What can I say but what a weekend to finish off the season at the Cannington Tigers Cricket Club. On Saturday the 18th March 2023 for the first time in the clubs history, from my memory, we started off with 4 teams in their 1st ever grand final with the club, with 7th Grade, One Day C, One Day E and One Day G. With the four teams in the grand finals we had 2 teams playing at Coker Park and 2 teams away at Thornlie and Cockburn. All the teams had support where ever they went whether home or away which was fantastic. But when the 19th March was coming to a close, the club finished off with 3 out of 4 teams finishing on a high. As the same expression has been stated in previous wraps from true gentleman that writes these up, the Tigers showed their True Grit through out the finals series where ever they played.
Congratulations to all the Grades that won the Grand Final and our hearts go out to One Day G for that close finish but just missed out.
A big Thank You also goes out to Supporters that attended the games.
Terrific Tigers claw Cockburn
Cannington Tigers Cricket Club golden premiership summer continued, defeating Cockburn Cricket Club by 28 runs in a hard fought 7th Grade Grand Final at Enright Reserve.
It gave the Tigers three premierships for the 2022/23 campaign, having also tasted success in the One Day C’s and One Day E’s in a landmark season for the club.
Cockburn headed in to the match warm favourites, having belted Kardinya Lakes by 113 runs in their semi-final while Cannington caused a boil over, defeating Forrestdale in a thriller by six runs to book a spot in the big dance.
The Tigers won the toss and chose to bat first, the old adage of runs on the board in a final likely to prove vital in the outcome of the match.
Veteran left armer Clinton Mitchell was on song early, Ajay Kumar Reddy out for just one to give the Cavaliers an early wicket.
Manoj Kiradi fell leg before wicket to Paul Pensabene as Cockburn started the game on top, Pardeep Kumar edging behind to keeper Joe Covic for a duck to make it 3/21.
Mohammad Aamer made 15 with a boundary before being bowled by Vishu Kumar, Cannington in all sorts of trouble at 4/30.
Dwarakanath Canakapalli began positively for the visitors walking in at number five but was quickly losing partners, Balvinder Kumar (5) and Abdul Quraeshi (4) falling in the space of four balls to Vishu Kumar, Cockburn sensing a swift kill with Cannington 6/50.
Then came the defining partnership of the match, Canakapalli joined by captain Reddy Madamshetti for a 93 run alliance that turned the innings around for the Tigers.
Canakapalli was particularly positive, striking four fours and four sixes on his way to a fine half century under pressure, Madamshetti the perfect foil as he rotated strike and held up an end to frustrate the Cockburn bowlers.
Mitchell ended Madamshetti’s knock at 34, Canakapalli with a superb knock of 75 as he was last out to the same bowler, the final four wickets going down for nine runs to showcase the importance of Canakapalli and Madamshetti’s partnership for the Tigers.
Mitchell claimed 4/49 for Cockburn, Kumar with 3/24 and Justin Micale with 2/22, setting up an exciting chase with the home side needing 153 for the seventh grade pennant.
Cannington got a crucial early strike, opener Covic out to Pavan Yarraguntla for just two in only the third over.
Peter Firth joined Tom Bottrell and looked set to build a partnership of substance, only for Firth to edge behind off Aamer for seven, Cockburn 2/18.
Fedele Camarda seemed the key wicket along with Bottrell for the visitors, coming off a century in the semi-final and having recently reached his 500th game for Cockburn.
The pair built steadily and appeared to have their team under control in the chase, adding 56 for the third wicket before Camarda advanced at Tigers skipper Madamshetti and was stumped for 27, having struck five fours.
Mitchell came in at number five and soaked up more pressure for the home team, Bottrell going past 100 balls faced in a fine show of concentration.
His innings was ended on 36 when he was trapped in front by Balvinder Kumar, the game still very much in the balance at 4/89.
The pressure of a chase was beginning to build on Cockburn, the runs drying up as Cannington’s bowlers were able to gain control with runs on the board.
Manoj Kiradi removed Mitchell (15) and Pippo Raffaele (3 from 40 balls) to leg before wicket decisions either side of skipper Canakapalli dismissing Pavan Gururaja for ten.
Kiradi had three wickets when Tyler Watson was bowled for four, Cannington with all the momentum and time running out for Cockburn.
The tail couldn’t wag for the minor premiers, all out in 65.3 overs for 124 as Cannington’s bowlers stuck at their task manfully, the last seven wickets going down for 35 runs to give the visitors a hard fought flag by 28 runs.
Kiradi snared 3/23 from 16 accurate overs, Canakapalli fittingly with the final wickets amid figures of 2/16 on his way to man of the match honours.
Cockburn will be disappointed not to have a flag to show for their 7th grade campaign, suffering defeats in both the one day and two day Grand Finals despite a typically dominant home and away season.
Cannington on the other hand lifted the title from third place, playing their best cricket in March when it matters to win the 7th grade title for 2022/23.
Cannington clinch C’s title
Cannington’s fine summer continued, dominating Piara Waters to win the One Day C’s premiership for 2022/23.
The Tigers from a calamitous start with the bat to record a comprehensive 72 run triumph, the visitors left to rue a wagging Cannington tail that saw the last three wickets add 83 runs before the home side’s new ball pairing of Jouhar Khan and Vysakh Menon shared seven wickets between them, the Falcons never able to recover in the chase.
Cannington had been the dominant team of the summer in the One Day C’s, winning 14 of 19 matches on their way to the minor premiership.
They cruised to a nine wicket win over Kardinya Lakes in their semi-final, Piara Waters upsetting higher placed Phoenix by five wickets to book their spot in the decider at Coker Park.
Cannington captain Nithin Radhakrishna won the toss and chose to bat, hoping his side could post a strong score batting first.
Piara Waters bowlers started tidily, conceding only 4 runs in 2.2 overs before Eldhose Baby was bowled for an eight ball duck, missing an inducker from Aaron Dimasi.
Brad Bushby was in the wickets in the following over, Jobin Thomas caught at short cover by Joel Smith off a leading edge to also depart without troubling the scorers.
It was early carnage when opener Sujit Pankajakshan (6) tried to go over cover off Bushby and only succeded in hitting a catch to Harvey Mayall, the Tigers in freefall at 3-8.
It was all going the Falcons way when Smith plucked a one handed streamer to dismiss Sethuraj Rajendran, the third man to depart for a duck as Bushby grabbed his third scalp.
At 4-9 it looked a long road back for Cannington, but Vinod Suneeth decided to fight fire with fire as he struck three sixes in an electrifying knock of 28 from only 23 balls.
Vinish Payyappilly (26) continued the fightback after Suneeth edged a sharp catch to keeper Simon Shaw off Smith’s bowling, eventually losing patience and skying a catch to point off the same bowler.
Vipin Varghese made 16 before top edging a catch to first slip off Quentin Cresswell, the Falcons still on top with the home side 7/82.
The most decisive partnership of the match came from numbers eight and nine Vysakh Menon and skipper Radhakrishna, adding 70 in quick time to turn their sides fortunes around.
Menon hit 35 from 27 balls while Radhakrishna slammed 39 from 32 to top score, the duo sharing five fours and five sixes between them.
By the time both departed in the dying overs chasing more quick runs the pendulum had swung back Cannington’s way, Piara Waters able to bowl the home side out for 165.
Dimasi (3/21) and Bushby (3/15) were terrific for the Falcons, Smith and Cresswell each with two scalps.
Unfortunately it was sixth and seventh bowlers Scott Fraser and Ryan Cousins who went the journey, conceding 35 runs between them as each only sent down a solitary over in what proved to be a tough task to bowl to the hard hitting lower order of Cannington.
Still 166 was a chasable score, needing a good start to challenge for the premiership.
Unfortunately they got anything but, key man Alec Grainger (2) out early to Jouhar Khan while Fraser departed for a duck, chipping a catch in to the leg side where Menon snared a sharp catch.
When Shaw edged to slip off Baby it was 3/10, Peter Burbridge bowled in the next over for a duck by a rampant Khan it was almost a replica of the Cannington batting effort, the Falcons 4/11 and fading fast.
Unfortunately Piara Waters middle order lacked the same firepower as that of their opponents, Joel Smith defiant with 35 compiled in 73 balls but only finding support from Rob Gibson (10) and Quentin Cresswell (13), never truly threatening the target of 166.
Menon ended Smith’s stay with a pinpoint yorker, reprising that delivery to the last man Bushby to win an LBW decision next ball and seal a dominant triumph for Cannington.
While the final margin of 72 runs is comprehensive the match was at times closer than the scoreline suggests, particularly early when the Tigers were 4/9 and on the back foot before the minor premiers showed their class, fighting back and grabbing the momentum and running with it.
Menon claimed 4/13 to go with his 35 to be player of the match, Khan 3/10 having done the damage up front with the new ball.
Piara Waters will wonder what may have been had they made a better start to their batting chase or been able to continue their dominant start with the ball, but ultimately there was no denying who the best team in the One Day C’s was come the time the teams shook hands, Cannington premiers for 2022/23.
Tigers roar past Lions to claim E’s title
Cannington Tigers Cricket Club has shown it’s prowess in one day cricket, defeating Thornlie Cricket Club Western Australia by six wickets in the One Day E’s Grand Final at Thornlie Oval.
The Tigers produced a fine performance with bat and ball to record a convincing triumph, upsetting the minor premiers and favourites on their home turf.
Thornlie had finished the home and away season as the dominant team of the One Day E’s competition, thrashing Champion Lakes by 116 runs in their semi-final.
Cannington produced an upset result, defeating East Frematle by 85 runs at Fremantle Park to book their place in the final.
Thornlie won the toss and chose to bat first, looking for a strong score to put pressure on the Tigers in the second innings of the match.
Openers Connor Third and Mohammad Tokhi made a solid enough start, although Toki should have been caught at mid-on having made five, the fielder unable to hold on falling forward.
Third (3) would fall in the same over, miscuing an attempted cut off Rahul Nair that ended in the hands of Subin Thomas in the covers.
Tokhi struck three boundaries in his 18, but runs were hard to come by against an accurate Cannington bowling line up, the pressure of a Grand Final only adding to the contest.
Tokhi chased a cut off Riju Kurian Matthew, edging behind to give the visitors a second wicket, Thornlie 2/29.
Hudson Treneven took 15 balls to get off the mark but eventually found his range, pulling Matthew for six over midwicket.
Having taken the score past 50 with Michael Green it was Treneven who lost patience trying to up the run rate, spectacularly caught by Shanab Valappil at mid-off after Treneven flat batted an attempted pull, Valappil with an acrobatic snare to send the left hander on his way.
Blake Third was bowled by Thomas for two aiming a big shot to the leg side, the Lions under pressure at 4/58.
They were in further trouble just one ball later when new man Terry Gedge offered a catch to Matthew on the offside, half the team back in the sheds and the scoreboard going nowhere.
Graham Smart built a partnership when most required, first surviving Thomas’ hat trick ball before striking three fours in his score of 19, Green with three fours and a six in his 29.
It was Green who fell just when looking set to make a sizeable score, Johnpaul Valiyaveetil taking a sharp catch behind the stumps as the cut shot bought about another dismissal, Paulose Sabu the successful bowler.
Kevin Atree became the second man to fall for a golden duck in the innings, superbly caught by Syed Ali at first slip to his left having slashed a thick edge off Valappil.
Smart was trapped in front by the same bowler for 19 as the innings lost it’s way late in proceedings, the final five wickets going down for just 18 runs as Thornlie was all out for 105.
The innings ended in a run out after a horrible mix up between last pair Rowan Smart and Qasim Tokhi, Smart left stranded after a stop start running affair at the strikers end having made just four.
Thomas was the pick of the bowlers with 3/20, Valappil 2/13 and Sabu 2/16, no Thornlie batsman able to pass 30 in a terrific bowling and fielding effort from the Tigers.
It left Cannington needing 106 for victory and premiership glory, only to make a calamitous start as Syed Ali fell in the first over, skying his first ball to Qasim Toki in the covers to depart for a duck.
There was more drama in the next over when Akhil Matthew cut the ball to point and took off for a dicy single, running out key man Yesudas Kuriakose for a fourth first ball duck in the match, two thirds in Connor and Blake involved in the dismissal.
When Mathew holed out to point for four from the bowling of Terry Gedge it was very much game on at 3/22, even more so in the next over when Safil Sharif skied an attempted hoick to leg, caught by the keeper Third for 16.
With everything on the line it was Cannington who steadied from 4/25, Shanab Valappil and Riju Kurian Mathew guiding their team all the way to the score without further loss as the Lions bowlers failed to continue with their pressure with ball in hand.
Valappil was player of the match with an unbeaten 42 to go with his two wickets, Mathew with 29 as victory arrived in the 32nd over.
It was a calm and composed performance from Cannington, who outperformed their opponents in all aspects of the match having gone in as heavy underdogs pre-game.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for Thornlie, who suffered defeat on their home ground as minor premiers, none the less having put together a terrific season that fell short of premiership glory.
It was Cannington who were celebrating in the sunshine, One Day E’s premiers for 2022/23.
Anderson leads Bulls to G’s Glory
A six-wicket haul from Peter G Anderson was the catalyst for Maddington Cricket Club One Day G’s premiership over Cannington Tigers Cricket Club at Coker Park, the Bulls steadying to chase down their target of 138 with three wickets in hand.
It was a battle between third and fourth on the ladder in the regular season for the G’s premiership, both the Tigers and Bulls causing upsets in their semi-finals against Canning Vale and Jandakot Park respectively.
On a perfect Autumn afternoon the visitors chose to bowl first, hoping to restrict Cannington to a manageable total.
Imesh Fernando got the Tigers off to a flying start, striking six fours and one six in his 32 from 24 balls, only to fall to the bowling of James Free.
Free claimed both openers as Cannington fell to 2/35, regular wickets thereafter seeing the innings in danger of collapsing at 4/54.
Buddika Buthpitilekamalage took a similar approach to Fernando before him, slamming seven boundaries in a 27 ball 35, putting the Bulls on the back foot once more.
With the Tigers having seen off Peter R Anderson it was his namesake that did the damage, Peter G Anderson turning the day around as Cannington slumped from 4-94 to 137 all out, only Lakmal Madushanka (14) hanging around for any length of time after Buthpitilekamalage’s dismissal.
Having seen off the pace of one Anderson it was the spin of the bother that bought Cannington undone, claiming 6/18 from 6.3 overs while Free was tidy upfront with 2/13 from 7 overs.
Anderson could have had even more success, dropping two chances off his own bowling. Alas he took to the batting crease to commence the Bulls chase, needing 138 for victory.
He fell almost immediately for a duck, Vihanga Silva winning a leg before wicket verdict to leave Maddington 1/0.
Mitchell Smith and Geoffrey Free steadied any nerves, adding 65 for the second wicket to put the chase on course for victory.
Smith struck six fours and two sixes on his way to 45, while Free contributed 26 with three fours, Irosh Ranathunga with the breakthrough in dismissing Smith.
Zaine Thowless helped build another partnership with Free, the visitors seemingly cruising at 2/97 needing only 41 more runs to win.
Grand Finals are rarely ever won easily though, Cannington fighting back through the deeds of Adeesha Welgama and Buthpitilekamalage, Maddington suffering a stunning collapse of 5/8 to slump to 7/105, still needing another 33 to win.
Alistair Visser and Peter R Anderson held their nerve, helped by some wayward Cannington bowling as the game was off the first ball of the final over, Anderson with the winning runs rather fittingly on a day where he and his namesake both played important roles.
The Tigers were left to rue 43 sundries, 30 of those wides as they squandered a winning position, Visser and Anderson the late on heroes for the Bulls.
Welgama and Buthpitilekamalage each claimed two wickets, but it was the fourth placed Maddington who lifted the final premiership on offer in the South Metropolitan Cricket Association, premiers for the One Day G’s competition in 2022/23.
Pick of the Bowlers:
AB Welgama 7 overs 2 for 35
BK Buthpitelkamalage 4 overs 2 for 18
Pick of the Batters:
BK Buthpitelkamalage 35 off 27 balls
I Fernando 32 off 24 balls
Photos Below from the weekend 18.3 & 19.3.2023
Cannington Tigers Cricket Club 