The Valley Of Peace Cricket Club Inc.

The Christs College Old Boys’ team was supposed to be playing a St Bede’s Old Boys team this Sunday, however, the St Bede’s team pulled out only 4 days before the match, much to the disgust of esteemed Christs College Old Boy and winemaker extraordinaire Hugo Davison. He, like many others, was very keen to roll back the years and play a game with his friends from back at school. Thankfully Hamish Anderson managed to assemble an Old Boys Collegians (OBC) side to take on the College Old Boys.

This OBC Invitational XI was made up of a mix of the top 3 OBC teams, with 3 of those players being members of the recent College Gillette Cup winning side, including Benjamin Breitmeyer, Matthew Lewis and Hamish Falls-Anderson. The OBC XI was stacked with both batting and bowling talent perhaps leaving some of the Old Boys frightened.

With the ground in superb condition as always, thanks to Ant Polson, both teams arrived in great spirits looking forward to the day of cricket ahead. The Valley of Peace has a long-standing highest score of 153*  from Fred Shaw way back in the 1950s, however, with the calibre of some of the OBC batsmen it was recognised Shaw’s record may be in danger. With this in mind, Old Boys’ skipper Hugo Davison and College Old Boy Harrison Lund, who captained the OBC Invitational XI, agreed that the OBC XI shall bat first.

After an introduction to the Valley and an explanation of some local rules for those new to the ground, the game got underway with Scott Willoughby and Dylan Hunter facing up to an always deadly Hugo Davison with his two-piece Kookaburra red king in hand. There was swing aplenty for both Hugo and the other opening bowler, Charles Porter, early on but Willoughby and Hunter were equal to the task, batting conservatively and seeing off the new ball. Following a fine spell from Davison, Valley stalwart and reverse swing demon, James Thomson, was introduced into the attack and it only took Thomson 3 balls to swing one away taking Willoughby’s outside edge and carrying to the first slip.

OBC was now 29-1. Fresh off a premier hundred the day before Nic Clarke came to the crease and was dismissed soon after by a truly unplayable delivery from Porter that hooped in and clattered the off stump. Hunter then began to loosen the shackles and showed the CCOB team what he’s made of with some fine stroke play to all parts of the ground, he was well supported by Hanrahan, Hooper and Breitmeyer all contributing valuable cameos. Former Canterbury bowler Michael Davidson entered the fray and hit the ground running, dismissing Breitmeyer in his first over; at this stage, the score was at 157 for 5.

Hunter continued forth very nicely now in the 80s, and soon after brought up his hundred with a flowing drive through the covers. Dylan batted absolutely superbly and I’m sure at this stage Fred Shaw was turning in his grave expecting his record to be overtaken, however, Hunter was bowled soon after by Davidson. Michael bowled a superb spell with excellent flight, guile and changes of pace. He went on to take another 3 cleaning up the tail with some great variations, finishing with figures of 5 for 35. After being 5 for 160 I’m sure the College Old Boys’ team went into lunch happy to have restricted the OBC XI to 218 all out.

After a particularly long lunch break, where many libations were consumed in the warm afternoon sun, play got back underway. The opening batsmen may have regretted their lunchtime ales when they saw Breitmeyer and Lewis both ex-College 1st XI and Canterbury U19 seamers coming in off the long run. It didn’t take Breitmeyer long to show his class cleaning out Hugo Patterson with one that shaped away beautifully after just three balls. Fast-forward to a horrible mix up which wasn’t particularly pleasant on the eye and the score was 2 for 2.

Still euphoric after his 5-wicket bag Davidson strode to the crease and took charge seeing off the treacherous opening spells of Breitmeyer and Lewis, accumulating nicely without taking any risks and getting the CCOB team back into a competitive position. Spin was then introduced in the form of  Hamish Falls-Anderson, another recent College 1st XI player, and Dylan Hunter who both bowled superbly in a partnership, with Hunter, in particular, generating some serious turn and bounce. Soon after he was rewarded with a stumping. With the score at 52 for 3, captain Hugo strode to the crease determined to put his beloved College team into a winning position getting off to a solid start with some elegant strokes through the covers.

Davidson then fell LBW to Falls-Anderson for a well compiled 41. At drinks, the OBC XI went in on top with the Old Boys at 69 for 4. With 2 wickets to Falls-Anderson in the first over after drinks it began to look like the end may have been nigh for the Old Boy’s XI with the score dwindling at 74 for 6 but Hugo continued on, batting intelligently and dispatching the loose balls well getting College to 102 before the next wicket fell the game was back on, however after Holderness and Porter fell in quick succession it looked all but over.

Hugo and Jim Blakely, back for his second innings, batted well and made a fist of the 10th wicket partnership continued on and given their fine cricketing ability the game was all but over, however, Hugo then tried to hit one into the car park and was bowled, giving the OBC Invitational XI the victory by 86 runs.

As the post-match drinks flowed many stories were shared amongst the 14 College Old Boys’ who played across the two teams, proceeded by speeches from captains Davison and Lund who both highlighted what a spectacular day it was enjoyed by all at such a special ground.

Match Report by Hamish Falls-Anderson, and match hosted by Hamish Anderson

Result

Christ’s College Old Boys XI (127/10): M Davidson 41, H Davison 40 (H Falls-Anderson 3/22)

lost to

Old Boys Collegians (OBC) Selection XI (218/10): D Hunter 106, B Hanrahan 20, B Breitmeyer 20 (M Davidson 5/35, C Pettit 2/48)

From the Old Boys Collegians perspective

From Christ’s College Old Boys perspective

The day dawned fine at the Valley of Peace, it would get to a high of 24° and our visitors from Millbrook Cricket Club in the Queenstown district were greeted by an incredible-looking outfield and pitch at our home of cricket.

Tom Music, resplendent in his new Valley blazer, would win the toss and chose to bowl first.

The Valley team was built around a very experienced core, but also for the captain a pleasure that nine of the originally named members were available and many all-rounders were at his disposal, but no recognised keeper.

The Millbrook openers got off to a good start with Captain Billy Sheehy particularly savage. It would be first change bowler Tristan Pettit who would make the initial breakthrough in the eighth over when he had the skipper caught behind by Music, standing in at keeper.

A couple of chances would evade the Valley fielders, including the captain keeper. Millbrook took advantage, getting through to 91 for three at drinks in the 40-over match. We would pick up a wicket first ball after drinks and then the dangerous Steve Fraser for 42, Rusty McGregor doing the damage. Some more half chances fell into gaps as the scoring ticked over.

One of the things about being a Valley captain is trying to get a scouting report on what resources you have, particularly when you have not seen some of the players in at your disposal. Debutant John Durning modestly described himself as a batsman who bowls. Seven overs three for 18 suggests otherwise I thought. A fine spell of spin bowling. Jason Herron with 41 included three large sixes and saw Millbrook through the 40 overs at 192 for nine. A good total, but not insurmountable.

Valley started their earnings positively, but a strangle down leg side of Music was followed by a procession of wickets to have us 28 for four early. Niven Boyle and Greg Jones battled hard, and Tristan Pettit also contributed. When he departed at 96 for seven things were on the skids. All the bowlers got wickets with Herron the best early with three for 9 off 5. We stumbled to 109 all out in the 32nd over. I must also mention more than one good catch in the field and some excellent wicket-keeping by Fraser. Greg Jones with an excellent 33 not out was by far the pick of the batting.

Some short speeches followed in front of the watering hole. Millbrook was undoubtedly the victor of the day, taking out the raffle as well.

Congratulations to Billy and his team. And to any members thinking of playing in the reciprocal match at Millbrook, I think I can guarantee an excellent reception and a good match from great opponents.

Thanks to Jesse and Ollie behind the bar and particularly to Geoff and Tony for the ground presentation. Simply put, it’s marvellous.

So another loss on my record. Look forward to better things as the season develops.

Vally of Peace captain, Tom Music

Match Summary

Millbrook Cricket Club 192 for nine of 40 overs.
Fraser 42 Herron, 41 not out. Durning 3 for 18.

Valley Of Peace 109, all out of 31.3 overs
G.Jones 33 not out. Herron 3 for 9,

Millbrook win by 83 runs

Valley of Peace CC vs Millbrook CC, 4th Dec 2022

The St Andrews‘ captain was greeted by a wonderful setting on arrival at the Valley of Peace – manicured outfield, flags and stumps in, match ready. What he was then greeted by was a steady stream of keen Christchurch Boys High School cricketers all looking a little more youthful than his own…quote of the day from his squad was “this has all the hallmarks of a Veterans vs Emerging Veterans fixture…”.

On the line was the Sammy Guillen Trophy. A remarkable man who played test cricket for both New Zealand and the West Indies – and the StAC side was lucky enough to have his grandson Courtney Van Beek playing with us (as it transpired we could’ve also used Courtney’s brother Logan who was playing in that amazing Netherlands team who beat South Africa at the Adelaide Oval on the same day!).

The winning started for CBHS Captain Phil McKay with the coin toss, choosing to bat, and match terms agreed to at 40 overs per 10-man side. The StAC opening bowlers Capt. Dougald Munro (7.4-2-26) and Liam George (4-1-17) made an excellent start, Liam literally breaking the leg stump of Adam Percival (2) in his second over. Munro then managed to find the edge of Jack Harris (16) in his 4th over. This brought to the crease the most accomplished CBHS pairing of Cameron Rattray (35) and Jared Percival (30) who took a shine to the StAC second and third-string bowlers in Courtney Van Beek (7-2-45) and Andrew Letham (8-3-36) until Percival was caught in an outstanding running and diving outfield effort from Dougald Munro.

The ball followed Dougald all day, and he managed to hold 3 catches in the deep and catch another one before stepping over the line for a “Valley 4“. Very good effort in the field by all in the StAC team managing to dismiss CBHS for 144 after 29.4 overs. Special mentions to Nick Rennie who hit a hard 28 at #7 and their skip Phil McKay who came in, got his eye in and then swung. The silence of the ground was only broken by the wind swinging past his bat during his 24 off 17 balls.

Great lunch in the sun (thanks to Scott Cartwright and helpers) and the StAC team padded up with expectations still relatively high. These were quickly wound down as our openers Josh Blackmore (4) and Frazer Offwood (3) both managed to get out to Billy Georgeiff (6-2-23). We went on to suffer runouts, very poor shot selection and some excellent bowling from Josh Taylor (4-3-24) and NPC superstar Louie Chapman (4-0-5) especially. StAC lost wickets regularly with the highest individual score going to Andrew Letham (22*) and the Rev. Cameron Pickering (19) being the only scores of note (extras exclusive). StAC went on to be dismissed after 29.1 overs for 105.

A special presentation was then held beside the scorer’s box as Sammy Guillen’s wife, Val Guillen, presented the trophy to Phil McKay and the CBHS squad. She spoke of her own cricketing past (having played for Canterbury for many years) and her love of seeing people enjoying the game so much in the spirit in which it should be played. A lovely end to another great game of cricket at the Valley of Peace.

Special thanks to James Munro (https://itch.co.nz/) for the images from the day also.

Matchday photos can be viewed via Google Drive – St Andrew’s vs Christchurch Boys High School at Valley of Peace, 2022

Short Scorecard

CBHS 144 all out in 29.4 overs.
C Rattray 35, J Percival 30, N Rennie 28, P McKay 24.  A Letham 3 for 36, D Munro 2 for 26, C Van beek 2 for 45.

StAC 105 all out in 29.1 overs.
A Letham 22, C Pickering 19.  N Rennie 3 for 18, J Taylor 3 for 24, B Georgieff 2 for 22.

Christchurch Boys’ High School beat St Andrew’s College by 40 runs

Written by Jesse Tritschler

It was with great pleasure we were once again able to welcome the Honest Trundlers back to the Valley of Peace after the enforced Covid absence of 2 and a half years.

The day dawned fine and sunny and the ground staff were happy to report the pitch was ready to go after some earlier concerns due to unseasonable wet weather.

After winning the toss we decided to bat first and our openers got us off to a solid start putting on a 50-run opening stand with Nick Smithson scoring 36 and Tom Music 29. A couple of starts from Tony Penny and Ben Larter, both scoring 22, had us well placed to push on but the loss of both quickly saw us 8 down with 10 overs remaining. Skip and Tim Fulton managed to get through the last 10 overs adding 40 to give us a score of 202 at the completion of our 50 overs.

This score looked to be competitive with our bowling stocks seemingly in good supply, especially after taking a couple of early wickets. However, the Trundlers’ middle order proved to be very strong this tour as they powered through to 152 before we took another wicket, with Brad especially devastating with 11 boundaries in quick time leaving the tail an easy task to chase us down with 4 overs to spare. Our stand-out bowlers were Eddie Parsons with 8 overs for 24 and Ben Larter with 8 overs, 1 for 22.

A first-up loss then for Valley of Peace but an excellent day at the ground followed by a meal out at Elmwood Trading Company, where we enjoyed great camaraderie with our Aussie mates and joined in on Whispering Ted’s rendition of the Trundlers Battle Hymn sung only when the team celebrate a win.

Stu and the Trundlers will be back again in February when we look forward to hosting them again and under the Captaincy of Lance Ryan look to reverse the result.

Match report by Phil Harris

Top L-R, Geoff Olsen, Neil Baldwin, James Orford, Max Poyser, Ian (Whispering Ted) Lowe, John Munden; Bottom L-R, Brad Geelan, John Lindsay, Dave Erikson, Stuart Spalding, John Renshaw

The President’s XI Perspective

As the calendar moves into April, scheduling cricket can be a fraught proposition but the 22 Valley of Peace members who arrived to play the annual intra-club Presidents XI vs Captains XI fixture were greeted to a magnificent late summers day, hardly a breath of wind and although the track was a little damp to the eye, it was clear that a magnificent day of cricket lay ahead.  40 overs a side, max of 6 per bowler, batters retire at 40 the agreed terms and conditions.

After an initial visit to peruse the pitch, Tom Music was greeted with the news that he would have the honour and privilege of captaining Scott Cartwright’s President’s XI against the might of Jesse Tritschler’s Captain’s XI.  My losing record clearly not enough of a deterrent.  The teams were named in front of the watering hole and in his first success of the day, Music called correctly and chose to field.
One of the amazing aspects of the day was that of the 22 players named on Thursday to play that 20 were at the ground on Sunday – a pretty good strike rate in these Covid times.  Coincidently, the two players added, Ben Breitmeyer and Ray Steele were the opening bowler and batsman for ball one.  In the third over it would be Breitmeyer who would break the calm silence with the sound of leather hitting stumps with a peach of a delivery.  That success would be followed in the seventh over where Ollie Dugdale would pull in a fantastic diving catch to dismiss the dangerous Tom Byrne, setting the standard for a great fielding day for the Presidents selection.   Tim Fulton survived through the opening spell and was joined by Paul Bateman giving good support, enjoying good battles against Chris House, Nick Johnston and reliving old memories of the 1980s vs Tony Gray.   38 for 2 after 16 overs, match poised.

It would be the change to young Alex Fulton, fresh from his recent Glentunnel outing vs the Deans XI, that would bring immediate success, a nice stumping from Jim Smith to dismiss the positive Bateman for 12.  He had another wicket dismissing Anderson Junior while Wade Millar at the other end grabbed the wicket of George Ritchie who had struck 3 boundaries early.   In amongst all this, a piece of fielding will live long in the memory and perhaps Valley folklore.  Breitmeyer throwing in from the western boundary-breaking the stumps at the bowler’s end –  and by breaking I literally mean breaking – the direct hit leading to two pieces of stump catapulting through the air luckily not impaling Millar and the onrushing (not out) batsman.

The even younger Angus Fulton took over the bowling duties with Michael Kirkland.  Justin Dove and Tim Fulton (still there) mixing watchful defence and good strokeplay, Dove 2 “sixes’ impressive but the bowling of the young left-armer impressed the veteran bowlers in attendance.   At 93 for 5 in the 32^nd over, things had progressed steadily but unusually when Music captains, bowling changes brought success with Gray, House, Breitmeyer, Millar and  Alex Fulton all enjoying success in short second spells (including a priceless father /son wicket removing Tim Fulton for a hard-fought 27) the innings would end at 114 all out in the 38^th over.   The bowling figures make for excellent reading, Alex’s 4 wickets for 14 off 5 being the highlight, although Tony Gray’s 5 overs 4 maidens 1 for 1 were spectacular until his skipper gave him another over when Captain Jesse dispatched him for a “six” and 7 in total.

A beautiful lunch served up by Messrs Cartwright and David Hearn was appreciated by all and plans were set in place to chase down the total on the tricky but drying wicket, Ollie Dugdale and Nick Johnston were entrusted with the opening spots.  It would be George Ritchie that would impress early with the ball, bowling Dugdale and not conceding a run until his third over.  From there Music enjoyed the show as the powerful Johnston went about hitting six 6’s and four 4’s on his way to retiring on 41 with the score at 53 in the 11^th over.  Anderson Junior (6-0-22-1) was bowling with good flight and extracting some turn, a quicker one accounting for Kirkland bringing schoolmate Breitmeyer to the crease.  Eight overs later, he retired on 40  (6 x 6’s, 6 x 4’s), a brutal knock with excellent strokeplay, then the gathered crowd told Music to depart on 27 to allow a re-creation of many a backyard battle with Alex and Angus Fulton facing up to the “googly king” and father Tim to see the lads home from 111 for 2. Tritschler would snare a Fulton wicket but success was reached in the 20^th over, the President’s XI doing Scotty proud.

A great day had by all I believe, and as well as the toss and the match, a raffle win rounded off a pretty good trifecta personally.  The camaraderie during the match, with no small measure of banter and some excellent pieces of cricket, was wonderful to be a part of.  We welcomed Eddie Parsons as a Valley debutant, hopefully joining us for many games in the future.   With the Fultons and the slightly older Christ’s College lads that played, the future seemed assured.

From a member’s perspective, this game is a pleasure to play but I will also take this opportunity to offer a vote of thanks to our President and Captain for the work they do.  The behind-the-scenes efforts of Scott and Jesse make our Sundays at the Valley an awesome event.  To them and their committees, helpers, of course, our groundsman Ant and everyone involved, our sincere thanks.

And finally to Scott, happy to give you bragging rights over Jesse for another year!

Winter well everyone.

Tom Music
Valley of Peace Presidents XI Captain for the day

Short Scoreboard

Captains XI  114 all out in 38 overs
T. Fulton 27, Extras 29, Alex Fulton 4 for 14, B. Breitmeyer 2 for 7, W. Millar 2 for 10

Presidents XI 115 for 3 off 19.3 overs
N. Johnston 41 (ret), B Breitmeyer 40 (ret), T Music 27 (ret)

Presidents XI won by 7 wickets

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For most of us weekend cricketers, the problem is that we’re never out there long enough to find out whether we’re any good. This dilemma hung heavy above the dew at Glenntunnel Domain when a Fulton team representing Valley of Peace played the Deans XI on Sunday, March 20^th 2022.

Expectation was fragrant and happiness and handshakes abounded as Fultons and friends assembled.

A team member, Bob Masefield (cousin Bob), noted that the Fultons were not as young as the opposition. Just wait until our 15-year-old and 12-year old arrives, I told him.

In fairness, the Fultons’ fortunes were always going to rely on the performance of our single (current) Premier grade cricketer, David.

People soon murmured: ‘So where’s the tall one today?’ Captain Tim smiled happily back at them as if the answer was standing before them, but no one took the hint.

The Fultons won the toss and chose to bat; cousin Sam and I (seven of us were Fultons so please indulge the lack of surname) opened the innings. Sam reckoned he last played cricket when Donald Trump won office but this big lump of a lad from the Military Police – HQ Burnham – soon settled. By this time, Tim was gone, wrapped on the pads and caught behind.

Brother John of Methven started to show his form of the ’90s at Swannanoa Domain before an untimely chip to field. His son George (15) quickly showed the excellent cricket tuition at CBHS, joining Big Sammie, then his uncle Dave, who increasingly wore the heavy expression of a man who knew he needed a 100.

Run-rate at the 20 over break was hovering around a mild 3 per over but while there was Dave (and Young George), there was hope.

Unfortunately, as per the game of cricket, something happened. George was dismissed, to be replaced by our other youth academy player, Angus. Straight off the mark with a single pushed to cover – well done, son.

Dave and Angus were soon locked in a heady contest with the craftiness of Andrew Nuttall, though it was Phil who made a critical breakthrough. A ball leapt at Dave’s defences, took an edge and was pouched by the keeper in a smart piece of work.

Well played Dave – a good start but how we needed that 100 from him.

Next, it was Gordon to the crease. After first posing for multiple pitch-side photos with his grandson, Gordon and Angus pursued the challenge of facing down Nuttall. It’s hard to know what advice is shared between players 60-odd years apart in age, but it must have been a good conversation – and a delight to see.

Angus straight batted for a few overs before being done, as so many have been, by a Nuttall variation of flight. Well played, son.

By now, as you may have gathered by the lack of commentary on scoring shots, we were struggling for runs and starting to lose wickets at an alarming rate. But we did see other magic moments, like Gordon batting with his cousins – firstly John, then Bob.

Gordon saw off a few partners by the end of it. As we threatened to compile 100 runs (team score, not Dave score) our Swannanoa Cricket Club bastions Lance Ryan and Geoff Olsen set about doing better than Fultons and Masefields. With Nuttall wreaking havoc among the tail, we finished with a muted 94.

Lunch – brought our own and the Deans brought some too. Sunshine and a 40-minute break to catch up with family and friends. Terrific.

Now, back to the heroic task of defending our 94.

After a warm-up on the Section 4 wicket, it was clear that we were missing a 2^nd fast bowler to complement Geoff. So, in the style of Martin Crowe at World Cup 1992, captain Tim turned not to Dipak Patel but a left-arm spinner in the form of young Angus.

Not only did this bold opening move placate the fears of his mother, Fiona, who worried he wouldn’t get a go, it surely confounded the opposition. Twirling in from the southern end, Angus bowled two very respectable overs. In comparison, they were certainly more respectable than his father who came in at first change from the other end.

After Tim made it clear that, personally, he deserved no more than two overs of punishment, he called on Big Sammie from the northern end. Now, as described earlier, Sam is quite the ‘unit’. Loves his weights, does a bit of speed work and has a great appetite for work. And boy, did we work him…

After only a couple of looseners, it was clear that Sam had steam in his belly. He crashed back the stumps with one delivery and we all got excited. Big Sammie was puffing, but getting more and more excited as we called for more metaphorical blood at Glentunnel Domain.

Let me make it clear, it was too much to ask Sammie to bowl out the Deans, who in truth were smashing most of us to all parts, but well-bowled Cuz.

As the Deans’ innings exploded onward, it became vitally important for all of the Fulton XI to get a bowl before it was all over.

In all, the bowlers were John of Methven, Bob of Akaroa, John of Goughs Bay, Gordon of Swannanoa, Geoff and Lance of The City, George of Fendalton, Sam of Lincoln and Angus and Tim of West Eyreton. Only Dave of St Albans missed out on a bowl, but we had to punish him somehow for not scoring a 100.

After an exciting 20 over in the field, the Deans’ declared their winning innings closed – 15 runs ahead.

It was truly a magical day of cricket, that in some ways was not about cricket at all, though it must be said, the Deans XI were far too good for us on the day.

For some of us Fultons, result aside, this was the realisation of a dream that appeared to stand little chance until it happened. Thank you so much to the Valley of Peace and the Deans XI for indulging us in this fixture. Particular thanks to VOP’s Scott for his pre-match liaison and support; equally, Jo and the team for mustering the Deans squad and Peter Williams, our umpire for the day.

And of course, a mighty thanks to everyone who played and came along to support. Blood is obviously thicker than water.

Match Day Captain (but not the head of the family), Tim Fulton

Photos for the day

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On a beautiful warm sunny morning, the Valley captain won the toss and invited the Peninsula Goat Herders to bat, but then things soon started to unravel! Star bowler Stan Wooliscroft only bowled 2 overs before eventually leaving the field and having to go home, feeling unwell, while Greg Jones bravely played, despite a groin strain (sustained on Friday night at touch rugby), but was unable to bowl his normally accurate mediums. And later another of our bowlers, Paul, wasn’t feeling well enough to bowl his full quota of overs.

And to compound this the captain dropped aggressive opener Richard Breitmeyer twice (one a sitter straight to him at mid-off), who needed no further invitation to cut loose even further against our depleted attack! Joined early on by his brother Mike, the two attacked in such fashion that 84 was up after just 10 overs! Eventually, when Richard retired and Mike was out after they’d enjoyed a swashbuckling 90 run partnership, we had a little bit of relief. But then skipper Ben Prain and Simon Whitherford both hit quick 20s, followed by Jamie Sumner smashing a rapid 38. So after 33 overs, the score was 200/4 – and with 12 overs still to go, we seemed to be staring down the barrel of a very big score of likely 270 or more.

But just after this Hamish Anderson junior bowled Sumner with a beautifully flighted ball, then the captain (only bowling because he’d run out of other choices!) had some unlikely success – helped by 2 very good catches by Ben Aveyard, both running in from the boundary. So we fought back very well in the field, to get their last 6 wickets for just 28 and keep them to 230 – with 4.2 overs unbowled. It was a hot tough day in the field, with 5 of our bowlers going for 7-8 an over, while easily the pick of them were our seamers Ben Aveyard (7 0 21 2) and Ben Larter – who had 3 catches dropped off him, beat the bat regularly but somehow couldn’t get a wicket?! While 6 of their wickets were bowled and Ben Aveyard caught the other 4 – one a c&b and the other 3 all very well judged outfield catches.

After the usual splendid lunch and with the temperature by now over 30 degrees, we obviously needed a good start – but their opening bowlers were accurate and penetrating, so at 35/3 we had a mountain to climb, However at this stage, Ben Larter joined young Nick Gibb and they both batted beautifully, to get us back into the game. Nick was eventually out for 47 (1 x 4 &16 x 2), after some very polished stroke play. While Ben, after taking his time to get himself in, cut loose in typically muscular style before retiring on 53 (9 x 4 & 4 x 2). And Hamish junior carried on the good work, getting to a very promising 29 and us into a most competitive position, now needing just over 60 runs off the last 10 overs.

But as the Goat Herders were perhaps starting to wilt a bit in the heat, and now with their own injury concerns – Bob Masefield sub fielding for big Bob Davidson (gone with a calf injury) and at least one other fielder limping badly – there came a turning point. Skipper Ben Prain was in the midst of a very accurate spell when Hamish drove him powerfully towards cover, where Jamie Sumner picked up a superb low diving catch, just off the grass! Greg (with 22) and our keeper Tony Danenberg (with 12) then batted bravely and tried hard, but the bowling and fielding had tightened up and the run rate climbed. And when they were eventually out to 2 good bits of fielding Graham Aveyard and the captain then both tried to hit out at everything, with mixed success. But with 13 eventually required off the last over it was always a long shot and Matt Hamett, who had earlier bowled very well, duly made sure of it. Matt finished with the best figures (7 1 25 3) while Ben (6 1 15 1) and Simon (7 0 27 1) also bowled particularly well.

So the Valley finished just 7 runs short at a valiant 223/8 in a terrifically enjoyable game played in all the best traditions of the Valley, the match was played in the best possible spirit, everyone got a bat and a bowl (who could!), 453 runs were scored on an excellent pitch and the game went to the last over. Accordingly all credit to (lead from the front captain) Ben Prain and his excellent Goat Herders team, always just the best and most enjoyable of opposition. And no day at the Valley would ever be complete without the also excellent team behind the bar – so in this case big thanks to Scotty, Ollie and Barry (king of the caterers!).

Short scoreboard:

Goat Herders 230 (R. Breitmeyer 54*, M. Breitmeyer 38, J. Sumner 38, B Walker 4-16, B. Aveyard 2-21 and 4 catches) beat
Valley of Peace 223/8 ( B; Later 54*, N Gibb 47, H. Falls-Anderson 29, M. Hammett 3-25) by 7 runs.

Bert Walker (losing Captain!)

The Valley of Peace faithful were greeted with less than Summer conditions for the fixture against the Waipuna Valley Cricket Club. Upon arrival to the ground, temperatures were hovering around the 12-degree mark, overcast, gloomy and perfect for bowling in what seemed English like conditions! A 45 over affair was agreed upon.

A quick inspection of the pitch and outfield confirmed that whoever won the toss surely would bowl first, much to the agreement of Hugo Davison! When the Waipuna Valley CC minivan pulled up, the immediate thought from several VOP players was ‘do you have anyone over the age of 30?‘ The navy blue, pinstripe blazers with Auckland Rugby coloured ties indicated these guys meant business!

For the geographical nuts out there, the Waipuna Valley CC is located in ‘Waerenga,’ almost halfway between Hamilton and Auckland. A quick glimpse of their webpage indicates they are also a rural cricket club promoting the summer game, aiming to have friendly matches and social events each year. They are currently developing their home ground and building changing rooms. One of the players was so proud of this, that he quickly pulled out his cell phone and proceeded to show the scorer photos on his phone!

The Wombats, as they are affectionately known, introduced themselves to the VOP players before the toss was made. Captain of the day Chris House making his inaugural debut as Captain of the Valley, headed out to the middle with Waipuna Captain Carl Schwarz. Interestingly, Carl had an uncanny look-alike to former Australian allrounder Shane Watson. After asking him what number he batted at, I was hoping he didn’t bat like him!

Waipuna won the toss and decided to have a bat. A strange decision, given the apparent juiciness of the Valley track. Captain House would have bowled anyway!

Some tight bowling in the first spell from Rumesh Warnakulasuriyage and Hugo Davison saw the visitors at 2 for 16 after the first ten overs. Rumesh doing the initial damage picking up 2 wickets in his first 3 overs. Both bowlers bowled with great pace and carry indicating batting could prove somewhat difficult. Hugo Davison got lots of chances in his spell but was unable to get the edge which he was threatening often.

First change bowler James Hoban came on and snared a wicket in his 3rd over putting the visitors at 3 for 43 after 18 overs. A 50-run partnership got the Wombats into a better position before Shane Watson’s look-alike Schwarz was caught off the bowling of Paul Dearsley. Paul ended up taking 2 for 17 off his 6 overs in a tidy spell.

Waipuna Valley all-rounder J Sullivan contributed with a well-timed 40, including 5 sixes and 6 fours. There was more tail-wagging than a labrador on steroids coming from the Waipuna Wombats which took their final score to 8 for 179. Bowling performance for the VOP went to Rumesh with an impressive 2 for 9 off 6 overs.

After a hearty lunch including the famous VOP curried eggs laid out in full glory by Barry and Scott, the VOP openers Paul Bateman and Jonty Dalziel did their best to weather the Waipuna Valley bowling attack which was accurate and threatening. Scoring was difficult, to say the least, with both openers back in the pavilion for an early refreshment and shower for 1 apiece. Things were not looking good at 2 for 6! After the first ten, the VOP was sitting similarly at 2 for 15 as the Wombats were.

Enter Mark Hume who came out and made a well-compiled 30. Hugo Davison was chomping at the bit to be the ‘anchor,’ that he does so well for the Valley. Hugo was looking very comfortable in the middle before being given lbw for 11. After this, the VOP unfortunately never got out of second gear with tight fielding and bowling from the Northern visitors.

‘Better late than never‘, Tim McConnell who was playing as a substitute player arrived just in the nick of time to make a well-compiled and aggressive 23, batting at 7. Captain House had a brain fade, toeing the ball to mid off for 7 thinking he could up the run chase. An injured Brian Plaskett, surely taking honours for the most elegant number 11 of all time, ran out of partners finishing with 5 n.o.

Despite some tight bowling from the Valley, restricting what was a formidable, young side for 179 off 45 overs, the visitors’ tight bowling and handy fielding eventually rolled the Valley for 108 off 33 overs. Time was definitely on the Valley’s side had we held our wickets and batted with our heads down.

Cricket was the eventual winner on the day as the Waipuna lads were top-notch and a pleasure to play against. The invitation was laid down from the Wombats for a potential rematch next season, including a possible trip to their domain. The 4-game South Island road trip came to a successful end for the Waipuna CC finishing 4 from 4. For the VOP, it’s back to the drawing board and a reset of tactics for the next fixture. See you all in the nets!

Thank you to Scott, Barry, Cameron and everyone who assisted on the day to make for a very enjoyable occasion yet again. It is safe to say the visitors were impressed and enjoyed their experience at the Valley.

Chris House, Captain for the day.

Paul Bateman taking guard

After-match at the Valley of Peace; is that Shane Watson?!