Under 17s
Day 1
We lost the toss and were asked to bat on a green wicket, there was a solid start by the openers but unfortunately lost wickets in clumps throughout the middle and lower order to be bowled out for 104.
Day 2
With a lean tally to defendand Subiaco already 0/18 after Day 1, the bowlers started really well with offspinner Joe Hallows snaring 2 quick wickets before Subiaco regained some control. A bowling change after tea brought about a mini-collapse, with legspinners Zac Spark and Ronnel Bangera operating from both ends and bowling attacking areas. Ronnel took 2 wickets with Zac claiming his maiden 5 wicket haul for the club, finishing with 5/29.
Unfortunatelygoing down, but certainly not without a fight bowling Subiaco all out for 144.
Under 15s
Round 5 saw the U15s in a GF rematch with Subiaco Floreat and SF kicked off the day winning the toss and electing to bat. The opening bowlers again kept it tight but SF still played their shots which was encouraging on a deck that was doing a bit for the seamers. A ripper diving catch by Mathews in gully off the bowling of Wack got the ball rolling then an unplayable ball by Sellahewa, that jagged back and broke one of the bails sent the #3 back quickly and Port had them 2/24. From then on it was a steady stream of wickets taken at intervals that kept their partnerships to no more than about 30 and saw SF rolled for 124. Five (5) bowlers chipped in for wickets but the pick of them were Sellahewa (3/31 off 7), Saxon (3/10 off 10) and Bourne (1/8 off 6). 29 extras (22 wides) were the only negatives in what was another dominant team display in the field which saw us pile on the pressure before SF even got to day 2.
With our leading run scorer Green moving up to U17s, it meant that a decision had to be made on who would open with Saxon, that opportunity was gladly accepted by Seb Bourne. Unfortunately, Saxon nicked off at the end of the 3 rd over and then Bourne was bowled the first ball of the 4 th to see Freo 2/11. Mathews and Hwight came together and dug in to steady the ship for an 84-run partnership before Hwight knocked one back to the bowler not long after tea. Cardaci joined Mathews at the crease and instantly showed his intentions by pulling his first ball to the boundary for four. The pair then batted perfectly together, firstly getting past 124 to help win Port the game in approx. the 30 th over, then posting a 107-run partnership where Mathews passed 50 and Cardaci finished on 27 from 32 balls when we were 4/202.
The power hitting had only just begun, Mathews unleashed a display of clean striking which quickly saw him on 94 before a crisp bomb over “cow corner” brought up his maiden ton. The job wasn’t finished, Oliver joined the party and got straight off the mark with a maximum before others came in and supported Mathews who kept piling on the runs. A skyed sweep shot to short fine leg finally saw Mathews depart in the 47 th over, 149 off 141 balls with 20 boundaries, (16 x 4s & 4 x 6s).
A final score of 9/294 (50), led by our skipper Mathews making a chanceless 149, was the perfect finish for the team after an outstanding performance in the field on Day 1, where they were once again relentless when restricting the opposition. It must be said that the team score as well as Mathews’ personal tally, couldn’t have come about without the awesome contributions by a lot of our batsmen forming very important partnerships, in particular Hwight and Cardaci.
Another ‘W’, but only step 5 towards our 2023/24 goal!
Go Port!