Winning the toss and electing to bat we struggled to build an innings and, despite a few good starts, were lucky to finish on 98. In reply Hornsby set about their run chase eagerly enough, scoring 22 off the first three overs. Then the wickets began to fall, and at 5 for 30 and, later, 8 for 64 it looked as if we just might pull it off. Then Alan Jones and Julian Walthew combined to put on 42 for the ninth wicket to save the day for Hornsby.

Batting for WPHC, Ben Pilipowski top scored with a fine 32, his highest score in seniors and a great return to form - well done, Ben! Peter Lees, our captain for Round 1, contributed a solid 20, while in the opener's spot, Jon Van Blerk (12) showed plenty of promise in his short but solid innings. Veteran specialist tail-ender P.K.Westerberg, elevated to the dizzying heights of 8 in the batting order, also distinguished himself with a career best of 9 not out, including a crashing 6 (his first) over square leg (take note, Roger!).

Bowling for Hornsby, all due credit must go to Graham Roots whose phenomenal haul of 5 for 16 almost single-handedly put us out of the game - great bowling, Graham!

Bowling for WPHC, Brannavan Ramachandran took the honours, taking 3 for 28, while Brad Close (2 for 12), Kedar Ballurkar (2 for 32) and Shankar Ravi (1 for 15) were all rewarded for good bowling spells.

Over all we fielded well, Luke Christianson standing out with a great catch in the deep. Brannavan (a good boundary save) and Shankar (two catches) also distinguished themselves, while in Bruce Caldwell we clearly have a good acquisition behind the stumps.

So, despite the loss and our modest innings total, this team clearly has a promising pool of talent with the potential to be moulded into a successful, match winning outfit as the season unfolds.

PS: All credit to our opponents, Hornsby for the spirit in which they played the game, especially to Ben King for walking without waiting to be asked when caught behind (you're a great sport, mate, and deserve a big innings for that, next week!). Also thanks to Graham Roots for checking out the ground on the morning of week 1 and saving us all an unnecessary trip out to Castle Hill.

Posted by Peter Westerberg on September 18, 2007 08:09 PM