Byrnes Shield Cricket

After suffering a cruel defeat at the harsh hands of Mater Dei in the semi-final last week, Kildare was set to face Wagga High for a chance at promotion into pool A for next year. The interesting pairing of Baxter Harmer and Hayden O’Connell opened the batting and only managed a couple of streaky runs before they were both dismissed. However, hope was restored by the defiant pair of Max Prest and Jimmy Guthrie who came to the crease and combined for a big, yet long and slow partnership. Jimmy was the standout batter, the Steve Smith of Kildare if you will, as he knocked an elegant 38 runs from roughly 162 balls. A couple of handy knocks from the tail, including boundaries from Brad Koetz and Tom Nimmo helped the team to a very defendable total of 123. Kildare’s very own Glenn McGrath, Tom Nimmo, was then given the new rock. He was accompanied by Jacob Hastie and the two bowled thunderbolts leaving Wagga High in a state of disrepair. However, the opening spell was not without hardship, as multiple chances were put to the ground by the seemingly infinite number of slips. Thankfully, one of the captains was able to cling on to a game-changing catch that dismissed Wagga High’s best batsmen. Connor Manson, Joe Morton, Baxter Harmer and Campbell Tuilekeba each followed with overs of their own and bowled in a respectable manner, despite the countless number of wides, yet they all cowered in the presence of Nim Nim and The Jastie. Harry Hastie then followed with his first bowling effort in 3 years before Mr Batsmen, Brad Koetz, nearly took a hat trick but was let down by Macca’s lack of intent as umpire and the questionable field placements, as 9 fielders were placed in the slips. After another solid catch was taken by the Captain at mid-off the match quickly ended resulting in a win for Kildare’s finest cricketers which means next year's team will start in pool A. 

Match report thanks to Co-Captain Connor Manson

Year 12 Student | Co-Captain Connor Manson