2 wins, a loss and a first day reported this week, with 2 sides missing out on cricket due to Show Weekend.

Subscriptions for the 2023 season

A reminder that adult subscriptions are now due for the current season. Please note the impending deadline to pay your subscription or get an AP formally organised with the club Treasurer before the increased rate applies!

Senior club subscriptions for the 2023/24 season are set at $260 ($130 for students/apprentices) if paid, or if an AP is established in writing with the club's Treasurer, before 30 November 2023. Late subscription rates are charged at $360 (or $230 for students/apprentices). Note the increase in the late payment rate for this season.

Players joining the club from high school in their first season are not required to pay a subscription.

As always when paying your subs by Internet Banking ...

• The clubs bank account details are:
• Westpac 03 0866 0269318 000
• Merivale Papanui Cricket Club Inc
• When making a transfer please state your full name as a reference.

Congratulations to Teddy Gipson, whose 68* for the Division 2 side played a big part in getting his side to a high enough score to earn them the win in a rain-affected game.

Match Reports from Friday 17 November 

MP Sporting Edge Prems vs Burnside @ Edgar Mac 1 (Two Day – Day 1)

Beautiful morning on Friday to turn up to Edgar Mac and win a toss, Lingy choosing to bowl first. We started off well against a strong Burnside team opening with George and Sam with George taking an early wicket. We kept the scoring to a minimum in the first session bowling really tight! Jake came on and snagged a wicket with a great catch from Sammy G running backwards. We were graced with “Bighorn” Ryan Hawkins making his debut and it couldn’t have started any better by getting a wicket first ball to a rank Half tracker… and then a clean bowled a couple overs later. Jake and Ryno were tight through the middle period and we were happy where we sat at lunch. Couple runs got away from us after lunch until Jake came up with a plan and removed O’Donoghue who was looking to advance the game. Sammy G took a fantastic one handed catch off his own bowling and Burnside declared 9 down on 220. Jake picking up 4 wickets, Ryan picking up 2 and George, Sam and Sam picking up 1 each.

Lingy and Bert started the batting off well, being 34 before Bertie got trapped in front and unfortunately Lingy missed a full toss on 22…. Unfortunately another tough day with the Bat left us 67/6 at the end of the day. Rory still out in the middle 16* holding us together with Ryno looking to join him early next week, the rain spoiled the end of the day but we will start early next week and catch up that run deficit.

Jacob Wilson

MP Sporting Edge Div.2 vs Heathcote @ Bishopdale (One Day, Win)

We were up against a strong Heathcote side. We lost the toss and were asked to bat first. We opened with Louis and myself. We had a decent opening Louis 13 (32) looked promising before getting dismissed by a very good ball. Lachlan came next and we managed to build a decent partnership. I got undone just before drinks. Teddy walked in with a good intent. He and Woolfie had a great partnership which gave us the stability needed in the middle overs. Wolfie departed for a well made 39 and Teddy got his first first fifty of the season a well played 68 (78). With the support of comet and Beatie at the back end we manage to post a competitive total of 206. Heathcote showed a good fight back with their both openers scoring at good pace.  With the ball we had to Glen and Lachie who helped us back in the game with 2 wickets each. Due to heavy rain game had to be stopped half way through second innings. According to DLS we won the match.

Jibin Joseph

MP Burger Station Div 3 vs OBC @ Edgar Mac 2 (Loss)

Burger Station Div 3 met OBC at Edgar Mac 2. The block is still showing the ravages of the rugby season and we were stacked with bowling, so, needless to say, I lost my sixth toss in a row and we were sent in to bat. We opened with Mark Hume, filling in from the old fellas, and Matt Wilcock, but suffered an immediate setback when Humey was pinned in front by a ball that didn’t get more than an inch or two above ground. Nithissh rivalled Ash Reddy for the fastest ever LBW decision and we were 0-1 off 0.1. Darren and Matt ground things along for a while before Darren walked on a glove down leg for 6. Gilly celebrated his birthday by flicking a ball straight to backward square for 3, Himanshu hit a solid 6 over square leg but was bowled next ball, and Jase Swensson walked past one after having been hit on the helmet by a length ball not long before to leave us 48-5. Matt finally found a longer-lasting partnership with Nithissh, and the pair put on a partnership of 50-odd to get us over the 100 mark with about 5 overs to go, However, Nithissh (28 off 58) and Matt (37 off 95) fell within an over of each other, and the tail struggled to add much to the score with Josiah and Dave returning for ducks. Cam (3*) and Tawanda (0) stuck around to get us to 110 with 1 ball left of the innings.

Given the variable bounce and wide range of bowlers available, we were hopeful this would be enough. Unfortunately, however, we didn’t bowl consistent enough lines and lengths. Nithissh (1-14) got rid of an opener with a good moving ball that took the top of off, and Tawanda (0-16) was unfortunate to see a sharp catch go down early, but a few too many balls were wide of the mark. Josiah and Dave replaced them, but Dave’s trademark decent ball followed by goober that gets caught failed and he hooked himself in favour of Cam. Unfortunately, by this stage OBC were already in the high 60s. Cam bowled beautifully on a good stump to stump line, picking up 4-12 off 4 overs, while Josiah also grabbed a wicket courtesy of a good catch running back from Nithissh, but was unfortunate to see several uncontrolled shots loop away from fielders, as well as bowling a ball on a full length that ended up a couple of feet over the batsman’s head, keeper’s gloves, and on to the boundary. OBC got to the win in just over 20 overs, with the rain starting to come down heavily.

Hats off to Matt and Nithissh for getting us to a score we should have done a better job try to defend, and to Cam, who bowled consistently good lines and got the rewards the rest of the bowlers couldn’t. Unfortunately, we’ve had a bad habit in recent weeks of one or two players putting together a good innings or spell, but not getting enough from others, despite plenty of talent. The game we won featured 4 or 5 valuable batting performances and 5 wicket-takers, so our goal for future weeks will be to get back to a solid group performance.

Dave M

MP Bushnell Builders Panthers vs Weedons @ Weedons (Win)

With only six familiar Panthers available due to the long weekend, several new cubs emerged from the wilderness to join the hunt for victory at the picturesque Weedons Reserve. Nestled amongst the golf course, the ground provided our claw amenities usually only reserved for those higher up in the kingdom, including sightscreens, a boundary rope and freshly built changing rooms. We arrived expecting to play on an artificial pitch but were pleasantly surprised to find a grass wicket waiting for us, a rather damp wicket however, that stand-in skipper Andy R wasted no time in opting to bowl first upon winning the toss.

Weedons came out swinging as we knew they would and Jack bore the brunt of that initially. However, after some wisdom from Nana behind the stumps and a couple of amendments to the field, the trap was set and our youngest Panther claimed two victims to catches. Masood meanwhile was toying with his prey at the other end, conceding only a single run from his first four overs, including a wicket maiden. At 43/3 after 10 overs, David Frost came in for the kill and squeezed the life out of their middle order, bowling eight overs on the trot in an immaculate 1/10 spell. Midway through we found out they only had eight players and then an emphasis was placed on wrapping things up quickly as the forecasted rain had started to set in. Andy, Ron and Dakesy all played their part in chipping away wickets while keeping the runs at a minimum but the last wicket required became elusive as they started playing for the rain. That was until Chris Harpur proved to have the golden arm, bringing the Weedons innings to a close at 86 in the 32nd over.

With the threat of rain dampening the Panthers parade, Alan Cuthbertson and Chris were sent out with an intent to maul. Staring down a 7 ft giant, Alan wasted no time chopping him down to size with his hefty willow, cracking 10 runs off his first over and then proceeding to account for all of our first 22 runs. Chris then got in on the feeding frenzy, not only catching Alan but charging to 44 in no time thanks to a flurry of boundaries. Both now revealing in the thrill of the chase, overeagerness kicked in as Chris was run out with only two runs required for victory. Begging for mercy, all that did is bring a known predator to opposition div 6 sides to the crease in the form of Masood to polish off the Weedons carcus. Mad Max put them out of their misery instantly with one last disection of the boundary rope, leaving Alan carrying his bat for a well-made 37 as the Panthers sprinted to a dominant nine wicket win inside 15 overs.

A big thank you to Alan, Frosty, Nana and Harps for filling in for us and fitting in seamlessly to the Panther way. Wishing a speedy recovery to Glen who has played his last game for a while with finger surgery booked in this week and will be sorely missed after becoming a huge part of our side already in his debut season. And with back-to-back convincing wins boosting us up to third on the table, the Panthers are on the prowl and ready to growl.

Andy R

MP Div 7 (No fixture)

MP BBS Timbers Masters  (No fixture)

MP Bombay Tandoor T20 vs Riccarton at Polo 5 (Loss)

No report

Article added: Thursday 23 November 2023