Cricket Report

Saturday 15 February 2025

Cricket is a wonderful game for everyone!

A game that can be played from age 3 to 83 and beyond!

A game for life to play, to watch, to enjoy, to support, to wear, to saviour, to read, to discuss, to listen.

While many players aspire to play to the highest level they can get to, whatever that may be, others who love the game as much, sit content and are happy to play with their mates and tone down the serious levels a little.  

With the recent influx of Year 7 boys who are new to cricket, we also need to look at the other end of the programme, where boys are coming to the finish of their cricket here at Shore.

The great friendship teams: the tremendous Fourths, and the BBQ Boys, the Fifths. Seemingly, their biggest concern is whether the gas is on so they can BBQ their sausages post-game! They celebrate every wicket like they have just won the Ashes 16-0 (hello to all the English supporters), and their support for each other is amazing. The buzz and the celebrations that reverberate around Northbridge every Saturday when the Fourths and Fifths play are infectious. Recent observations of “walkout music” as the opening players walk out through a guard of honour is but one example of what playing cricket for fun is all about.

The boys across both teams also manage to fit in, starring in the musical or continuing with other co-curricular activities while having fun donning the Shore whites each weekend. They all just LOVE CRICKET!  

For some, Shore Cricket memories will be playing on A Ground in the First XI. For many, the outer grounds at Northbridge will ensure that Cricket at Shore will be a long-lasting fond memory.

Mr Brett Hunter
Head of Cricket

Cricket Wires

The U15’s had a cracking weekend, with the 15A’s having an unbelievable one-run win, all coming down to the last ball! Jack “Stone Cold” Courtenay bowled a brilliant spell at the death to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. There is a must-read report below.

The 15Bs definitely qualify as a (GBXI-Great Blokes XI) with what happened in a recent game. With a couple of injuries to Shore, the 15B’s had to borrow two players from the opposition team, good spirit of cricket. When the “borrowed” players were asked to go back to their actual team, they said, “No thanks, we would like to stay for the rest of the game with the Shore Boys”. Another example of the GREAT Spirit of Cricket!

New Boarder Stirling Strachan (Second XI) hit one of the longest bombs (6) seen in many years at Northbridge, over the sightscreen and crashing into the car park at the southern End of A-Ground.

Two boys had an unexpected, exciting experience when both were asked to field for the First XI on A ground. Quietly preparing for their respective afternoon games, Tom Gray (Fourth XI) and Harrison Koch (14A) both quickly took their crocs off and spikes on to cover for an injured First XI Player.

Digby Hockey (Fifths) got a HATTRICK in his 3-11, and the BBQ Boys enjoyed lamb and thyme sausages on wholemeal with tomato or BBQ sauce as available condiments.

Great catches in the Thirds with Brian Thorpe, Jeremy McKindley, Henry Pritchard and Zac Roberts all taking screamers.

James Mathur (Seconds) and Tom Capes (15A) both took a wicket in the first over, while Cam Newtown (Thirds) took 2 wickets in the first over of the game!

Comeback of the week goes to 14A’s player Tommy Campbell, who scored a great 60*. After serious back injuries, he wasn’t allowed to play in Term 4; he is back playing as a batter only and scored his maiden ever 50.

All three U14 teams had stunning victories on the weekend.

15A Match Report

The 15As had a thrilling win over SIC on Saturday afternoon. It was hard going after winning the toss and electing to bat, with runs hard to come by. A slow outfield and strong SIC pace attack challenged Shore, who finished 1/38 at drinks. Josh Cawood did an excellent job as opener, batting until after drinks and scoring 27. Xavier Simmonds provided some much-needed scoring power, ending a long innings on 44. With not many other runs being scored, Shore finished 9/106 after 32 overs.

Defending a small total required some bowling and fielding brilliance, and this is exactly what the 15As delivered. Tom Capes set the standard in his first over, taking 1 wicket for no runs. He finished the day with figures of 3/13. Billy Sorensen contributed with two wickets at a time when the SIC batsmen were starting to dig in and get the run-rate ticking over.

The star of the day, however, was Jack Courtenay, who was required to bowl at the death of SIC’s innings. The Coach – usually a brilliant mathematician – was feeling tense when he realised he had done his sums wrong and that SIC needed 17 runs, not 27 as he had calculated, off the last 24 balls, to win.

Jack stepped up and took 2 wickets in his first two overs and was called on to bowl the last, with SIC needing 6 runs off 6 balls to win. Jack kept his cool and took a third wicket in the final over, increasing the pressure on the batsmen.

With one ball left, SIC needed 2 to win and 1 to draw… Jack’s outswing led to a swing and a miss, and then a run out, which secured a huge win for the 15As. The juggernaut rolls on.

Second XI Match Report

Shore won the toss and elected to bat at Northbridge on what appeared to be a favourable wicket for making early runs. SIC began their attack with threatening bowling and sharp fielding, effectively restricting Shore’s scoring opportunities. Despite this, a promising partnership developed between Josh Evans and Gus Manchee before Evans was dismissed in the 12th over. Cooper Glanville then joined Manchee at the crease, and the pair attempted to consolidate the innings, though scoring easy runs remained challenging. As seen in the previous match, Shore’s top order suffered a collapse, losing three quick wickets for minimal runs, shifting the momentum back in SIC’s favour. However, Tom Glasson and Julian Harrison, as they have done in past encounters, navigated the team out of a precarious situation with a crucial 64-run partnership. Their efforts not only preserved wickets but also accelerated the run rate. Stirling Strachan showcased his powerful stroke play, significantly lifting the scoring rate and propelling Shore to a total of 195 after 50 overs—an impressive recovery considering they were 4/90 after 34 overs.

The second innings commenced in emphatic fashion, with James Mathur claiming a wicket on the third ball. Mathur and Harrison continued their sharp spells, reducing SIC to 4/24 and placing Shore in a dominant position with the prospect of securing valuable bonus points. Debutant leg-spinner Henry Benecke was introduced into the attack alongside Strachan, both of whom maintained relentless pressure and claimed crucial wickets, leaving Riverview with little respite. Strachan’s outstanding caught-and-bowled dismissal exemplified Shore’s sharp bowling and fielding performance.

A special mention goes to Benecke, who marked his debut with an impressive and composed spell, claiming two wickets. SIC’s resistance was short-lived, as they were dismissed for just 68 runs after 24 overs.

Shore now faces a crucial fixture this weekend against the competition front-runners, The King’s School, at Northbridge.

Fifth XI Match Report

The Fifths played what might be their best game of the season on the weekend. Winning the toss and choosing to bat, they got off to a hot start. SIC dropped two catches in the first few overs, which they would regret when Will Penney and Tom O’Brien went on to put on a 100-run opening partnership. Tom (74*) and Will (21*) selflessly retired in the 10th over to give others a chance to bat, having set a solid platform of 10 an over. Ollie Gade (22) and Dan Ritchie (40*) kept the run rate up, seeing Shore post 183 runs off their 20 overs.

Shore backed up their great batting with some economical bowling. SIC could never really get the run rate going, and eventually, the wickets started falling. Digby Hockey took a hattrick on his way to figures of 3-11 off his two, and Will Penney backed up his batting performance with 2-2 off two. SIC was eventually dismissed for 95 off 18 overs.

The Fifths catching and fielding have improved a lot since the first game after the break. It has also been nice to see runs and wickets coming from different players each game, with everyone contributing in some way to each win.

Results

Team	Result	Scores
First XI	Loss	St Ignatius College 6/160 (Stian Constable 2/22) defeated Shore 10/156 (Fraser Pandit 35, Ben Hocking 27)
Second XI	WIN	Shore 6/195 (Tom Glasson 47*, Julian Harrison 41, Stirling Strachan 23) defeated SIC 10/68 (James Mathur 2/9, Julian Harrison 2/12, Stirling Strachan 3/21, Henry Benecke 2/19)
Third XI	WIN	Shore 2/87 (Andrew Milton 50*) defeated Riverview 84 (Zac Roberts 4/18, Cameron Newton 2/14)
Fourth XI	WIN	Shore – 9/157 (Bryce Skarott 43 off 16 Liam O’Neill 37 )  defeated SBHS – 6/151 (Angus St Clair 2/14,  Fred Collins 1/3)
Fifth XI	WIN	T20- Shore 183  (Tom O’Brien 70*, Dan Ritchie 40*)  defeated SIC 95 (Digby Hockey 3/11 inc. Hattrick, Will Penney 2-2)
16A	Loss	Shore: 10/75 – Jude Terry 18, Ben Sullivan 14. SIC: 3/76 – Alistair Nieland 2/15 (5), Will Howman-Giles 1/10 (3)
15A	WIN	Shore 9/106 (Joshua Cawood 27, Xavier Simmonds 44) defeated SIC 10/105 (Tom Capes 3/13, Billy Sorensen 2/9, Jack Courtenay 3/7)
15B	Loss	Shore 99 were defeated by SIC 4-159
14A	Loss	Riverview 6/127 after 32 overs (Harrison  Koch 3/8 from 3, Harvey Cloke 1/13 from 4) defeated by Shore 3/131 after 26.3 overs ( Tommy Campbell 60*, James Story 30*, Harrison Koch 28)
14B	WIN	Shore 9/187 (Alastair Kernaghan 35no, Angus Murdoch-Tilmouth 35, Jackson Harris 22, Charlie Mullen 20) defeated SIC 120 (Sam Cook 3/5, Patrick Old 2/11)
14C	WIN	Shore 3/112 off 15 overs (Conal Robertson 27*, Harry Collingwood-Boots 25*) defeated Newington 3/108 off 20 overs (Edward Russell 1/3, Tom Devereux 1/17, Ben Soh 1/22)
13A	WIN	Shore 162 (Archie Peterson 62, Ollie Keatinge 54 )defeated SIC 137 (Arcie Peterson 3/1, Sam Courtenay 2/7)
13B	WIN	Shore 4-167 defeated SIC 50
13C	WIN	Shore: 2-44 (Jack Nelson 23n.o., Tom Beeforth 7 n.o.) defeated St Ignatius’ College 41(Gideon Waker 2-1)
13D	WIN	Shore 0-157 (Archie Findlay 30*, Oscar Pilkington 28*) defeated Kings 31 (Drish Shah 2-6, Archie Findlay 2-6)
13E	WIN	Shore 115/1  (Caleb Virgo  30* ret., Marley Maurice 15* ret., Oscar Cairns 11, Ben Wright 11) defeated Barker 55/7  (Nathan Stafford, Caleb Virgo, Thomas Campbell, Oscar Cairns, Hubert Curlew all took a wicket each)