After a busy few weeks we now only have 1 week of cricket left before we see 2022 out with "A few beers & bit of a yarn". All teams will be hoping for decent weather and some good wins. The season starts back after Christmas and New Years on January 14th. Unfourtuantly a smaller newsletter this week, a poor effort on match reports from our top sides will dissapoint alot of fans!!

MPCC Christmas party at the clubrooms this Saturday 17th.. Please make an effort to turn up and support our amazing club!! Partners and Sponsors welcomed - Details on picture attached. 

MPCC Xmas party 2.0 at The Brewers Merivale! Please get down and support not only our club but one of our major sponsors! Thursday 22nd December from 5pm. $40 per person which includes food and 3 drink tickets!

Please RSVP to luke@lsp2020.co.nz by 18th December!!

Congratulations - Andy Richards who on Saturday 10/12/22 finally got past the nervous 90's and scored his maiden MPCC century scoring 139 not out against Kaiapoi Blue in a big opening partnership of 158 with Dean August who also scored his Maiden MPCC half century.

Andy had previously scored a 99* in the 2016/17 season and a 98 this season but finally cracked that magic 100!

Congratulations to our championship captain Matt Ling who on Saturday 10/12/22 scored his 3rd MPCC Championship century scoring 103 against Sydenham helping his side score 234 in their first 1 day game. Unfortunately Sydenham got the win but it is good to see Lingy back in the runs after a tough start to the season.

Congratulations to Jason 'Choppa' Swensson who brought up his 50th Senior b (Divison 1) game during the T20 campaign and now sits on 55 games with many more to come!

Match Reports from Thursday 8th December ..

MP Sporting Edge Championship vs Burnside @ Burnside Park 2 (T20)

Unfortunately no report supplied .. 

MP Sporting Edge Division 1 vs Sydenham @ Edgar Mac 1 (T20)

On Thursday (8/12/2022) the Div 1 Boys were at home on the number one deck for

their last T20 game facing a Sydenham side that is having a similar season to us.

The boys were wanting to not only put in a performance to show we want to be in

this grade but also to take some momentum going into a preferred format of the

game this weekend (One-Day). Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be, as the boys came just

short after posting 8/115 off our 20 overs with Sydenham chasing it down with 1.2

overs left of play.

Our batting Innings got off to a very shaky start with what is becoming a common

occurrence in our side in recent weeks.... the good old runout. Tim went for 1

bringing Comet to the crease who struggled to get the bat on some wild bowling and

was bowled for 1. Joel got away a few boundaries down the ground unfortunately

then skying one for 13. Abi also made a nice cameo for 13 but the lights were on the

debutant Princely who thankfully was promoted from the div 3 side to boost our

numbers...and batters. Princely batted excellently moving around in the crease,

playing some beautiful shots, and scampering through for some risky but good

singles. He made a classy 33 from 39 easily topping scoring for our team. Our lower

order chipped our way through to what we thought was defendable, with Nikhil 9,

Beattie 15, and Jase 15.

Our bowling attack started well with some brilliant tidy bowling from Mintu and

Beattie. We managed to get Sydenham 2/24 and 3/27 before some mini partnerships

began to grow. We brought it back nicely with some good fielding especially from

Tim, bringing Sydenham to 5/61 which had us feeling like this could be the night we

get to sing the song. However, some loose bowling near the end, some good ball

striking, and some dropped catches did not help our case. Mintu was the pick of the

bowlers today with an outstanding 2-14 from his 4 overs. Nikhil 1-13 from 3 (fantastic

spell), and Chris 2-18 from 3, were honourable mentions as they also bowled tight

making sure to increase the required run rate. Josiah also bowled well picking up 1-

19 off 3 but it just wasn’t to be for the boys today.

This one hurt... But with a good group of guys and the talent within the squad I still

believe we can bounce back.

Cheers Josiah Leigh

Match Reports from Saturday 10th December ..

MP Sporting Edge Championship vs Sydenham @ Sydenham Park 2 (1DAY)

Unfortunately no report supplied .. 

MP Sporting Edge Div.1 vs Halswell Canta Lions @ Edgar Mac 1 (1DAY)

Unfortunately no report supplied .. 

MP BBS Timbers Division 3 vs East Shirley Tridents @ Burwood Park 3

The Disvison 3 lads again played East Shirley Tridents at Burwood Park 3 and in previous accounters have not had a good run against these lads, Would today be a different story?

I won the toss, and after being hit for over 200 each time we play i decided to change things up and bat first. With a couple handy additions to the side out from retirement, Ryan Hawkins and Cam Norton and also with Nikil Dogra from div 1 in our side i was confident we could score a total worth defending. Our last scores against East Shirley have been 36, 36 and 81 and while this time was more, we still fell short with only 109 from 38.5 overs with Kris Rowe being a savior batting at 8 with 36. There were positives, No East Shirley bowler took more than 2 wickets and Brijesh couldnt destroy our top order!

When it come to bowling, While Cam and Nikhil bowled well with tight lines East Shirley chased it down with ease. Alot of chances just going over fielders or falling short. 

However after a resonably tough start to this season, this team sits in very good spirits and while fighting injuries, covid and mental health - still holds strong and the support throughout the squad and towards each other is awesome to see! 

Cheers Matt Wilcock

MP Frame'n'Copy North/Canter Panthers vs Kaiapoi Gold @ Kaiapoi Park 2

Coming off a couple of subpar batting performances against Woodend and Southbrook, the Panthers were eager to get their season back on track in a third consecutive trip across the Waimak against Kaiapoi Gold. Captain Sunnie Gogia won his first toss in a while, and despite our recent woes, he didn't hesitate to bat first in a customary North Canterbury 35 over game on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Andy Richards and Dean August once again had opening honours. Andy set the tone from the outset, hitting two fours over cover in the first over. And when Dean effortlessly launched a 6 over long on, the Panthers were cruising at 40/0 after 5 overs. The only thing that could slow us down was the ball that Dean had hit over the boundary got lost in a dense hedge. After 5 minutes of searching without any luck, a brand new ball was brought out, but it didn't take long for the shine to go a second time as the onslaught continued. Andy bought up his 50 in the 12th over and the pair survived the heat and made it to drinks at 18 overs with a 100 run partnership on the board. Dean then brought up his maiden 50 for the club not long after drinks, which included four 4s and a 6. The party then came to an end as Dean hit one to cover, walking off to a great ovation from his teammates and 158/1 on the scoreboard.

Craig Dacombe peeled himself up from the long formed crevice of his seat and added 18 further runs before being stumped. But by then Dakesy had done his job, including running the first 3 of the innings for Andy, which unknowingly and ironically leapfrogged Andy from 97 over his previous high scores of 98 and 99* to bring up his maiden century, bringing more cheers from the Panthers sideline Sunnie came and went in a very familiar fashion of late and Andy Anderson added 2 not out at the end, but with the hundred out of the way, it was time for Andy to cap off his innings with some fun, adding a further 39 runs, including putting a ball on the roof of the clubrooms. The Panthers finished at 227/3 and hit the field looking to wrap things up quickly.

Andy Anderson and Roger Moore opened things up and picked up 2 wickets each with some very tight bowling. To Kaiapoi's credit they then fought back and put on a 70 run partnership before losing their 5th wicket with 107 on the board. Making his Panthers debut, Alex MacLennan bowled an immaculate spell of line and length to take us to drinks and was unlucky not to have a wicket. After drinks, Steve Gillespie (3/14) eviscerated any slim hopes they had of victory, taking two wickets back-to-back before offering one of the worst hat-trick balls you'll ever see. It was then left to our spin twins Daksey and Ronald Khuu to wrap things up, taking 2 wickets and 1 wicket respectively, securing a 70 run win. A memorable milestone day and a much needed win to keep us in touch with the top of the table.

Cheers Andy Richards

MP Geeks on Wheels North/Canter vs Woodend @ Gladstone Park 1A

The best cricket weather for a couple of weeks greeted the match up between Geeks on Wheels and Woodend Cricket, at Gladstone Park.

We were looking to get back on track after last week's relatively disappointing performance.

Things were made a little more difficult by the fact we had another late withdrawal, meaning we again could only field 10 players.

Since it was a rubber ducky (and even though the outfield looked identical to the adjacent rugby ground) it was a toss we would have liked to win and chosen to bat - and lo and behold Barrel did exactly that and we did!

We opened up with Alan and Thomas, and found the going pretty challenging at the start. The bowling was accurate, and the run-rate wasn't exactly setting the world on fire. However, the lads stuck at it and saw us through to just before drinks, before Alan was caught for a gritty 14, bringing myself to the crease @ 38/1.

We went to drinks only 1 wicket down, but it wasn't too long after that that I was caught for 10 (64/2). Karim came out and landed some lusty blows including the first 6 of the innings before being caught for 13 (79/3), bringing Pav to the crease. Thomas was caught behind not long after for a solid 28 (81/4), bringing out Barrel. Both him and Pav then started giving the innings a good kick in the backside, with the added bonus of Pav giving Woodend's keeper a well deserved roasting.

Barrel was bowled for 21 off only 14 balls (110/5), with Ritwik replacing him, and Pav was the last to go for a fine 40 off 27 (162/6).

Ritwik continued the fine work, ending up 34* from 21, well supported by Nithissh, 9*.

So after a relatively slow start we came home strong off the back of some fine hitting from Karim, Barrel, Pav & Ritwick, finishing on 193/6.

A good solid target, plus we had their 'star' batsman/keeper all hot and bothered.

We opened up the bowling with Barrel and Nithissh, and immediately had Woodend in trouble. Barrel removed one of their openers with only 4 on the board, and Nitissh had their lippy keeper caught on the same score, much to Pav's delight.

Woodend really found the going tough from there, with Sam taking another soon after (9/3), and yet another a bit later (27/4). Ritwik then got in on the action, reducing them further to 49/5, then 66/6.

It was around now though that we unravelled a bit in the field - catches went down, and our outfielding became a little ragged.

One highlight, though, was Woodend's Mr Cricket (who was umpiring at square leg), who complained to Barrel that Pav was being a big meanie to him, and wanted him "removed from the field". Barrel was remarkably restrained in politely declining his request, only moving Pav to the other side of the field, where the two were free to simply exchange the occasional long distance compliment . 

While all that was going on, Frosty removed Woodend's captain, leaving them 67/7, and when Ritwik took another leaving them 80/8 we thought we were in for a very early finish.

Unfortunately a combination of average fielding and a missing fielder meant their tail well and truly wagged.

Sanath removed their #9 making it 109/9, and their last wicket partnership was their 2nd highest of the innings.

Nithissh finally removed their final wicket in the 23rd over - all out for 133.

So a relatively comfortable win in the end by 60 runs.

Ritwik was the standout bowler with 3/40 from his 7, with Barrel not far behind with 3/37 from 5. Nithissh turned in really good figures of 2/17 from 4.1, Sanath 1/18 from 3, and Frosty 1/21 from 3.

A good turnaround from last week, and we remain top of the table (shared, at least). Hoping for a strong finish to 2022 this Saturday!

Cheers Richard Judkins

MP Bombay Tandoor Presidents vs Sydenham @ Bradford Park 1

Merivale-Papanui Bombay Tandoori played Sydenham Hospital at Bradford Park. Bradford Park is a lovely hidden gem of a ground, surrounded by large trees which offer shade from the summer sun, it’s a really picturesque place to play cricket. Unfortunately, the wicket didn’t match the beauty of the ground.

Bruce Day won the toss which meant Marivale-Pananui had to bat first on a very green, underprepared pitch. The batting team were quickly in trouble at 3 for 25 in the 10th over. It was at this stage that the batsmen decided that the way to play was to be positive. Mark Hume and Rob Campbell attacked boldly and took the score to 64 in the 18th over, when Campbell was dismissed for 17. Hume continued to be positive and at drinks he and Jason Steeman had advanced the score to 90 for 4.

The first over after lunch saw Mark Hume’s dismissal for 47. It was an aggressive innings from Hume, who decided to play shots before the inevitable dismissal came with the ball often either keeping low or popping. His 47 came from 37 balls and included five 6’s.

The next to go was Steeman for 12, this innings was invaluable as he spent time at the wicket while others accumulated runs. Wickets fell regularly after that. Richie Mayo, who came out of retirement to help us out showed his class scoring 17, guiding Marivale-Papanui through to 136 All Out.

Bowling for Sydenham Hospital Jinto 2/20, Dion 2/11 and John 2/19 were the main wicket takers. (Sorry no surnames in the book)

At the half way stage, we were happy with our total, but knew that we had to bowl well.

Hospital got away to a good start until some brilliant fielding and an accurate throw from Pickle saw the first wicket fall to a run out with the score at 27 in the 8th over. That run out created a flurry of wickets as Hospital’s top order collapsed to 30/4 with Kelum Mendis picking up 2 wickets in his 5th over. Day and Bunz then combined to stop the flow of wickets, getting Hospital through to 53/4 at drinks.

After drinks they continued their partnership until a freak run out saw Bunz run out for 18. The run out saw Frank Kokiri field the ball in the deep and throw it into Hume the keeper, who then, with his back to the stumps, quickly flicked the ball between his legs and onto the stumps from about 5 meters away. (Like Carlos Spencer we were told) A brilliant piece of cricket, which saw Humey in his excitement high fiving each of us at least twice in celebration. More brilliance in the field came when Simon Bell, brilliantly caught Day millimeters off the ground. Day was the best of the Hospital batsmen with a solid 24. After Day’s dismissal, wickets fell regularly and Hospital were dismissed for 96.

Bowling for Marivale-Pananui, Kelum Mendis bowled beautifully to take 4 for 14 off 8 overs. Pickle chimed in with 2/21, with the others shared. A win to Marivale-Papanui by 40 runs

It was a game played in good spirit at a beautiful park, where we all sat in the shade and enjoyed a drink together.

Cheers Petros Kapralos

Sporting Edge MPCC Draw for Saturday 17th December ..

• MP Sporting Edge Championship vs OBS @ Edgar Mac 1 (1day)(10:30am)
• MP Sporting Edge Division 1 vs Heathcote @ Bishopdale Park 1 (1day)(12:00pm)
• MP BBS Timbers Division 3 vs Riccarton @ Yaldhurst Domain 1
• MP Frame'n'Copy Division 6 Panthers vs Prebbleton @ Prebbleton Domain 1
• MP Geeks on Wheels Division 7 vs Southbrook Blue @ Edgar Mac 2
• MP Bombay Tandoor Presidents vs Heathcote Tunnel Rats @ Hillsborough Domain 1

Facebook ..

Both the Senior and Junior sections of MPCC can be found on Facebook ....

• Click Here for Merivale Papanui Cricket Club
• Click Here for Merivale Papanui Junior Cricket Club
• Be sure to "LIKE" both pages.

• If you have any queries send us an email to mpcricket@xtra.co.nz

Article added: Wednesday 14 December 2022 by Matt Wilcock