).

Recruitment and promotion initiatives included the Aces ‘Big Hit’ day when two of the Auckland Aces, Rob Nicol and Tarun Nethula, along with current Black Cap Chris Martin challenged the First XI to stop them scoring 40 of four overs one lunchtime. The Aces were too good but the Sport Institute boys were then treated to a half hour chat with some of their heroes in the gym afterwards.

Early in December the Brown Caps were scheduled to play the 1st XI. Unfortunately rain intervened but a date is being looked at early in 2010 to have this match played. It is an ideal way to promote cricket to all of our Polynesian students and has the full support of Auckland Cricket. Another initiative was the Wednesday 6 aside for the Year 7 & 8 sports period. This was done on a House basis and was a competitive and fun way for the cricketers to compete internally. The way that Year 7 & 8 cricket was changed a little bit so that cricket was provided for all those who wished to play. This meant that when traditional fixtures were being held other boys were playing internal games or receiving coaching. This catered for over 100 boys most Wednesdays of the summer sport season and was a successful way to get more boys involved at that early level.

Sports Institute

The Cricket Sports Institute continued to work hard with the younger players placing an emphasis on the fundaments of batting and bowling and allocating a significant amount of time to the basics of fielding skills. There was also a lot of time spent developing tactical awareness and decision making through the use of modified games. Theory subjects covered included field setting, umpiring, scoring and some history of the game.

After three years of the Institute being in place it is interesting to see that the bulk of the First XI squad are now graduated members of the Sports Institute. This is evidenced by the fact that ten of the thirteen players who went to the Bendigo Carnival had passed through the Institute

1st XI

The First XI got the season off to a poor start when they didn’t manage to win crucial games in the one day competition in February. A disappointing loss to Rangitoto College followed by a dismal batting effort against Mt Albert Grammar saw them heading into the 1A plate round for the rest of the season. The side then comfortably won the plate including outright wins over Kelston and St Peters to highlight what might have been with a bit more focus in the early rounds.
An important addition to the playing calendar was a trip to Christchurch in the October holidays to play 3 new fixtures. This trip enabled coach, Phil Berrill, to select some promising younger players in place of some current members who were about to leave school. This brave but risky decision was starting to show dividends later in the Year. A close loss first up to Christs College was followed by a drubbing by St Andrews. However, in the last game, the team managed a great win chasing down 197 against Christchurch Boys High School to beat a team that won the Gillette Cup six weeks later was the highlight of the trip.

A special thanks goes to Carl Gibbons whose work in physically preparing the squad in September really showed the benefits in increased performances later in the season.

Carnival

A squad of 13 players headed off in early December to Melbourne for the annual Marist Carnival. The squad members were Henry Blackwell, Scott Allison, J.J. Mills, Jordan Payne, Tom Byrne, Joe Greene, Dylan Lynch, Alex Wiltshire, Chris Wilson, Jonathon Goosman, Bill McCarthy, Sam Crawford and Matthew Quinn. The trip was a huge learning curve for most of the boys with the level a step up from what many of them had played. The trip started with a close loss to Camberwell Grammar, then had the amazing experience of playing Melbourne Grammar on their number 2 oval which was of first class standard followed by the five games at the tournament proper in Bendigo. At the Carnival the team managed to share second place on the table and will be better for the experience especially all those boys coming back for next year and beyond. The highlight of the games was Henry Blackwell scoring centuries against Melbourne Grammar and Canberra Grammar. He was also awarded batsman of the tournament and, along with Scott Allison was selected in the 2009 Tournament side. Another highlight was Jonathon Goosman being receiving fielder of the Tournament based on points awarded during games by the umpires.

Player development

Player development was fostered in a number of ways. A camp was held in July over two nights at the John Howell Academy in Tauranga where 15 boys from Year 9, 10 and 11 were taken away for some intensive cricket tutelage under the direction of Institute Coach, Garry Wood, with assistance from John and Llorne Howell. As some of the boys had never had this degree of coaching they were very appreciative. This was reflected in some of the results in term 4 when the season started again. Another initiative was to use specialised coaches for small groups of players. Ex Northern Districts bowler, Steve Scott was bought in to work with the medium pace bowlers, Auckland University Cricket Club’s Simon Wood was used with the wicketkeepers and staff members, Shoruban Pasupati Raj Dulabh and Garry Wood worked with spin bowlers and batsmen respectively.

A number of Sacred Heart players made Association representative sides for the annual District tournaments and some also made their respective age group Auckland representative side.

U19
Henry Blackwell - Auckland Under 19 squad

U17
Matthew Quinn - Central, ACA non travelling reserve
Freddie Klaassen - Central

U15
Jacob O’Callahan - Manukau
Pierce Fletcher - Eastern
Rory O’Brien - Manukau
Seb Salmon - Central
Marion Ilich - Central
Ronash Jattan - Central

Primary School Boys
Tom Ritchie - Eastern, Auckland
Josh McKinnon - Central, Auckland
Christie O’Brien - Manukau, Auckland
Ben Blackwell Central
Conrad Benefield - Central
Eli Prasad - Eastern
Dominic Blake - Manukau
Tim Dowling - Manukau
Mitchell Butler - Central

Coach Development

During 2009 Auckland Cricket introduced a program called Coaching a Cricket Team course. This was aimed at secondary school pupils who would then be able to go back and coach sides in their schools. The following boys attended the course and were certified as CCT Coaches.
Jonathon Goosman, Alex Wiltshire, Joe Greene, Sam Crawford
Graham Stoddard from the staff also attended and is now qualified to that level.

Other staff fulfilled various coaching appointments during First XI Coach Phil Berrill was a staff Coach for Auckland Cricket in their Winter Academy program to Shoruban Pasupati who was appointed to coach the Auckland Under 15 development team.

Congratulations also to TIC Cricket Garry Wood, who was a finalist in the recent Counties Manukau senior Coach of the Year and was pipped at the post by Valerie Vili’s coach, Kirsten Hellier.

Funding 

2009 saw some ambitious fundraising supported by some hard work to support the projects that the Cricket Committee undertook. The major fundraiser was the Auction evening run in conjunction with the SHC Rugby Committee. This was a huge success with Cricket’s income receiving a boost of just over $12,000. This was allocated to mainly to the nets project with a small amount going to the Bendigo Carnival trip. The Carnival parents also ran a very successful Saturday morning sausage sizzle which helped in funding the Bendigo trip.

Although we were largely unsuccessful with grants the Cricket projects were well supported by donations from individual donations from parents. These included the Mills Family, John Blackwell, and the Klaassen family. The First XI was also grateful for sponsorship from Westpac Bank and Hemisphere Freight. The reality is that if we are to continue to actively support quality playing programmes and facility development we will need to remain very active in the fundraising sector.

Summary and looking ahead

Sacred Heart cricket is well poised to be a significant force in secondary school cricket in Auckland. The facility projects that have been completed along with those that are planned will provide a very good platform for future development of the game at all levels. The benefits of the Sport Institute are starting to show value as is shown by the numbers of Sacred Heart players who made district and Auckland representative sides in 2009 show. This will provide both strength and depth for the top tier of sides in the school. The First XI will become a more resilient side and is more likely to compete at a higher level on a more consistent basis. Although the current side will be relatively young for the next two years the playing future at this level looks promising. Administratively the Committee is starting to reform and take good shape after the exit of many of the initial parent group who did so much initially. There are some wise heads and good cricket brains among the new group that points to a strong future for the code over the next few years

Mr Garry Wood - Chairman, Sacred Heart Cricket Committee
January 2010

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