SUCC v Easts. SUCC Metro v Blacktown
1st grade | 2nd grade | 3rd grade | 4th grade | 5th grade | 6th grade
1st Grade
Day 2:
The students arrived at Waverley oval 20 runs in arrears of the dolphins after their generous declaration the previous week saw us reach 0-50 in quick time.
Nash ball was another touch up. The hapless bowlers were not helped by their 6 foot 6 inch recruit as the batters scored a comfortable win even though Ben “Tripod” Larkin could have had a couple of run throughs and made the scoreline even more embarrassing if not for poor delivery from the final pass.
Mark “Solictor’s Rig” Faraday replaced Cowan on state duty and strode out to the crease with the younger and less endowed of the Larkin brothers. Both of the openers knicked off to the “strong” opening bowler, with Nick “My rig is better than Cooky’s” Larkin making a solid 40-odd but failing to capatilse on a solid start. 1-90 quickly became 6-95. Ouch. A mixture of poor shots and tight bowling put us in a terrible position and saving the outright was the primary aim from here. The older of the Larkin’s and Mitchell “you have to be good for it” Matthews (sorry, that is Cook) set about this process with great maturity and guts. Something that was clearly lacking earlier in the day. They made the bowlers bowl to them rather than hang the bat out to dry waiting for an edge. The boys put on about 130 before being given the message to have a bit of a dip before tea so that we could get in the field and could stop listening to our Nepalese import talking so much about the finer aspects of the female form. Larkin and Cook finished with 70 and 60 respectively before unselfishly sacrificing their wickets in pursuit of quick runs.
The equation: They needed 167 off 31 overs for ten points. We needed to roll them in this time. The task started well for us with the easties finding themselves 3 for not too many. They then formed a partnership and the game swung back in their favour. We then took a couple of important wickets and had the ascendency. After Safraz claimed a couple of wickets caught brilliantly by Dave “ How good is it that my GF plays cricket on Foxtel” Miller, we needed 1 wicket in 16 deliveries. The number 10 and 11 held out our international leg spinner and our international quick for what was a frustrating result of a first innings loss but one that we never really deserved to win. Full credit to the way the boys applied themselves in the last 2 sessions of the game. We need this type of application from ball 1 next week.
Sydney University , 304. Win on first innings
Eastern Suburbs, 286. Loss on first innings
Outstanding Performances:
Sydney University (1st inn) A Theobald 105 M Faraday 96 A Palmer 7-53
Eastern Suburbs (1st inn) C Weekes 66 T Ley 5-102
The uni boys rocked up to Uni 1 for the last home game of the season. We batted first with the wicket having a little more green that we are usually accustomed to. A few early ones had us at 3-10, and staring down the barrel at another low score. Enter Theo"bald" and Mark "Solicitor's rig" Faraday. Although both gave a chance or two, their display of batting was full of controlled aggression and beautiful strokeplay, along with a bit of patience as well. They batted out the 2nd session to take us to 3-200 odd at tea. As it usually does, the break brought a wicket, Alf falling just short of his century. Theo also fell shortly after getting his. A few more cheap wickets to their opener, and we were almost letting this perfect platform go to waste, however Screech showed a batsmen's composure, getting 50 for himself and guiding the team past 300.
The next week we knew if we bowled well we would outlast Easts. Our last week's recruit- Phelpsy, was busy baby-sitting and Easts decided it was too sportsmanlike to let Kev Desai field for the day. The tone was set for a day full of sledging, of which Butch would of course be happy to lead the way. The day started slowly for the Dent's, Ray having produced a belter for Easts to try and score the runs on. Only 1 wicket fell in the first session. However, the uni boys kept pressing after lunch, and with pressure, kept taking wickets when it mattered. Butch took a screamer at slip, Wardy did the same, and Plugger took a wicket on the last ball before tea. The game was in the balance. Relentless pressure and the desire to win eventually won the game for the students, in what was a very close one. Lazy in particular bowled exceptionally well, taking a well earned 5-for. JT bowled until he could bowl no more, and Dunners got a bit of rhythm back into his game too.
Better signs from the dents. A win against Fairfield will see us back into the finals mix. Here we come.
JT (on behalf of Troy Stanley)
Sydney Uni 180 (Culkoff 52, Hackett 50) vs Eastern Suburbs 0/23 (D Jessep absent, (sub) Harrington 10 schooners)
What with substitutions being back in vogue and BJ attending a Martha Stewart ‘Entertaining 101’ seminar on the Southern Highlands this week to pick up some badly needed pointers, I am delighted to step in and deliver the match report.
Day 1
The day began well enough at the picturesque Hugh McKay oval, with the economist securing prime position is his reserved parking spot directly out the front. On a related note, local knowledge ensured that BJ lurked along at exactly 11:30 to burgle a great park also right in front and just did enough to escape a fine (not that Director “rules is rules” Jessep wasn’t trying his hardest to chalk one up). BJ had a ready made excuse anyway – apparently he stopped in at Peter’s of Kensington on the way to pick up some additional lace doilies and matching napery…
Nashball was played with old versus young and the elderly started with a brilliant sweeping display of Joga Bonito Nash that left the youngsters ragged and at sixes and sevens. One of the finest displays seen this season and something that will certainly bring the crowds back to 3rd grade cricket. I am not too sure how the result of the game ended up; my enduring memory will be that the old men dominated for at least the first 30 seconds, scoring (once) at will, and something happened after that which will not really interest the reader, so I will omit it here.
The toss was won and the autocrat (with one eye on his watch) decided to bat first on what seemed to be a good deck. Spirits were high in the sheds at the beginning of the 1st over as the economist completed a preliminary assessment of the opening ‘quick’ on which he concluded that ‘there is a fair amount of mincing going on in that run-up’ and that ‘if he had theme music is would be the music that happens when you open a music box’. That assessment was tempered somewhat when the 4th ball rocketed off a fullish length and almost went over the keeper’s head. Maybe the pitch wasn’t so great after all…
What followed was a couple of early wickets and then some consolidation from Mark ‘No Berrington I won’t be the third wheel’ Hackett and the Director to steady the ship. Some good bowling and assistance from the pitch combined to cause another few wickets tumbling not long after. Of particular note was Huw ‘I now have another definition of irony to add to my lexicon’ McKay’s ‘tussle’ with their opening bowler. Having categorically written him off after 2 balls earlier in the day, coupled with the fact that the bowler was entering about his 20th over in a row and given that we were after all playing at Huw McKay oval, surely there could only be one result. And indeed there was – McKay becoming another recipient of one of Les’s golden ducks after nicking off. Can fix the economy, can’t sledge very well. Back to the music box for McKay…
Michael ‘ Pat Rafter is a pansy – these are real cramps’ Culkoff then entered and provided some much needed stimulus to the total by some excellent batting - he and Hackett were by far the pick of the batsmen and were rewarded for their application and patience in times of good bowling. Both played some quality attacking shots and did an admirable job, sang froid sums it up perfectly. The lower order chipped in also and the students were dismissed for 180 which is certainly a defendable total on what was a difficult pitch to bat on against a reasonable attack. The ‘dents were given a chance to make inroads late on day one, however found themselves not only to be one short (our intrepid leader left before tea muttering something about the Hunter Valley), but carrying 2 injured personnel (Culkoff, last seen raiding nearby stables for salt licks, and Stu ‘you think those are cramps, what about me at Campbelltown? I was clinically dead for 7 seconds’ McLean, who had earlier rolled his ankle mincing about in the warm up). Stand in captain Smith kept a cool head and, being a betting man, reasoned that one of the drunks on the hill had probably seen a game of cricket played before and could therefore sub in. Enter Tim ‘you need a hero? I’m a hero’ Harrington, who selflessly denied himself further refreshment and came on to field brilliantly for the last hour (especially if you don’t count the throw that went 15 metres over the keeper’s head and the Harbour Bridge). Much mirth was also garnered by Mark ‘I’m a phd but 2 into one doesn’t go, even if you’re Scottish’ Hackett trying and failing to strike the pitch with his opening deliveries.
It is noted that messrs Freeman, Crowley, Dan and Lawrence were also in attendance on the day, however flew sufficiently under the radar to be otherwise unmentionable.
The end result of the day’s play is that the game is evenly poised, and a good bowling and fielding performance from the nerds will see the 6 points being acquired next week.
Cheers,
Smash
Day 1:
In what surely has to be a season-first, Skinner lined up at the start of play against a fairer skinned adversary for the coin-toss. Under an already brutal Camperdown sun, our courageous snow-leopard called correctly and promptly sent his pale brethren into the field.
As Skinner retreated to the safety of the shade, Pete Jordan and Jack ‘bad chat, even worse head’ Hammond set a solid platform for the Uni innings. Against his natural nerdling instincts, Pete took apart the Easts attack highlighted by successive horns from Matt Sutherland (who this writer is compelled to add, has aged terribly over the past 4 years) into Vet Science faculty. Such a turn-around from the previous week’s opening stand (where Hammond took 125 of 167). PJ’s 85 was supported well by another good knock from Skins (70) and Jack (40).
At the close of play Uni had posted 306 for the loss of 7, and were unlucky not to take a East’s wicket with them (0-10) from 5 overs in the fading light.
Day 2:
The warm-up Nashball saw Charles Cull and Skinner give further credence to the now widely accepted theory stating the negative correlation between skin-pigment and co-ordination. Needless to say, a big win for the Julios.
Having recruited well during the week, the 4’s line-up was bolstered by the inclusion of the rugged Chris Dan and cuddly Kev Desai. Special thanks must go to club nice-guy Kev for coming down and fielding all day for the 4’s. Parked at 2nd slip he not only lifted the standards and energy of the team, but enthusiastically participated in the acquisition and distribution of high-fives and/or bum-taps.
Shortly after Tea, at 3-210, East’s looked shoe-ins to take home the points. The next hour saw the students take 6-90. A great fight back spear-headed by Charlie Cull, Chris Dan (4-40) and Swollen Matthews (2-50). In particular Charlie, whose on-field chat is oft the subject to criticism and scorn “have you also noticed there is a disproportionately large number of white pants to creams in the East’s team this week?”, put in an inspirational effort again - contributing runs, wickets, enthusiasm and, occasionally, life guidance.
Unlucky for the lads not to take any points out of the round, although arguably outplaying East’s for the bulk of the two weeks. A must-win game next week will see us sneak into the finals and a shot at knocking-off one of the top teams.
Postscript: Many readers may take note the AJ was not mentioned once in the above match-report. Alisdair scored a chanceles s 0 in the first week and captured 0-30 with the ball in-hand. He did, however, field with great distinction.
Day 1
On arriving at Snape Oval, the Uni boys were somewhat confused, as they encountered an extremely green wicket, despite the lack of rainfall this past week. This would make the toss crucial, and predictably Eastern Suburbs stuck us in upon winning it.
A steady start by Mihalyka and Davey saw us through the first 7 overs before both departed in quick succession sandwiching another wicket. This left us struggling at 3 for 30, but enter man of the day Aaron “Veet” Hickey and Dan Bragg. The pair quickly got in to their stride punishing any wayward bowling, with both taking a particular liking to their “leggie”. They soon notched up a 60 run partnership in only 13 overs before Bragg chased a wide one and departed for 27.
It is at this point the innings took a nose dive and coincided with an umpire deciding to earn his match fee with a few LBW decisions which left several of the Uni batsmen “disappointed” (including the scribe). With the next 6 wickets only contributing another 25 runs, the Students were dismissed for what they would consider a below par 115 from only 27 overs.
After a fired up half time tea talk from the skipper, the boys were keen to get back out on the field and get in to the Easts batsmen. With Hickey running in with the wind at his back and Green frog working hard in to it, the Uni boys applied lots of early pressure, backed up by energetic fielding. Hickey carried on his good day by ripping through the top order in a hostile opening spell of 4 for 15 from 8 overs, leaving Easts reeling at 4 for 25.
Wickets continued to fall when James “Evergreen” Rodgers and Paul Bertelle took over with the ball, as Easts continued to struggle to 7 for 65 just after the final drinks break of the day. With 12 overs left in the day's play, the Students were keen to press home for a first innings win. Perhaps this was on their mind, as the 8th wicket eluded us as the partnership took Easts to the brink of victory.
Next week will be tough for the Students as we need to take 3 wickets before Easts get the 14 runs they need for the first innings win, otherwise we will have to win the game outright to cement our place in the finals.
Steve “the Frog” Green
Day 2
Needing to take 3/15 for first innings honours, the Nerds were less than surprised to find a harder, flatter wicket and faster outfield than a week earlier. Nonetheless, the boys were fired up and confident that we could grab 6 points early and look to an outright opportunity. It was not to be. The Dolphins’ number 9, who had been their best stick on Day 1, safely negotiated the first few overs and ensured a lead of 30 for his side. Hickey took another to make it 5 for the innings and James Rogers proved he’s still got it with a direct hit run out from mid-on, but Easts had nudged their heads in front in the first hour.
With plenty of time to play, outright points beckoned for both sides. With the good guys having nothing to lose, and the Dolphins needing to take maximum points to keep their finals dreams alive, this ensured the game would be played down to the wire. We started steadily, with Barwick and Mihalyka getting us into the black, before Rowdy clipped one to gully in an attempt to up the run rate. Mihalyka batted well for 51, but the star of the second innings was Aaron “nipple stubble” Hickey, who punished the hapless bowlers to all areas of the park. His unbeaten hundred featured seven that cleared the rope, including some impressive straight hitting off their leggie. Dan Bragg nurdled it around in support of Hickey’s innings, whilst cementing himself as Easts’ favourite whipping boy after a verbal exchange early in his innings. Setting them 153 off 30 overs, we were confident heading into the final passage of play.
Unfortunately, we failed to execute the basics when we needed it most. Bowling two sides of the wicket, poor anticipation in the field and crucial dropped catches in the final hours of play cost us a sniff of second innings points. Easts rode their luck early and brought home a comfortable outright victory after the loss of just one wicket, a disappointingly one-sided finish to a match that had several ebbs and flows.
If we are to make the finals and be a real threat in those matches, we need to work hard on our bowling and fielding over the next fortnight. Fielders must be aware of their individual roles in their positions, and everyone could benefit from some intensive, match specific training. Bowlers need to finish their overs – under pressure, three or four from six won’t do. With the final round being a must-win for both finals and club champs contention, let’s take some of these thoughts into training with intent.
Cheers,
DNB
Day one Sydney Uni V Blacktown Metro Cup 6th Grade
From the moment we arrived at Whalan Reserve we knew it was going to be an interesting day.
First a late replacement had to be called in as we lost Jono Brayshaw after some late withdrawals higher up caused some major reshuffling of personnel amongst all the grades. Thankfully no-one got lost on the scenic trip to Whalan (I even managed to get me and my Dad there safely having notched up another 35 minutes on my L-plates…only 2000 more hours to go now before I get my licence. I’ll be 28 by the time I get to drive my Porsche…) so we had a full playing roster.
Then we were told not to go near the scrub adjoining the ground because “the snakes are pretty active at the moment’’. We assumed it was the scaly, reptile variety and not some of the human locals.
A walk in to what passed as a dressing room also saw some wide-eyed reaction when a sign that read ‘’be careful of hidden used syringes’’ was spotted. We expected some needle in this match, but not quite that variety.
A quick look at the pitch left no doubt that winning the toss would be a great idea. But, Will (my lunch box is bigger than Matt’s) Shirvington failed to call correctly and we had to change in to our whites and prepare for a long day on a field we were told is bigger than the MCG. Looking at the straight drives at both ends of the wicket we did not doubt the truth of the comment. Robert De Castella would have taken an hour to run from one end of the field to the other, which explains why only three, legitimate fours were hit all day. We were told that a six (no overthrows) had been run in one of the matches on the ground recently.
Despite all the hurdles placed in our way, all the bowlers did a magnificent job. While we dropped a couple of catches early we managed to have them 2-73 after 32 overs, both wickets, incredibly, LBW decisions given by the opposition umpires (wonders will never cease).
We eventually restricted the Demons to 190 with Virosh Poologas (we will think of a nickname for him later) claiming 3-21 off 11 overs. Travis “Brainiac” McKenna bowled well to grab 2-25 off 10 and Lunchbox Shirvo got 2-36 off 11.
We were then left 12 tricky overs to negotiate. Dirty Bird Ruhnau started batting like there was no tomorrow. He fearlessly pumped the bowlers, smashing one boundary (after being sledged) on the way to 15 before he played on. Late call up Daniel “Muhammad Ali’’ gave good support with 15 before he too was out. Some more sledging and a send off from the opposition soon had Daniel wanting to do his best “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee’’ impersonation. Common sense prevailed. Instead of having to deal with Dynamite Daniel, the Blacktown antagonist will face the wrath of a senior Blacktown official, who is on very good terms with one of the fathers of one of our team members (no names no pack drills, but he has an association with me!). Said official spoke with Daniel and accepted his version of events before promising some very harsh words for the serial Demons offender.
At 2-32 things got worse when skipper Shirvo was given out LBW in the second last over of the day with the score on 36. With only seven wickets left and a long tail to come, things look pretty tough for Uni to grab the points here.
Dave Gatt (with a little help from my friends)
Day 2
Chasing 191 to win and with three wickets already down, the Uni boys knew they had a fight on their hands if they were to chase down the imposing score. Virosh (2) and pocket dynamo Cam Hawkins (1) resumed the batting and made slow, but steady progress taking the score to 56 and frustrating Blacktown until Cam was unluckily dismissed handling the ball (the cricket variety). Cam played forward, the ball popped up and he instinctively caught it with his hand instead of using his bat to knock it away.
Callum Pentecost (6) came and went, but Virosh was still there playing a terrific hand and hoping someone would stay with him. Metro hit a patient 14, including a five, and with Virosh added 36 for the sixth wicket to take the score to 103 before he was bowled. Yours truly with eight runs (two all run fours) helped put on 21 with Virosh before having my stumps rattled by a blistering speed ball that would have made Brett Lee blink to leave Uni at 7-121. Virosh was 34 at this stage. Suri "get those little legs moving'' Sriam joined Virosh and they looked very comfortable (except running between the wickets) in a 29 run partnership that took us to 150. Unfortunately, Virosh, who looked like single-handedly winning us the game with his superb batting, fell LBW (see how honest and fair we are!), leaving us 41 short with just two wickets left.
Still, Suri was there and with Ben "Con" Fess (ey) helped to make Blacktown really sweat with a 19 run partnership that was ended when Ben was bowled for 9. That left Suri and Brainiac McKenna to see if they could pull off some heroics. It was not to be. Brainiac forgot how short his batting partner's legs were and Suri was run out as they attempted a second run, leaving Uni 17 runs short of what would have been a remarkable victory against the leaders.
Dave Gatt