SUCC Metro v PR Gold
SU VETS v Rangers
1st grade | 2nd grade | 3rd grade | 4th grade | 5th grade | 6th grade
Gordon 8 for 99
Sydney University 163
Outstanding Performances:
Gordon (1st inn) J Toyer 2-31 C Withers 2-24 M Culkoff 4-5
Sydney University (1st inn) N Larkin 76 J Campbell 3-42 M Medcalf 4-55
As the students slowly filtered into Chatswood oval it was clear that it was going to be a day for the bowlers, with the deck’s tinge bearing a striking resemblance to the grass around it.
Nick Larkin again let his nashball team down, securing for himself and his unlucky teammates another loss.
Wardy lost the toss and we were sent in with a tough challenge ahead. Thankfully Nick can bat better than he can play nash, and batted well through the first session on a tough deck. After lunch it was looking promising at 3-130, with Harrow finding some form, before he had the privilege of being only one out of two people not to be caught behind. After losing a few quick wickets and Nick thinking he could pierce the 50cm gap between the two fielders at gully, only to find that it was mathematically impossible, we were finally bowled out for a respectable 163. Mention to Josh Toyer who took a fraction of his nashball aggression to the crease and slashed hard, finding the fence and adding valuable runs.
Josh Toyer and Chris Withers both bowled well with the ball beating the bat on more occasions than not, with both of them picking up two wickets. With the introduction of Culkoff, who ended up with figures of 4-5, came the increasingly predictable bag of wickets. After almost pulling every muscle in his body on his first delivery, Butch decided it was right to grill a Gordon batsmen almost to the point of tears in a fine display of sledging. His efforts paid off with Withers taking a good catch in the outfield to put the clearly disturbed batsmen out of his misery. Harrow briefly regained confidence in his catching ability taking a good catch in the slips, before putting one down and being quietly reminded by Tom Kierath that no, he in fact cannot catch. After a great effort by all the bowlers Gordon were left 8-99, with victory well within reach for the students.
Day 2
At the start of day two Gordon resumed needing 70 to win with two wickets in hand. Culkoff again performed, picking up 5 wickets for the innings and cleaning up the Gordon tail.
On a harder and much better batting wicket the students had the sniff of a possible outright win, and after a shaky start batted aggressively with a total of above 200 on wardy’s mind. Dave Butchart led the charge with a well played 69 not out, with Tom Kierath stroking 48 not out. With the first innings win already in the bag, a declaration was made with Gordon needing 215 for victory off 44 overs. On a flat and hard deck this was always going to be challenging for the students to defend, yet the rare chance at an outright was enough to ask Gordon to bat again and see if they could save themselves the game.
The Second innings started off well, with two early wickets falling to a fired up Trent Withers, who clearly frightened the Gordon top order throughout the match with both his haircut and frequent load outbursts. However some great batting from some Gordon youngsters was enough to get them over the line with a few overs left to spare. In what was a disappointing loss in the end, we left everything out there and gave it our all and certainly cannot be disappointed with the performance, outplaying Gordon in all but 1 session of the game.
Sydney University V Gordon 3rd Grade Day 1
Sydney University 4/171 (James Walsh 79, Richard Berrington 54*)
Gordon All out 121 (Sanjiv Khalko 5/16, Nigell Cowell 3-34)
On a cloudy day at number 2 oval BJ turned up without a coin to toss which lead to the losing of the toss no doubt, however this turned out to be a blessing in disguise as openers Nigel “The Kid” Cowell and Troy “there’s no way I was LBW” Stanley bowled tightly and proceeded to make inroads into Gordon’s top order with the Kid taking 3 and Stanley 1. This was closely followed by the introduction of the Wizard and the Sandman and the wickets continued to fall as Sanjiv grabbed 2 in his first over and managed to burgle his way to a Michelle in the end and BJ grabbing a wicket aswell. At 8 for 50 it looked as though we were going to have a small chase however their tail wagged and a couple of handy knocks down the order scraped Gordon to 121. Great fielding and areas bowled by all bowlers.
Opening batsmen, Matt “ I blend in with the site screen” Skinner and Richie “The Scot” Berrington started by blazing the attack however Skins fell for 20 which brought James “Legs” Walsh to the crease with the Scot. They proceeded to hunt down the total until Walsh fell for 79. Huw “that didn’t quite hit the middle of my hands Mackay came and went for not many, which brought Troy Stanley, 0, to the crease. He received a delivery that landed on his foot on the full in front of middle but disagreed with the umpires LBW decision (I think its easier to use your bat Troy). Stumps were pulled with the Scot 54 not out and Sanjiv not out on 5 with the total on 4-170.
Highlights
Trace- 6,
Kaz 24,
Nolan 21
Partnership with king ( 11 no)
Jkag 3 35, C. Dan 3-37, Nolan 2-33, Sherman 100
Wayward bowling initially. after the dismissal of Sherman---uni claimed 6-19
The students arrived at an overcast and sticky Beauchamp Oval, looking to impress upon Gordon their Club Championship aspirations. As the team indulged in a game of Nashball it was left to the king to inspect the pitch and toss with the opposition skip. Not surprisingly, the man with the Midas Touch won.
Upon hearing the news there were cries from the middle-order batsman, " bat!" The chorus of insistence managed to drown out the few, who were concerned with the softness and green tinge of the pitch. Little did the King realise that his decision to cater to the whims of the batsman would backfire.
So the students batted and edelighting the opposition quicks who were more than happy to watch the ball pop and seam. From the outset uni were in strife losing its openers, pyjamas and Russel Barwick, very cheaply. Enter Adam " Dick or Cyclone, for some" Tracey. Despite the precarious position of the students, Trace felt like lightening the mood by bombing one over the sightscreen. Ash " the Rash" Cowen followed, being the gentleman he is, gifting the opposition his wicket with a polite shouldering of arms. Gordon were certainly in the box-seat, as uni continued to lose wickets regularly. A " my name consists of 3 first names" J came in at 5. Remembering that he had arrived 5 minutes before uni went in to bat, Alistair didnt want to cause any more trouble, playing down the wrong line to the opening quick, and subsequently leaving with a paltry score. Jim " Did you just go for a swim" Kazaglis strolled to the crease, eager to show the Gordon lads that his team was not going to lay down. The problem was his teammates didn't appear to share this stance. Jack " the redhead" Benson decided to leave the crease in cavalier style by attempting an extravagant leg glance only to watch his middle stump removed. Despite the deluge, J "puddles" Kag still managed to keep the scoreboard ticking over at 5 an over. But as the batsman before him had shown, patience and application were not of the essence, so "drip" tried to manufacture a slog sweep only to spoon it to the mid-wicket fielder. it appeared the students were not content with 3 bad balls an over. A few more wickets fell, marking the arrival of the King: a wily, old number. Despite discomfort and stiffness, he had every intention of surviving and accompanying his son till the end. Unfortunately the dream lasted all but 30 odd runs. There were no stars with the bat, apart from the King who, battling with a busted shoulder, busted knee, busted toe and deteriorating vision managed 11 not out. Uni bowled out for 130 off 39 overs.
It appeared Gordon were just as uninhibited as the students. Hitting the rising ball through the air, flirting with the inner ring. However the stumpy, crafty opening stick had a little bit of luck on his side, and with a little mongrel combined managed to destroy the uni bowling attack to make a resounding total of 100, even. Following his dismissal with the total score at 145, Gordon capitulated. The opener's dismissal seemed to cool the nerves of the relatively young bowling attack and at the conclusion of the day Gordon were bowled out for 200. Chris " Shitbreak " Dan( 3-35) and Jim " are you sure you didn't go for a swim" Kazaglis were the stars with the ball. After day one Gordon marginally in front. This one is too close to call.
Match day 2.
Recapping last week...the students had just bowled out Gordon and trailed by 75 runs. Once again the conditions were overcast, but this time we were greeted by a shower which was short-lived. This incurred a slightly delayed delayed start. The Sports Guy and PJ strode to the wicket and from the very outset looked more comfortable than the previous week, nudging the ball around. However as the score reached the mid 20's both openers lost their way and were dismissed. "Dick" Tracey entered the fray dispatching loose deliveries from the get-go, despite the precarious position the students were in. At one stage Gordon had a long-off, straight extra cover, deep extra cover and deep cover, all in an attempt to stop the boundaries flowing form Trace's bat, but to no avail. Tracey would soon fall for a run-a ball 21. Thash Cowen didn't let the fall of his colleague deter him as he despatched the opposition atack to all corners. The introduction of the spinners delighted the Rash who was obliged to hit a few balls in the stands to buoy the students' spirits. Wickets fell at regular intervals around the Dash but that all seemed to change when the reformed Jack Benson-Meggs entered the fray. The two mature age students managed to strike up a respectful partnership. It was short-lived, however. Ash departed with a half-century and Meggs left with 20-odd. Despite this partnership only the Mo-hegan and Charcoal Charlie's demonstrated application. The students all out for 200. Gordon require 120 off 19 scheduled overs.
Immediately, the Uni captain expressed a particular concern for the situation. A distinguished cricketer, with test experience, he had rarely encountered this situation and was almost at a loss to set a field: attacking or defensive. He went for a compromise: two slips and three on the fence ( dee square leg, fine, 3rd man). The students started disastrously, with the Charcoal contributing eight byes in the first two rocks. It looked ominous for the students. Puddles started more solidly. The king had no choice but to give Charles a "blow" and employed the services of AJ- the man with three first names, and slowly may I say, encroaching upon the sexual feats of one Joshua Ryan( as AJ continues to plough through the all-too-willing "thempties" of the Gong. But back to the report) . He, too, got pumped ( ironic, isn't it?). The Kazi Club continued from the City End, only to watch spin introduced to the other end in the fifth over. Matthews, Nolan, made the breakthrough beating the left-handed opener in flight only to watch Meggs nearly, and I say nearly to spare the Ump's blushes, botched the easiest of stumpings. Another two quick wickets fell and the students thought they were in with a shot of rolling the Stags. But Gordon had other plans, smashing the attack and reaching 120 with one over to spare. Special mention goes to the Mo-jo, who proved with a diving catch, he's still got the Midas touch.
Nolan Matthews
5th Grade
Sydney University 5 dec/264 (Ben Fethers 69, Nick Burke 59, Dan Bragg 57) Gordon 0/9.
Fifth grade arrived at St Paul's on Saturday needing a win after having only 1 win from the first 4 matches. The day started well with James winning the toss and deciding to bat.
Openers Chris Davey and Paul Bertelle got the team off to a solid start on a typically slow Paul's wicket and outfield. Their good work was continued by Dan Bragg and Nick Burke who put on a hundred run partnership for the third wicket in a controlled display, whilst putting pressure on the opponents with some good running between the wickets.
With wickets in hand this enabled Ben Fethers to dominate the bowling in a powerful knock. He was well supported by Jono Momsen in pushing the score along to declare at 5/264. It was a much improved batting performance with all batsmen contributing, with more positive batting and pressure applied to the oppositon fieldsmen.
This declaration allowed us a few overs at the Gordon team, unable to grab a break through they finished on 0/9. We are in a strong position to grab the points next week.
Day 2
Result: 1st innings win, SUCC 5 dec 264 defeated Gordon 159 and 5-79
Highlights: Greg Metcalfe 6/56 in the day, Josh Lawrence 4/37 (1st innings), James Rodgers 2/16 (1st inns)
The 5th Graders arrived at St Pauls confident of victory. In the words of James Rodgers ‘we had more than enough runs, and the only danger was a draw, not a loss’, as well as reminding us that he could barely remember a loss at St Pauls, the home of 5th grade, because ‘we knew how to play there’. What’s more, the Gordon captain, who was not out overnight, had failed to successfully navigate the treacherous four steps onto the field, the result being a sprained ankle, a few laughs, and a different opening batsman.
The warm up was somewhat interrupted by a mid morning storm, with a barefoot game of touch footy beforehand and some actual fielding and bowling afterwards. However, play began at the scheduled time, with Rodgers bowling the first over with a 5 over old ball, in order to have the opening bowlers swap ends. This proved a masterstroke, as Josh Lawrence bowled a perfect line and length to have three out (and one dropped) behind with the new ball, and Greg ‘I am still having nightmares about my first over last week’ Metcalfe bowling with far more confidence from the other end, picking up two with the new ball. For a while, the wickets tumbled at a terrific rate, before Chris Davey cursed the students by observing that ‘we could win outright here’ (with 5 down in the first innings, and 15 left for outright, this was not his best observation for the day).
A partnership ensued, despite good bowling from Bragg and Fethers. Dropped catches and a reduction in fielding intensity were crucial, as Gordon’s solid left hander looked less likely to fall than his partner. However, Rodgers introduced himself into the attack, and keen to be a part of history, the left-hander obliged and threw his wicket away. This crucial break paved the way for victory, with Gordon eight down at the tea break.
The final two wickets fell in quick time after the break, before James set us the task of bowling out Gordon in 30 overs, much to the surprise of their captain. Again, things began well with the new ball – Metro was at his fiery best, letting the batsmen know that he was on top. Metro’s crusade towards his 200th wicket for the club was ultimately unsuccessful on the day, as was the quest for the outright victory, however both should be achieved in the not too distant future.
There was a sense of a missed opportunity for the students. We dropped too many catches after the early wickets, and had we held these we would have been a good chance for the 10 points. Davey continued his inspirational moments, contributing an incoherent assembly of vocabulary which ran something like ‘Come on guys... um.... no sorry.... yeh’ in his assumed position of vice-captain and more importantly motivational speaker. However, by the time that Bertelle begged for a bowl and was rewarded, the match was out of our control, with stumps drawn a few overs early with Gordon 5 down.
However, it was a pleasing day for the SUCC boys, with our captain observing that it was ‘our best match yet’. Many a laugh was had in the dressing room at Bragg’s observation that Metro ‘has the body of a four year old’, and an increasing number of players were able to contribute to the rendition of the club song.
Sydney University V Randwick-Petes Gold Metropolitan Cup
Day 1 Randwick-Petes All out 93 (Ben Joy 5/15 incl hatrick)
Sydney Uni 3/75 (E Freeman 25)
The day started off winning the toss on a bowler friendly green top. With the boys excited about the prospect of having a recognized keeper the bowlers were straight into action with Ben Joy and Ben Fessey using seam and swing to unsettle the batsmen. Wickets falling at both ends saw Randy Petes fall to 5-30 with Ben Fessey taking 3-15 from 13 overs.
After a drink it seemed Randy Petes were easing to the conditions building what seemed a solid partnership. With Ben Joy back into the attack it seemed he had the breakthrough wicket rattling the stumps but didn't settle for just one. The next ball caught the outside edge of the bat and was taken at gully. The field moved in for the hat trick ball but was not needed when an in swinging yorker to the left hander beat the bat and took the leg stump to send us into celebration. Ben took 3-3 in 4 overs for his second spell and 5-15 from 15 for the innings. The inning was quickly wrapped up Randwick being dismissed for 93.
The Uni boys made a solid start and had us confident of securing the win on day 1. The introduction of the veteran spinner saw both openers fall with Ed Freeman making 25. Another wicket saw us fall to 3-40. Will Kempand Luke Truashiem batted out the day to take the score to 3-75 in a good position to take the win next week.
Day 2 6th grade
The day started off with the boys quickly passing the Randy Petes total 3 down. Will Kemp looked in good touch playing confidently before being dismissed for 34. Our sights were on the outright as we pushed for quick runs with Jack Lerade making a fast 42. Daniel Domenici chipped in to take our total to 197 and in good position to take the 10 points.
Having 42 overs the boys were confident of an outright win. Both Bens (Joy and Fessey) again had the batsmen in trouble with the new ball but could only manage 1 wicket from the opening spell. All the bowlers worked hard with Luke Truashiem, Travis McKenna and Cam Hawkins all a wicket, but it seemed time was against and we would run out of overs. Again it was Ben Joy who did the damage, bowling fast and straight to roll through Randy Petes taking 4-3 in his second spell and 5-27 from 15 for the innings. The outright win came with just 7 balls remaining in the day. Congratulations to Ben Joy for taking 10-42 in the game.
Round 3 - Sydney Uni Vets vs Rangers
This was Round 1 of the knockout competition (Jack Pace Shield). Uni won the toss on an overcast day at Uni No.2 (which was playing slow and low) and decided to bat first. Captain Ned Manning opened with Perkin and Souter who got off to a slowish start but started accelerating before Perkin and Souter fell within 13 runs of each other. A strong 48 run partnership between Woolley and Andrea took us up to 87 and with a 71 run partnership between Stevens and Andrea (Andrea 47 and Stevens 33) a final score of 4/159 was posted.
Uni started well with 2 wickets to le Marquand, but Rangers self-described run machine Damien Cullen scoring 74 treated our bowling attack with disdain as Rangers methodically mowed down the total with 3 overs to spare. Highlight in the field was a magnificent outfield catch to Angus Stevens.
Our best total for the season, but still not enough runs to get us over the line for our maiden win in the Jack Pace Shield. Anyways, onwards and upwards for 2009/10!
Sydney University City & Suburban V The Cricketers Club
Not one for the history books my friends. Cricketers Club came out swinging with the same batsman who tore 170 from our attack last season (and by the way was dropped 8 times) and he started season 2008/2009 in the same manner, clubbing boundaries and pay little respect to our attack. Opening in his vets debut with Sean Hastiwell and skipper Jon Souter, we were simply unable to slow the tide of runs. The introduction of the medium pace of John Le Couteur snapped the run frenzy with the wicket of their opener. Slow bowling spells from legggies Callum Penticost and Sam Al-Maliki and off spinner Paul Moorhouse slowed the runs down, but not enough to stop CCNSW from massing 267 from 35 overs. Their total was assisted by some dropped catches (but once again, last years record was 12!) The score was summed up best by the skip as "it was not as much as last year".
With such a huge total to chase, we started badly at 3/5. First drop John Le Couteur kicked in a rear guard action and against an opening pair he described as some of the best bowlers he has faced. He was joined at the crease by Rob Manning, certainly one of the legends of the Sydney Uni side. According to CCNSW he played a game of 'stand and deliver' and rapidly clubbed 31 runs from half as many balls. Unfortunately, with his dismissal and the dismissal of John le Couteur for 25, the impossible which had for a brief, glinting moment seemed possible, was impossible again. All out for 87. The devils number.
Round 1 PG's
Round 1 vs Randwick-Petersham
Randwick Petersham- 8 for 151 after 50 overs → T. Ley 4-28, J. Toyer 2-38
Sydney University- 3 for 152 after 38.4 overs → B. Larkin 87 *, J. Walsh 27
The Sydney Uni PG’s team rocked up to Petersham Oval for their first outing of the season full of purpose. With new coach, some new players, and definitely a new found enthusiasm for Sunday cricket which was sorely missing last season, the Uni boys were quietly confident that we could kick-start our “campaign” with a win, as well as all “enjoying our time together”. The track was looking quite similar to Chatswood from the day before- fairly green and with the bowlers thanking the curator for the wicket that had been prepared. However, there track was still relatively hard and even with a favourable toss, we would still have to play very hard cricket to win this game against the Randy Petes, who are always competitive.
Nash saw the traditional bowlers v batters selections, with Scotty helping out the batters, as well as the new-comers having the rules explained to them (although somehow the “not allowed to drop-punt” rule always takes a little longer to sink in than most of the others). Needless to say, the bowlers ran circles around the batsmen, with Scotty hopeless without shoes on, and featuring James “I have sunglasses for every occasion” Walsh putting in an LVP performance (least valuable player) in the goals. Somehow the batsmen were kept in the game by the bowler’s failure to capitalise on their opportunities, but with Lazy venturing out of the goals, the batsmen were finally put out of their misery.
Mitch “bringing the glove tap back” Cook won his first toss of the season and wisely elected to send Randwick in. The first over saw Tim outclass their opener, sending them away before bringing one back to trap him in front. Josh “do you really catch elephantitis from having sex with elephants?” Toyer bounced out their chatty keeper, then brought out the in-ducker to clean up the next batsmen, and Randwick were 3-8. The remaining opener was putting in a Suda-esque performance, refusing to hit the ball in the gaps, instead leaving it to their pom to put a few runs on the board. Uni remained on top for the first 2 hours, giving little away and restricting their best batsmen to as few runs as possible. Nigel “Niggles” Cowell bowled particularly well without luck, Smithers put in hard as per usual, and Stu “Leunig” McLean toiled hard as well for no reward. Lazy came back to put the opener out of his misery, and Monster bowled a particularly good spell, made even better by the fact that it was definitely a pace-bowlers wicket. Randwick refused to get out of 1st gear, and were content to go at about 2 runs an over until the final hour, where they finally tried to get into 5th gear, however it might have been too little too late. A few late wickets to Lazy and Withers and Randwick nerdled their way to 151 of their allotted overs. Special mention to debutant Liam Robertson who fielded incredibly well all day, and will no doubt get his chance with the bat soon.
Following the awful combination of ham and coleslaw rolls, Boxhead and Boxhead jnr made their way out to bat. It was hard to tell who was who between the trademark Larkin flick and late-cut, however this was made easier after the ump adjudged Nick “best I’ve fielded all year” Larkin out leg before to one that might have been sliding down (again). The skip came and went, and Kevvy removed his sunnies long enough to join Benny for a stick. While Ben continued to flay the loose ones for boundaries, Walshy battled hard for his runs on a difficult surface. Their opening bowler bowled his 10 straight to try and snare another wicket, but he soon tired, and drinks brought much needed relief to the Uni boys. After the short break, both batsmen started to really find some touch, preferring to deal in 4’s rather than 1’s and 2’s. The famous Walsh slog-sweep was brought out first ball to the spinner, however he was eventually brought undone, being bowled round his legs. The ship had been steadied though, and when James “Slinky” Crowley entered the question was not if we would get the points but how soon. Benny rode his luck, with one of their fielders unable to escape the ball, and the two steered the uni boys home with a bonus point.
It felt particularly good (at least for this scribe) to be able to sing the team song on a Sunday. If we can build on this win and continue to apply great pressure in the field and with the bat, there’s no reason why this PG’s squad can’t make it to the finals this year. Great start.
JT