Burnside West Christchurch University Cricket Club have reinforced their status as Christchurch cricket’s benchmark, defeating Sydenham Cricket Club at Burnside Park to claim the 2025/26 OEM Audio 50-Over Premiership and secure a fifth consecutive finals triumph.
In a decider that swung dramatically, Burnside West produced a clinical all-round display to reel in Sydenham and complete an unbeaten eight-match campaign in style.
After cruising through the regular season and dismantling OBC in the semi-final, Burnside West entered the final full of confidence. Skipper Matt Hay lost the toss and Sydenham chose to bat, a decision that initially appeared vindicated as the top order settled.
Jackson Latham and Alex Tait struck early to remove both openers, but Matthew Tromp and Arush Bhagwat rebuilt with a 73-run third-wicket stand to steady the innings. Adam Winter eventually broke the partnership, yet Tromp pressed on, combining with Ryan Wallace for a further 75 as Sydenham advanced to 150-3 and looked set for a total well beyond 250.
The momentum shifted abruptly.
A sharp leg-side take up to the stumps from Callum Hill accounted for the dangerous Wallace before Hay removed Tromp for a superb 101 from 88 deliveries. From a commanding 150-3, Sydenham slumped to 177-7 as Burnside tightened their lines and lifted in the field.
Photos: Hartland Images
Hay then produced a direct-hit run-out to close the innings at 194, sealing a remarkable fightback.
The captain led from the front with 3-25 from his 10 overs, while Tait claimed two wickets. Latham, Winter, Wright and Zohrab each chipped in with one as Burnside’s discipline proved decisive.
Chasing 195, Burnside wasted little time asserting control. Scott Janett and Henry Christie drove fluently to blunt Sydenham’s experienced attack, racing to 44 before Janett edged Gardner for 21.
The dismissal did little to halt the momentum.
Competition leading run-scorer Nick Gibb joined Christie and the pair effectively settled the contest with a dominant 130-run partnership across 18 overs. Christie fell agonisingly short of a century for a superb 88, but by then the target was well within reach.
Gibb remained unbeaten on 57, guiding Burnside home alongside Hill to complete a composed chase and secure the silverware by eight wickets.
Christie was named Kookaburra Player of the Match for his match-defining innings.
The triumph capped a dominant season built on depth and consistency. Gibb amassed 311 runs at 62.20 across the campaign, Janett 307 at 43.86, including a record-breaking 197, and Christie 279 at 46.50. Hay contributed 184 runs at 36.80, Hill 159 at 39.75 and Winter 174 at 58 to underline the side’s middle-order strength.
With the ball, Tait spearheaded the attack with 20 wickets at 10.80, while Hay added 16 at 13.31. Latham, Zohrab, Wright, Winter and Lewis provided valuable support throughout. Five straight finals appearances with silverware now underline Burnside West’s sustained excellence, and this latest premiership further cements their position at the summit of Christchurch club cricket
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Championship vs Heathcote
This campaign was put in the diary as a title / format that we had not had the greatest successes in the last 5 seasons due generally do a lower player pool or people missing time around the Christmas and new year holidays. Having missed the T20 finals and not being as consistent to start they year this fueled the fire for our One-day games. The guys shot out of the blocks after Christmas with a comprehensive win highlighted by an unbeaten hundred from Tim Seeto.
Throughout the campaign we recognized that our bowling attack was a great strength and allowed us to put constant pressure on opposition batters. This meant we could be aggressive with our fields and back our bowlers to not get hit into places we did not have our fielders. Each game it seemed that we had 3 – 5 wickets in the powerplay and this forced our opposition to limp to totals that we felt were chasable around the 180-220 mark on good wickets. The rain came into the campaign but through strong trainings and efforts of the group we managed to maintain our momentum winning most games with a bonus point only once batting first when we were made to.
In the finals on both days the temptation was to bat first to get some runs on the board and apply pressure, but we had such success that we felt best to stick with our gameplan. Restricting both teams to 200 on good wickets and chasing down with 5 and 7 wickets remaining was a particularly good feeling.
Highlights from the campaign include:
- 2 centurions in Seeto and Ben Wright (off only 33 balls)
- Multiple bowlers putting their hand up when needed – Sean Faulkner taking 4 in the powerplay against Riccarton was a particular highlight
- Tim Seeto and Will K set the foundation each game with Tim Seeto a deserved player of the final
Overall, we would like to thank the club, committee, and ground staff for putting in such excellent work to practice facilities, wickets and the pavilion. The Finals Day was a credit to Burnside altogether having the top 2 teams at home and then great supporters watching both teams get up. Speaking to the guys having 50 odd club mates watch us knock off the last 40 runs and celebrate accordingly that night will be a highlight of their time at BWC whether it is 3 or 10 years at the club.
Cheers,
Alex McDuff
Right Arm Over
