PHOTOS: AWS Westcon Cricket Cup
Full match report and photos.
The Australian cricket team is mid-way through its test series against India, but on November 28 the action was at Pratten Park in Sydney’s inner west for the inaugural AWS Westcon Cricket Cup.
The idea for the Cup was hatched from a conversation at CRN Pipeline 2024 which unearthed AWS and Westcon attendees’ shared enthusiasm for cricket, Team Westcon Captain and National Sales Manager, Phil Tarbox told us.
Fast forward to December, and the two companies were fielding teams made up of current and former players. Some players dusted more than 10 years of dust from their whites for the occasion, Tarbox said.
The match followed a year in which Westcon-Comstor announced a designated seller of record (DSOR) agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to privately list its vendors' products directly on the AWS Marketplace, and extended deals with Cisco and Check Point to the AWS Marketplace.
AWS won the toss and chose to bat, but were kept scoreless for the first two overs by Westcon's bowlers, Tarbox told us. Westcon-Comstor Head of Accounting and Planning Sourav Paul took two wickets for seven runs and we’re told he was unlucky not to take a third.
But AWS’s batters also showed form. Senior Technical Program Manager Karan Kaul hit 50 from 27 balls, including seven fours and a straight drive for six that Tarbox graciously described as “glorious”.
AWS Cloud Sales Rep Ash de Silva scored 23 runs from 10 balls and Captain Sidd Jolpara was 14 not out from 15 balls.
Westcon fought back, thanks to a tight three overs of off-spin from Kushar Perera, who finished with three wickets for 19 runs and was on a hat trick at one stage. Westcon Cloud Business Unit Leader, Pallav Shah, took two wickets for 10 from two overs. Captain Phil Tarbox led the way in the field with four catches at deep mid-wicket.
The AWS team gave Westcon-Comstor a solid 163 runs to chase.
AWS's bowling matched the quality and depth of their batting, making runs hard to come by. Westcon scored 97, with opening batters Sourav Paul and Adrian Stewart the highest scorers with 21 and 24.
Tight fielding made runs hard to score, and three quality catches from AWS Public Sector Head of Channel and Alliances Andrew Winter ensured the cloud giant walked away deserving winners of the inaugural AWS Westcon Cricket Cup.
AWS Senior Partner Account Manager for Queensland and Northern Territory, Darryn Schafferius (also known as Snuffy), was named Scorer of the Day.
Also earning a special mention was AWS Inside Sales Representative, Hayden “Mr Nice Guy” McLean, who we're told “could have bowled at 130km/hr, but chose to bowl spin”.
Andrew Winter was dubbed “The No Mercy” after “running Shah out when he was sprawled on the pitch in response to an earlier catch.”
We’re told that both sides eagerly anticipate a re-match.
“I have told our team to hit the nets now in preparation for next year so we can make up for our loss this year!” said Westcon-Comstor Managing Director Phil Cameron.
Cameron added: “We all know people buy from people, and I love that our team could come together with AWS - a hugely strategic vendor for us - and collaborate on such a unique industry event.”
Winter said: “Call me old school, but this is the way to earn trust and drive success. A great day out meeting a wonderful and diverse group of like-minded people.”
We're told that the partners have “identified an opportunity to expand this to include mutual partners” and want to involve charities.
