Wynnum Manly v Western Suburbs

First Grade Round 10

25 November and 2 December 2023 at Bill Albury Oval

Day One:

Murky conditions at Bill Albury oval did not detract from the excitement of being in the beautiful new facilities. A cracker of a spot to watch cricket! Wynnum won the toss and elected to bat on what looked a very green deck and at 3/10, then 4/40 (Steve McGiffin taking three of them), Jed Wilson may have been wondering if the right choice was made, but local knowledge is valuable. The top of the pitch belies what lies beneath, Wilson and Ali Zaidi settled into the “re-build” guiding Wynnum to 85 at lunch.

The partnership blossomed after lunch with the 50 partnership coming up in 143 balls and Zaidi’s 50 from 95 balls to take the score to 136 at drinks. Wilson brought up his 50 from 139 balls and the 100 partnership from 236 balls in the 51st over; the score passing 150 an over later. The three-hour, 154-run partnership was finally broken when Hassan Ibrahim’s yorker crashed through Wilson (88) to make it 5/194, 14 minutes prior to Tea.

There was no respite for Wests after Tea, as Grayson Jones joined Zaidi in a 50 partnership to steer Wynnum to 244 by drinks. Zaidi brought up his second ton of the season (from 215 balls) with his 14th boundary of the innings in the first over after drinks. Zaidi’s marathon four and a half hour innings was brought to a close by evergreen, Steve Paulsen, in the 84th over. Harmon Sandhu joined Jones for a quickfire 22 for the 7th wicket before Jones (42) mistimed one off Dupinder Singh and was caught by Queensland U19 rep, Tom Campbell. Sandhu and Chris Lloyd added a valuable 20 to take the Wynnum score to 8/296 at stumps.

Day Two:

Bright, hot and steamy conditions were the fare for Day Two. Chris Llyod made way for Liam Guthrie, returning from Qld duties and his massive six over fine leg in the second over was the only addition to the Wynnum score for the day. The innings closing on 304; McGiffin picking up 4/67 from 21.3 overs.

A searing Guthrie yorker trapped Pranav Susarla in front just 14 balls into the Wests’ innings, but that did not deter Isaiah Snell and Steve Paulsen who added 37 from just 42 balls in a partnership littered with boundaries. Josh Fraser put an end to that with his first ball; Paulsen “strangled” down the leg side by a Rueben Burger catch. A very sharp catch at slip by Grayson Jones off Harmon Sandhu ended Snell’s stay in the 15th over; Wests 3/65. Harry McNeilly and Steve McGiffin steadied the ship, taking Wests to Lunch at 3/97.

There was nothing wrong with the run rate. McNeilly and McGiffin brought up their 50 partnership with 20 from 24 balls after lunch, but then McNeilly was bowled by Sandhu and caution came to the fore. Sandhu and Fraser applied the pressure allowing just 6 runs from the next 6 overs. Guthrie returned and enticed a hook from Del Simone; Eyley settled under it and took the catch; 5/137. The in-form Jared Sippel joined McGiffin and the pair counter-attacked with a flurry of boundaries over the next 6 overs, but then it all fell apart for Wests. Sippel tickled one down leg off Guthrie and was caught by Burger in the 40th, then three balls later, Sandhu trapped McGiffin in front then followed up with a sharp slips catch off Jones in the next over; Wests 3/4 in 14 balls; the score 8/174. Guthrie had a hand in the final two wickets, throwing from mid-on to run out Murphy and knocking over Ibrahim’s stumps in the 52nd. Wests all out for 190; Guthrie 4/40; Sandhu 3/54. A solid performance by Wynnum in very trying conditions.

114 ahead, the chase was on for bonus points. Rodgers and Radford added 41 from 55 before Radford fell to a Del Simone catch off Dupinder Singh in the 9th over. Burger joined Rodgers in a sparkling 85 ball 76; the 50 partnership coming up in just 38 minutes from 62 balls. Rodgers’ 50 took just 78 minutes and 56 balls. Burger was unluckily run out in the 23rd when a Rodgers drive clipped Paulsen’s fingers and deflected onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end. From that point, it was a blitz. Wilson and Rodgers plundered the bowling for five 4s and six 6s to add 85 from 51 and take Wynnum to 202 at the close. Rodgers brought up a fine maiden century in 111 minutes and just 87 balls with nine 4s and five 6s. Wilson bringing up his second 50 of the match (28 minutes and 27 balls) with a six from the last ball of the day.

An emphatic first innings win by Wynnum Manly and up to 5th on the two day ladder.