The boys from the Premier side with the spoils from a fantastic record breaking seaon.. Awesome stuff lads

Captain Kyle Watson and Dave Davies collect the Joe Stoupe  cup for the Senior B championship at the recent CMCA awards evening.

There's not likely to have been many Finals which were won on the last ball of the game, but Pukekohe Metro Reserves can claim to have played in one...and won it!

The top two teams in the Reserve Grade, Pukekohe and Manukau, had met three times during the regular season, and Pukekohe had a perfect record coming into this final. On each of their previous meetings during the season, Pukekohe had won the toss and elected to field, so it was a huge relief when Mark Fleming called the coin toss correctly and put Manukau into bat once more.

The Bruce Pulman Outer Oval is renowned for being a very bouncy wicket and Mandhiraj 'Tanny' Singh wasted no time in demonstrating this to the Manukau openers. His first delivery of the game almost took the opener's head off but was gloved into a vacant backward-square for three runs. His next delivery was a perfect yorker to a batsman who was probably expecting a repeat of the first ball. The stumps were sent flying as Manukau's opener was bowled for a golden duck and Pukekohe had a perfect start.

Manukau has played the same all-out attack style of cricket all season and Pukekohe expected more of the same in the final. Lee Kane was unfortunate that he didn't snare a couple of wickets in his first over, with Manukau's other opener hitting a ball straight to John Keen at mid-on but, on this occasion, John's dependable hands couldn't hang on to the ball. The opener also flashed another delivery just over the slip cordon as he made their tactic perfectly clear.

With a sharply-rising wicket and an attacking batting strategy, the game was going to offer up lots of catches, and so it proved. The old adage of 'catches win matches' was never more evident than in this final. By the end of the Manukau innings, Pukekohe would have taken 8 catches.

Manukau's scoring rate remained typically high and it wasn't going to be long before they offered up more catching opportunities. In Lee Kane's second over, Manukau's big-hitting number 3, Willem, mis-timed a full toss and lobbed it to short cover where Andy Lincoln gratefully accepted the catch diving forwards. Willem had already scored a quick-fire 24, including five boundaries, and the score had raced onto 36 for 2 by the end of the 4th over.

This wicket crucially served to slow down Manukau's scoring rate as Tanny and Lee built up pressure by restricting runs. Lee had been smashed for 29 runs from his first two overs, but only conceded one run off the bat from his next two. Pukekohe brought on their first bowling change after 10 overs, with the score on 58 for 2. Tom Bingham took the crucial wicket of Jono, Manukau's opener, in his first over, with the ball being pushed out to the unfaltering huge hands of Tanny Singh at cover. Both of the Manukau batsmen at the crease were leg-side prodders and Pukekohe's fielding and bowling was strangling their opportunities to score fluently. The pressure became too much for Chandra as he stepped up the wicket to Homi Mistry, only to miss the ball and be stumped by Ian Pool. Pukekohe wasn't done yet, and in the last over before drinks, Homi had another Manukau batsman brilliantly caught at first slip by Sarang Padey who jumped and took the catch at full stretch, two-handed above his head. Drinks were taken immediately, with the score on 92 for 5.

In the first over back after drinks, Manukau's captain was dismissed by his namesake as Tom Bingham claimed another scalp caught, once again, by Tanny at short cover. At 93 for 6, Manukau was in real trouble, but they have strong batting right throughout their line-up and the tail had to come out and wag for them to make a game of the final. Kevin and Hayden decided to take the fight to the Pukekohe bowlers, and they rode their luck as they pushed the score along in double-time. After 5 overs, Homi Mistry had figures of 2 wickets for 7 runs...after 6 overs, that read 2 for 24!

Their luck was going to run out eventually as their 'hit and hope' style of batting was reaping short-term reward, and it wasn't long before the next wicket fell. Kevin lobbed a slower ball back to Tanny for his third catch of the game and in his next over, he had Hayden caught at long off by Mark Fleming to snare his third wicket of the game also. The score was now 147 for 8, and Manukau had run out of any recognised batters. However, the last two wickets managed to add a very valuable 43 runs in the next 7 overs before they finally succumbed with 190 runs on the board.

Requiring 191 to win, Pukekohe's batsmen didn't need to panic, they just needed to survive the new ball and a very bouncy wicket. Manukau had a team loaded with good young cricketers who could all bat and bowl, so it wasn't going to be easy to chase down the target score. Pukekohe made a slow but steady start to the innings, knowing that if Steve Hayward could stay in the middle and build an innings, then the run chase would be well within their means. Unfortunately, in the 7th over, with the score on 18, Steve got a thick inside edge off a rising delivery and it deflected off his pads and onto the stumps. Sarang Padey was riding his luck and got put down at square leg from a ball which should have been held onto comfortably. Pukekohe's luck didn't last long though, and they were dealt a double blow with John Keen lobbing a catch to square leg and, the very next ball, Andy Lincoln did exactly the same to be caught off an attempted pull shot for a golden duck! The fielder had made amends for his earlier indiscretion by holding onto two catches from successive balls to have Pukekohe worried at 51 for 3 after 14 overs.

By drinks, Pukekohe had tip-toed through to 73 for 3, needing 118 runs from the final 20 overs. It wasn't until Manukau's left-arm spinner, Kevin, bowled Sarang in the 26th over, with the score on 93, that Pukekohe picked up the scoring rate with Ian and Homi at the crease. Sarang had been dropped 3 times on his way to 38, but sustained a minor leg injury in the process which meant that his running between the wickets was hampered.

Kevin's bowling figures suffered the same fate as Homi's had done for Pukekohe. After three overs he had figures of 1 wicket for 5 runs. His next four overs went for 46 runs, thanks to Ian Pool, Homi Mistry and Tanny Singh. They put on 79 runs in an eventful 10 overs. Ian Pool raced through to his second half-century of the season and then retired hurt with a strained back. Soon afterwards, Tanny was bowled for 20 and, at 172 for 5 from 35 overs, Pukekohe had almost reached their target. Lee Kane and Homi Mistry were set to see Pukekohe home with overs to spare but a sharp piece of fielding saw Homi run out for 23 with Pukekohe still needing 13 runs to win from 4 overs.

Pukekohe's captain, Mark Fleming, walked out to the middle, and Manukau brought back their opening bowlers. With the score on 184 for 6, Lee Kane was run out as Mark attempted to exploit a mis-field, and this brought Tom Bingham to the middle. Pukekohe needed 7 runs to win from 2 overs. With the help of three wides and two singles to Mark, Pukekohe moved on to 189 for 7 after 39 overs, needing one run to tie and two runs to win, although a tied score would still have resulted in a win for Pukekohe as long as they didn't concede their three remaining wickets. Three dot balls followed, and the tension was becoming palpable as Pukekohe now had three balls remaining in which to score at least one run or risk losing the final by the slimmest of margins.

Ball 4 of the 40th over saw the faintest of leg byes run down to fine leg and Pukekohe's batsmen scampered through for a single and what would surely be the match-winning run. Tom Bingham now had two balls to make the result safe...first ball was a dot...

The field came in for the final ball of the game, hoping to block any chance of a quick single. The bowler arrowed the full-pitched delivery in at Tom's pads and he deftly flicked the ball away through a gap between the fielders and into mid-wicket for the winning run! Pukekohe had won the final on the last ball of the season!!!

It was a fitting finale to a long season in which Pukekohe had finished top of the league and deservedly take the title as best team in the division. The end result shows how evenly matched the two top teams were all season.

End result - Manukau 190/10 lost to Pukekohe Metro 191/7 by 3 wickets.

Full scorecard here.

Pukekohe Metro Cricket Club has three teams in Finals action this weekend, starting with the Year 7/8 Gold team taking on Manukau on Saturday morning at Bledisloe Park, starting at 8:45am.

At 1pm, the Senior Reserves face Manukau at Bruce Pulman Outer Oval in their first final since the 2010 loss to Weymouth. Manukau has won the title both years since then, but Pukekohe will be looking to affirm their position at the top of the table after the regular season.

The Senior B team will face Tuakau on the same wicket starting at 12:30pm on Sunday.

The Premier team will be looking to make a clean sweep of trophies when they square up against Papakura next weekend.

Any support for the teams will be very much appreciated.

PMCC Reserves were always in control of this game as they eased to their 13th win of the season and put in a good performance ahead of next weekend's final.

Pukekohe won the toss and elected to bat first, wanting to test the ability of their bowling attack to defend a target. Steve and Sarang didn't waste any time in getting the scoring underway, smashing 73 runs from the first 9 overs. Sarang was particularly cavalier in his approach, clearing the square-leg/mid-wicket  boundary three times in the first 9 overs.

Pukekohe lost a few quick wickets just before drinks but were looking good at 123 for 4 by the end of the 20th over.

Ian Pool and John Keen put on a quick-fire 80 before Ian was caught on the long-off boundary from a full toss which looked to have been a no-ball. That sparked a lower-middle order collapse, with Pukekohe crumbling from 195 for 4, to 197 for 9!

Lee Kane looked assured in the middle and he was ably supported by Ryan Mills as the final pair put on a decent partnership of 35. Lee was caught with just 7 balls remaining, so Pukekohe had almost lasted the full 40-overs and had posted a solid total of 232.

Waiuku needed all of their batsmen to fire if they were to chase down the target, even though the ground was hard and the outfield was lightning-fast. Pukekohe's opening bowlers of Tanny Singh and Lee Kane were bowling good lines, restricting the scoring opprotunities, and Pukekohe's field-placements were strangling the Waiuku batsmen. Waiuku's cause wasn't helped when their captain skyed a delivery from Lee Kane which took an age to come down but was gratefully accepted by Pukekohe's captain at long off. Waiuku's other opener was riding his luck whilst using every part of his bat except the middle. He got countless inside edges which narrowly missed the stumps, as well as top edges, outside edges and mis-directed drives as he mis-hit his way to a very unlikely 63.

Tanny helped Pukekohe's cause when he caught an absolute screamer from his own bowling to dismiss Waiuku's top-scorer and best batsman this season, Blair, who has already scored several centuries this season, including 103* (and 89) against Pukekohe. Blair's dismissal for just 5 runs meant that Waiuku's chance of reaching their target was looking very unlikely. At 82 for 3 by drinks, Waiuku needed a mammoth effort to score the 151 required to win in the second half of their innings. Spinners were brought on at both ends in order to slow the scoring rate even further, and wickets continued to fall. Ryan Mills even found himself on a hat-trick in his final over.

Pukekohe's fielding was much better than recent weeks, and the fielders all held onto their catches, piling more pressure on Waiuku's batsmen. When the end came at 177, Waiuku only had 3.3 overs left in their innings but had long-since run out of puff. Pukekohe won the game by 55 runs and showed that their bowlers and fielders can defend a target if they put their minds to it. The wickets were shared around, with all of the bowlers taking at least one each.

Next Saturday the team will face Manukau, who have won the competition for the last two seasons, in the grand final. Pukekohe has played Manukau 3 times this season, and Pukekohe has won 3 times...let's make it 4 from 4!

After two bizarre losses, Year 5/6 Blue rediscovered their form in the final game of the season to show Tuakau that, despite the final league positions, Pukekohe Blue are the best team in the division this season.

Both teams entered this game knowing that a win for Tuakau would lift them into second place, but Pukekohe would have to settle for fourth place irrespective of the final result; they were playing for pride and for each other.

Tuakau won the toss and elected to field, but Pukekohe's batsmen looked assured and confident from the outset. No-one in particular stood out as all of the partnerships contributed to the team score and worked well together. The communication and running between the wickets was spot-on and the boys showed that they had learnt a lot during the season as they scored exactly 100 runs for the loss of just 4 wickets during the first 16-overs, giving a net score of 88.

When Pukekohe came out to field, it was clear that today was going to be their day. Every one of the players had a determination to play his part for the team, and their bowling and fielding was faultless. They didn't drop a single catch and the energy they displayed in the field was very impressive, with sliding stops, flicks back from the boundary and great support and encouragement for each other...it was a pleasure to see. Some particular stand-outs in the first innings were Jymin Hamilton, with three wickets for one run from two overs, and Sheldon Deacon-Hewlett who took two wickets plus two catches. With only one of the Tuakau batsmen even making it to double figures, and Pukekohe taking 12 first-innings wickets, the game was all but over by half time with Tuakau closing out with a net score of 36, 52 runs behind Pukekohe.

Pukekohe's batsmen were keen to ensure that they built on their lead to make the result inevitable. They weren't helped in their cause when Finn Martin left a very wide delivery and, whilst waiting for the ball to be thrown back to the bowler, he absent-mindedly wandered out of his crease, only to be stumped by the wicket-keeper who had collected the ball from backward point and run back to the stumps! Jymin Hamilton followed soon afterwards to leave Pukekohe on 9 for 2. Joseph Fleming and Cale Barnett both looked confident and assured at the wicket, and put on 35 runs before Cale called Joseph through for a risky second-run and Joseph was run out just short of his ground. Cale continued to pile on the runs and by the time he was caught on 24, Pukekohe had a lead of more than 100 runs. The innings closed with Pukekohe on 65 for 5, a lead of 117.

Tuakau had three decent batters who were placed at the top of their order and when Finn Martin took a catch from Jonty Stephens' bowling to dismiss their opener, Bradley West came out to the middle. He is by far their best player and is a good all-round cricketer. He was striking the ball well, but Pukekohe had a very defensive field which he was struggling to breach. The odd single here and there was never going to be enough, and he couldn't find the boundary often enough to score at the required run rate which was creeping up into the mid-teens. Pukekohe's bowlers were bowling sensible lines to restrict the scoring and the fielders were showing the same zeal and enthusiasm which they had displayed in the first innings (but which had mysteriously eluded them in the preceding two games).

Tuakau soon realied that the mammoth target was just too much, and retired their two best batsmen in order to give some of the younger players a hit out in the final few overs of the season. Their innings closed on 57 for the loss of two wickets, and Pukekohe won the game by 60 runs. Particularly impressive was the bowling figures of Jonty Stephens, who bowled two overs for three runs, taking one wicket - this is very impressive when the opposition is looking to score at 12 runs per over.

There wasn't a player of the day announced today, because the whole team was deserving of the award. Everybody played their part today to cap off a very successful season.

There were a few players whom, for the last few weeks, seem to have forgotten what it means to be part of a team but they all dug deep for the final game and performed as a very, very good team. If they had shown that same resolve and attitude during all of their games, they would have finished the season unbeaten. As it is, they will all become better players, better sportsmen and better people for their shared experiences and they should all be very proud of their individual and combined achievments.

Albert Thomas Wharfe 17/10/1925 - 03/03/2013

It is with incredible sadness that Pukekohe Metro Cricket Club announces a very sad moment in our proud history. Albie, our Club Patron and first ever President of Pukekohe Metro Cricket Club has lost his fight and passed away last night. He will be sadly missed by the club but his spirit will live on at Pukekohe Metro.

A period of reflection will be held before the club's fixtures next weekend, and senior teams shall wear black armbands as sign of respect.

RIP Albie...a true gentleman and club stalwart.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.

The Blue Ducks made short work of their run chase on a warm and overcast day at Rosa Birch park to beat United Marauders by 8 wickets.

United won the toss and batted first, and raced out of the blocks, scoring freely on a lightning-fast outfield. 16 runs came off the first over, and they were 41 without loss after 5. Their opener, Alex, who had come down from a higher grade to help out the team, was looking very dangerous before he chopped a wide delivery back onto his stumps in the 6th over. He had already scored 34 runs and proved to be a valuable scalp. Pukekohe's opening bowlers struggled to make any inroads, and the second wicket didn't fall until the penultimate ball of the 19th over, with Wolf Truong bowling a perfect inswinging yorker to scatter the stumps.

At 123 for 2 at drinks, United looked set to post a formidable score. Mark Fleming (2/30) and Homi Mistry (1/27) brought the run rate under control and took the vital wickets to expose United's lower-middle order. Tanny came back on and took a couple of scalps before Craig Upson was brought on from the northern end. He took a wicket with his first delivery, caught behind by Ian. Two balls later and it was all over; Thomas Keen ran out the United batsman with a direct hit whilst the score was on 176. After a few early dropped chances, Pukekohe started holding their catches and Andy Lincoln ended up with 3 for the day.

Steve Hayward opened with Craig, to see if Pukekohe could post some quick runs, but Craig looked uncomfortable this week and was clean bowled for 4. John Keen came in at 3 and looked assured until he got the faintest of edges through to the keeper. United didn't even need to appeal, as John walked...it's probably a good job that he did because the umpire didn't hear a thing!

Andy Lincoln joined Steve in the middle, with the score on 56 for 2 after 9.1 overs. Andy took a few deliveries to get settled but then looked comfortable and assured in the middle. Steve kept playing his usual game, strong, confident and not giving the opposition any chances as he made his 6th half-century of the season. Pukekohe was helped out by United's opening bowler, Lawrie, who had come down from Senior A. He bowled 11 front-foot no balls and didn't seem to learn from his mistakes.

With the game slipping away, United brought on their slow bowlers and both Steve and Andy took full advantage. Just before the target was reached, Andy Lincoln swept a full delivery through mid-wicket for four runs to bring up his maiden NZ half century. The end came soon after, in the 27th over, with Steve unbeaten on 71 and Andy unbeaten on 56.

A fantastic win by 8-wickets.

PMCC Reserves travelled to Massey Park to play a Waiuku team which was high on confidence having secured their first win of the season last weekend. They left Massey Park knowing that they have secured a spot in the final and need just two more wins from their last 4 games to ensure that the final is played at Bledisloe Park.


Stand-in captain, John Keen won the toss and elected to field first. He might have been second-guessing his decision when the Waiuku openers took to Pukekohe's bowlers right from the outset. They set off at a blistering pace, averaging between 6 and 7 runs per over right up until Ryan Mills had their opener, Sam, dismissed by a stunning catch from Tanny, off the penultimate ball before drinks. At this stage, Waiuku were looking to post a high score and were looking comfortable at 112 for 3.

JK decided to take the pace off the ball from both ends, and brought Homi Mistry on to bowl opposite Millsy. Homi was in his best form of the season and reduced the run rate to a crawl. He opened with two maidens and finished his 8-over spell with outstanding figures of 3 maidens, 2 wickets for 10 runs!

Pukekohe's bowling and fielding was much better today, and Ian Pool continued his fine form behind the stumps with yet another game without a single bye. Waiuku limped through to stumps with their score on 178 for 8.

With the addition of three new top order batsmen to their ranks, Pukekohe's batting has been their strength this season, and today was no exception.

Tanny Singh usually sits in the middle order and destroys bowling attacks with his awe-inspiring power-hitting. Unfortunately, he had to be at work early today, so he opened the batting with Steve Hayward. Tanny had only faced 7 balls for his 6 runs when he was relieved of his duty and sent off to work the night shift.

Sarang joined Steve in the middle and played some sublime strokes before a lapse in concentration saw him lob a drive to mid off. With the score on 54 for 2 after 12 overs, Pukekohe was comfortably up with the run-rate but needed to ensure that no more wickets fell before drinks.

Steve and JK did more than that, they ensured that no more wickets fell before the end of the game, and coasted home with almost 5 overs to spare. Requiring 3 runs to win, and 4 runs for his second ton of the season, Steve Hayward duly obliged, dispatching the ball to the boundary to finish the game on exactly 100 not out from 110 balls, with ten 4s and two 6s. JK played another solid innings at the other end, finishing unbeaten on 32, and helping his team to a comfortable 8-wicket win.

Next week, Pukekohe hosts United Marauders at Rosa Birch Park.

Another solid performance from Pukekohe Blue, against their clubmates, Pukekohe White, saw them ease home by 49 runs against quality opposition.

Pukekohe White won the toss and elected to bat. Michael Vlarr and Sid Desai opened the batting, and Michael played solidly for his unbeaten 21. Manawaora (Mana) Ormsby put in another polished performance with the bat to help his team through to 70 for 8 after 16 overs. Pukekohe Blue were running hot and cold in the field again but, whilst they didn't hold any catches in the first stanza, they did manage to secure 4 run-outs.

Pukekohe Blue batsmen put in another solid performance, with half of the team registering double-figure scores for their 4-over pairings, and they were helped by some wayward bowling which saw the White team leak 30 wides and 12 byes. Mana bagged himself 3 wickets, all clean-bowled, as the Blue team closed out their innings on 103 for 5.

Pukekohe White started their second innings with a 33-run deficit and it wasn't until Mana came out to bat at number 4 that they even looked like overhauling the White team's first innings total. Mana proved to be in sparkling form and finished on 29 not out, to register a match total of 57 runs. With a total of 64 for 5 in their second innings, Pukekohe White held a slender lead of 31 runs.

The highlight of the innings for the Blue team, was the Fleming twins combining to gather two more stumpings to add to their one from last week. They are turning into a formidable pairing with Joseph's deceptive leg-spin and Matthew's quick hands behind the stumps.

Pukekohe Blue opened their second innings with a flurry, with Jonty Stephens scoring 19 runs from the first two overs before being bowled by Mana with the third ball of the third over. Two balls later, he was joined back on the sideline by his opening partner, Liam, who was run out.

This brought two fresh batsmen to the middle, Finn Martin and Jymin Hamilton. Both of them played fluent, confident shots to carry their bats through the remaining 7 overs to finish unbeaten on 16 and 29 respectively. Pukekohe White's bowling and fielding was much sharper in the second innings, with only 12 extras conceded. However, with a second innings total of 80 for 2, Pukekohe Blue won the game by 49 runs to cement their position amongst the front-runners in the division. If the Blue team can win their three remaining games, they should secure the divisional title.

Player of the day for Pukekohe Blue was Matthew Fleming, for some brilliant wicket-keeping, including two stumpings. Matthew has only recently taken up the gloves full-time and he is learning the art very quickly. He is growing into a confident and competent wicket-keeper, and serving his team mates well. He didn't conceded a single bye during the 10-over second-innings, which is no mean feat when facing the pace bowling of some of his team mates.

Well done Matthew, and well done Pukekohe White and Pukekohe Blue. The game was played in good spirits and there were some very good players on both teams. The future of the club is in good hands with these young players coming through the ranks.

Next week, Pukekohe Blue travel to Clevedon for a top-of-the-table clash which could decide the eventual divisional winners. Pukekohe White host Mauku at Rosa Birch.