Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s “Top Six”.
1. A big double-header weekend
The morning grade teams were on show both days this weekend and each of our three teams has a win and a loss. The Premiers went down to Canterbury Country but beat Riccarton. The 2As were also too strong for Riccarton but lost to St Albans. The 2Bs came second to Merivale-Papanui but had their first win of the season against Sydenham. This match was notable for a big turn-out from the McKenzie family – father Steve and sons Jason and Alex. The same combination debuted the previous weekend, the first time they had played together.
The McKenzies: (L to R) Jason, Steve and Alex
In the 3B grade, the Mariners couldn’t match Merivale-Papanui. However, the Cannons overcame Sydenham and the Brawlers had an exciting 1 run win against East-Shirley. Last but not least in the senior grades, the Dubai Diamond Traders continued their run of form and are now topping the league table after a six wicket win over St Albans.
BWU4 and BWU5 were the two winning teams among our Juniors. The BWU3 team couldn’t muster a win but there were some good performances against strong opposition, notably from Brandon Gray and Blake Stocks. You can read all about it here.
2. Honours Board
Blake Stocks has almost booked himself a permanent slot on the Honours Board and he occupies a place again this week. The other Junior to command a slot this week is Jordan Sealey, who performed well for BWU3.
Among the Seniors there were 5 bags of five wickets, some of them very miserly, for Messrs Shackleton, Jacobs, Kember, Joshi and C Smith. Four batsman scored 50 or more – Croft, Allan, Roy and R Smith.
3. Big movers on Al Brown leaderboard
Matt Farrant is now breathing down Rob Gillespie’s neck on the Al Brown leaderboard, after two solid bowling performances and another lower order match-saving innings for the Premiers. Rahul Joshi’s good all-round showing for the Brawlers, including a five wicket bag, has shot him up to third. Other big movers are Caleb Smith and Blake Coburn. Check out the full leaderboard here
4. Always wanted to be a cricket commentator? Now’s your chance!
The Stuff website is looking for a guest commentator for the Cricket World Cup. Sound like you? Find out how to apply here.
5. The Red and Blacks are back!
The Purple and Gold of the Kings will be back next summer, but now the Red and Black of Canterbury is here. Canterbury re-started its Plunket Shield campaign today at Hagley Oval and over the holiday season will take part in the one day Ford Trophy competition. The Women’s Magicians team also has a summer campaign. You can find where to catch the matches, and other Canterbury news, here.
6. Happy Birthday Mark Greatbatch
The father of early innings big-hitting, Mark Greatbatch, turns 51 today.
As we warm up for the Cricket World Cup, remember his exploits in 1992? Here he is charging Malcom Marshall and Courtney Walsh.
Have a great cricketing weekend.
Regards
Burnside Cricket