Round 8 Match Reports

Round 8 Match Reports

Over the weekend, Sydney Uni Cricket took its first clean sweep of the year during Round 8 of the NSW McDonald's Premier Cricket Competition against Fairfield-Liverpool. All players across the Club's 6 teams performed outstandingly as they head into some well-deserved time off over the Christmas break and into the new year.

Congratulations to all players on their achievements during the 2017-18 season so far. We wish you all the best over the Christmas break and look forward to a successful remainder of the season in 2018. 


MATCH RESULTS
 

1ST GRADE

Sydney Uni 6-314: N Larkin 136, H Kerr 62, T Cummins 43*
Fairfield-Liverpool 9-267: L Robertson 2-29, T Ley 2-43, D Malone 2-68

The students turned up to a sweltering Rosedale Oval keen on grabbing an all important win to round out the first half of the season. Nash ball was gain a hotly contested affair with the batsmen going down in dubious circumstances. Onto the fixture and Uni won yet another toss and quickly elected to bat. The return of Nick Larkin to the top of the order settled some nerves as he settled into his work. It was his opening partner Hayden Kerr however, who again led the early charge with some clean ball striking. Kerr passed 50 for a 4th time this season before being dismissed for a well made 63. The dynamic right hand bat as truly brought another dimension to the uni side up the top of the order in white ball cricket. Fingers crossed he stays off the Christmas ham and continues his form into 2018. 

Upon HK's dismissal bowling all-rounder Ed Cowan joined Larkin in the middle and immediately began to put the Fairfield side under immense pressure with a brilliant display of running between the wickets and backing up. Such was his enthusiasm that the heat eventually got to him as he was dismissed for a quickfire 30. By this stage Larkin had well and truly settled into his work and provided the much needed backbone to the uni innings. Another handy contribution by Tim Cummins (43*) along with some brutal stroke play to the end the innings saw Uni eventually finish on 6-314. Larkin solid throughout the innings only to be dismissed on the final ball for a breath taking 136. Nick now joins Ed Cowan on 12 First Grade hundreds for the club. A remarkable and well deserved achievement for a player who has worked tirelessly at his game. 

Defending 314 for a place in the top 6 before the break, Tim Ley (fresh off his engagement to fellow mid-tier member Briony Campbell) got the students off to the perfect start trapping Srivastava in front for a duck. Hayden Kerr chipped in with the 2nd wicket as the score had moved to 64 in just the 12th over. Enter the spin twins who quickly settled into their work strangling the batsmen. It was Malone who grabbed the big breakthrough after a sharp piece of work behind the stumps saw Critchley stumped for a quickfire 49. Not to be outdone - Tedro Cowan deceived up and coming batsmen Luke Ohrynowsky with some delicious flight to have him well caught in the outfield by fellow twin Malone. 

With uni looking well on top at this stage it was only the heat that provided a real threat. Tim Cummins had to see out the remainder of the game from the sidelines as the mercury went through the roof. With 10 men on the field Liam Robertson chipped in with some vital breakthroughs to halt any hopes Fairfield had of a victory. From that moment Devlin Malone and Joe Kershaw returned to grab a couple of freebies as the students claimed a hard fought victory and celebrated well into the night. See you in 2018 for what promises to be a closely contested run to the finals. 
 

2ND GRADE

Sydney Uni 5-300: N Craze 162*, A Shaw 43, J Larkin 35
Fairfield-Liverpool 8-211: B Joy 4-25, J Craig-Dobson 2-35
 

3RD GRADE

Sydney Uni 0-113: B Larkin 72*, M Powys 41*
Fairfield-Liverpool 112: J Lawson 4-33, L Whitaker 3-27, J Toyer 2-24

What a difference a week makes. After a couple of lean (nude) rounds the Units travelled to the outer suburbs hungry to take some points against the Lions going into the festive period. Fairfield Oval was the venue, and on a bright sunny day we were greeted by a good pitch that promised plenty of reward for the batsmen who applied themselves. Despite my repeated comments during the week that we would be treated to multiple (mixed quality) baseball contests on the adjoining diamond, lamentably it was not to be, and we had the 3-hectare complex to ourselves.

In a move that shocked your scribe, everyone was bright eyed and bushy tailed and on time, so young had the extra man in Nash which they used to good effect, coming away with a hard-fought victory to end the year on a high. Much soul searching and time in the Nash nets for your scribe over the next 3 weeks, it was another absolutely horrific performance from one who was once rightly considered in the top handful at the club (circa 2006) but now appears to be languishing in an extended dotage (2010 – present).

At any rate, it was back to type as I lost the toss and the units were asked to field. A solid start from the Lions built a platform but this was rapidly undone by the devastatingly rare spin partnership of Leggie and Whit. The spin twins took wickets at both ends (including a catch each off the other’s bowling) to rip the heart out of the Lions’ middle order, with a relatively stable 2/63 becoming 9/97. Toyerbald chimed in at the start and the finish, taking as many wickets as he went through playing shirts (2) and also effecting a comical run-out after, in the words of Wood, performing “the worst drop he has ever seen”… All out 112, and on a road that was never going to be enough, the only questions being how many overs it would take, and how many wickets would be lost. The answers were not many and nought, respectively.

After a sumptuous pork roll ($3 each, god knows how that little bakery ever stands to make any profit with those razor thin margins) openers Larkin and the newly promoted Powys set about ticking off the runs. Larkin in particular was disdainful, batting as he liked as the poor bowlers were dispatched to all parts of complex including a magnificent straight 6 off a medium pacer. It has often been said that Chip has the full range of shots, but he has the supreme patience to not use them (I said it to at least 4 different groups of people on Sat arvo/evening, and it’s probably been said by someone else once) and indeed it was the case on the day. Joe Dirt for once was the slow and circumspect partner, and his run a ball 41* was overshadowed by Chippers masterful 72*.

To chase the total none down in 16 overs was a pretty comprehensive display, and the Units retired to the shade at No1 in good time to tuck into a few of TK’s ice-cold premiums (Stone and Wood, delicious) and prepare for the xmas party. Multiple stories emerged from the evening’s festivities, and these are quite obviously not suitable for publication in this forum. Suffice to say a good night was had by all.

We go to the break poised in 7th and with 3 tough fixtures early in the new year we have an opportunity to test ourselves against the best and hopefully leapfrog some teams above us at present and get back to where we belong.
 

4TH GRADE

Sydney Uni 5-101: T Fullerton 39*
Fairfield-Liverpool 100: AJ Grant 4-23, A Peek 3-24, R Browne 2-13
 

5TH GRADE

Sydney Uni 9-245: A Wilkinson 49*, R Bulger 38, J Robertson 36, H Storey 35
Fairfield-Liverpool 148: M Miles 3-23, M Phoebus 3-25, R Bulger 2-39
 

METRO CUP

Sydney Uni 3-138: J Dimas 47, N Mortimer 40*, R Rahman 29
Randwick Petersham Green 133: M Shanahan 5-32, A Kirubanandan 3-16

A home game and some welcome general lineup stability for Metro this week against our recent arch rivals Randwick Petersham Green. Fortunately an official umpire is appointed for the match, saving the Uni captain a trip to the doctor for blood pressure medication...for now. The toss is won and even though the pitch looks good, the once bitten twice shy Student captain decides to have a bowl and continue our excellent time with the ball from last week.

Ashwin Kirubanandan takes the new rock and has this scribes vote for the most improved player on the Uni scene from preseason to Christmas. Ashwin is bowling with real pace now and there is genuine thought and intent behind every ball bowled. He is also a gun fielder and developing nicely as a batsman as well. Ashwin picks up the pesky Randwick skipper for 0 in the first over with a beautiful in dipping ball that rattles the stumps. Music to our ears and a great way to start putting doubt in all their batsmans minds. Ashwin's day ended up with figures of  3-16 off 8 overs.

Mighty Max Shanahan holds up his end picking up the other opener for a duck as well, with a great take from Julian Dimas who most likely stole a catch from his fellow gripper Muhammad. There was some middle order resistance from Randwick and a 60 run partnership to which you can only say well played, as it was not easy against our attack. It's also a good lesson to us that we still have to earn our wickets even against the slightly weaker teams and never get complacent.

Max had a day in the sun combining with Julian Dimas at short mid-wicket for 2 more freakish catches and was on a hatrick at one point. Juilain's efforts in the field were pretty influential. He's a smart cricketer with amazing hands and offers regular tactical insights to the captain. Max finished with lifetime best figures of 5-32. Max is a hard trainer and we're all happy the long hours in the nets is baring fruit on the field for the left armer.

There was a little wag in the tail with the opening bowler having a swing against our spiiners but our Nepalese Nightmare spinner Om Prakash Sah picked up the final wicket caught behind to Cade.

Randwick finishing all out 133 off 39.5 overs. The captains broken record once more played the same old song at the break.. "The Job's Only Half Done".. It's an oldie but a goodie..

Openers Rahman and Ghumann set about the task and were dependable as usual putting on an opening stand of 43 before Mo was out caught for 12. A slight hiccup in the innings occurred with Rakin falling for 29 with the score still on 43. From then on it was smooth sailing with Dimas and Nick Mortimer combining for a 78 run partnership. Some great and controlled power hitting from the pair and it wouldn't be a day out at Paul's without a couple of lost balls in the infamous construction zone. Dimas eventually caught just short of 50 on 47.

Morts is joined by Gibbo and the final 12 runs are scored passing the Randwick total  in just 17.1 overs. Morts 40 not out doubling his run total for the season and a platform built for after Christmas.

As Kermit the frog once sang "It's Not Easy Being Green" and that just about sums up the day/season for the Randwick Green side. We were just a little more polished and experienced than them in all aspects of the game this season in our two outings against them. The opposition captain was overheard after the match observing that Uni "had a team of opening bowlers". A rare glimpse into how others might see our team at present.

Part 1 of the season done and dusted and an exciting new chapter after Christmas with it all to play for going into the break 3rd place on the ladder. A great place to be especially with the amount of lineup changes we've had so far.

Thanks to everyone who's been involved with the club so far this season for their efforts. From the entire Metro team we'd all like to wish you all a happy and safe holiday period. Please be kind to one another! 😀

 

GREEN SHIELD

Sydney Uni 8-244: B Mitchell 68, S Pathak 36, J Aylward 32*, N Barnet 31
Campbelltown-Camden 223: J Rinka 4-38, L Dimeglio 3-39

 

Team Announcements: Round 8

Team Announcements: Round 8

Round 8.jpg

2ND GRADE

Syd Uni vs Fairfield-Liverpool
Uni No.1 Oval 10am

Jack Holloway

Jack Hill

Charles Litchfield

James Larkin (c)

Nicky Craze

Alex Shaw

James Crowley +

Tom Kierath

Jono Craig-Dobson

Dugald Holloway

Ben Joy

 

5TH GRADE

Syd Uni vs Fairfield-Liverpool
Don Dawson 10am

Suda Sivapalan

Vince Umbers

James Robertson

Ned Barnet

Zohirul Islam

Ryan Bulger

Hayden Storey +

Tom Draca

Andrew Wilkinson (c)

Jon Phoebus

Murray Miles

3RD GRADE

Syd Uni vs Fairfield-Liverpool
Fairfield 10am

Matt Powys

Ryan Danne

Ben Larkin

Lewis Bedford

Tom Galvin

Ed Arnott +

Ash Cowan (c)

Josh Toyer

Sam Wood

Liam Whitaker

Jack Lawson

 

METRO CUP

Syd Uni vs Randwick Petersham Green
St Paul's Oval 10am

Rakin Rahman

Muhammad Ghumman

Nick Mortimer

Julian Dimas

Ethan Jamieson

Harry Gibson

Jon Aylward

Ashwin Kirubanandan

Greg Cade (c) +

Max Shanahan

Om Prakash Sah

4TH GRADE

Syd Uni vs Fairfield-Liverpool
Cahill Park 10am

Alex Bell

Brayden Dilley

Kevin Jacob

Tom Fullerton

AJ Grant (c)

Hugh Farrow

Oliver Thompson

Christian Lorenzato +

Aidan Peek

Jazz Rinka

Rob Browne

 

SYDNEY UNI LIONS

Lions vs Yaralla
Goddard Park 1:30pm

Yaralla forfeited
no match

Trio through to National Champs GF

Trio through to National Champs GF

A trio of Sydney University representatives have secured berths in the U19 National Champs grand final with NSW Metro and Cricket Australia XI to meet in the decider on Friday.

Opening bowler, Lawrence Neil-Smith, has been powerful with the ball for NSW Metro taking 14 wickets throughout the tournament at an average of 13.21. He was instrumental in the Qualifying Final win on Tuesday with 5 wickets and was superb again in today's Semi Final against Western Australia with 2-21 from 7 overs.

Ryan McElduff joins Neil-Smith in the NSW Metro squad for Friday's final. McElduff has found opportunities tough to come by with a star studded top order who has only lost 40 wickets across their 7 matches. McElduff scored an unbeaten 29 in NSW Metro's only loss, to a powerful Queensland team in Round 5.

Sydney University is assured a national champion, with Neil-Smith and McElduff on one side and with 15-year old A.W. Green Shield quick, Dominic O'Shannessy, part of the Cricket Australia XI. O'Shannessy gave his best performance of the tournament today in his team's semi final win over South Australia, claiming 4-53 from his 10 overs.

The Under 19 National Championship final will be played on Friday at 1.30pm at Blundstone Arena, and will be live-streamed and free-to-view via www.cricket.com.au.

Round 7 Match Reports

Round 7 Match Reports

1ST GRADE

Sydney Uni 227: H Kerr 54, D Mortimer 37, E Cowan 29
Northern District 6-228: T Ley 3-27

After a washout last week the students were looking to be back in the winners circle. After a hotly contested game of nash, Uni won the toss and quickly elected to bat. 15 overs in and Hayden Kerr with the ever youthful Steven Hobson had taken the score to 0-90. A brilliant opening stand had put the students in a strong position as the pair combined powerful stroke play with some sharp running between the wickets. Shortly after passing his 3rd half century for the year, Kerr was dismissed having played a brilliant innings. From that moment ND's began to steadily apply the brakes and the constant loss of wickets throughout the innings had uni eventually dismissed for 227 in the 49th over. Failure to bat out the innings, a cardinal sin that would eventually come back to haunt us. 

With the wicket offering inconsistent pace and bounce Uni believed they were a strong chance to defend the total of 227.  It was Joe Kershaw who provided the initial breakthrough for Uni who had started the innings in very tidy fashion restricting the scoring rate of the ND's batsmen. However at the halfway stage ND's seemed to be coasting with 9 wickets still in the shed and less than half the runs required. A brilliant piece of fielding from S Hobson gave Uni a crucial breakthrough and the momentum of the game began to change. With ND's now requiring 80 from 130 balls, Uni steadily applied the pressure as the RRR began to rise. Crucial wickets were picked up by Tim Ley & Liam Robertson as Uni hopes of a win grew. ND's needing 7 an over for the last 5 overs an exciting contest was unfolding. A couple of missed chances by the Uni side as the game went down to the wire would prove costly. 

Requiring 16 off the last 2 overs it was anyones game to win. ND's held their nerve to clinch a narrow victory with 3 balls to spare. A well contested game of cricket which will stand us in good stead for the season to come. 

 

2ND GRADE

Sydney Uni 9-217: J Hill, 41, J Holloway 38, C Litchfield 37
Northern District 218: J Holloway 2-38, J Craig-Dobson 2-42, B Joy 2-66

Second grade started the morning with young putting in a comprehensive defensive Nash display to grind out a well deserved 1-0 victory. A fantastic turn around considering the last round aggregate of 23-0 in favour of the older statesmen. 

Returning skipper James Larkin had no luck with the toss of the coin and with that, we were sent into the field ready to rip in. Despite a run a ball 50 (and some very clean striking) from one of the rangers opening batsmen we were able to restrict the damage on the scoreboard through some tight bowling and general chewing of the dots by the other opening stick. This in turn led to a couple of wickets falling while also stemming the scoring rate in the middle overs, a few good cameos from the middle/lower order combined with some foxing in the field for successful run-outs had ND’s bowled out in the last over for 218, with TK the pick of the bowlers with an economical 1/29 off his 10 overs.

The chase started solidly with the wombat J Hill and Litchy forming a good opening partnership to really set us up a platform to chase the target. A few wickets leading into the middle session slowed the progress a bit and heading into the last 10 overs we required 6 an over with wickets in hand, some lusty hitting from Crowls/TK in the last 10 had the equation down to 10 off 3 overs but some tight death bowling as well as good fielding left us needing 4 off the last ball, with the ball hit to the boundary and 2 being run the final result was a heartbreaking 1 run loss. The boys will be looking to finish with a better result next week into the Christmas break against Fairfield.

 

3RD GRADE

Sydney Uni 252: A Shaw 119, A Cowan 36, T Galvin 26
Northern District: 6-259 (dec) 

An early morning trip to the rain belt in Summer is always met with trepidation, not least of which would be felt by top order batsmen at the prospect of a juicy green seamer and an ageless Phil Melville lying in wait. The units arrived bright and early to be indeed faced with such, however the toss was won by your scribe (2 in a row, in a frightening return to mathematic normalcy, both leading to 0 points), but more on that later.

Absolute panic ripped through the dressing room circa 9am, as it was confirmed by the latecomers that no-one had managed to bring a Nashball. A game of fielding soccer was narrowly avoided as a young legend from NDs volunteered a soccerball that we could use for our warm up. The game was an interesting affair, with the new pill serving to provide much easier ball in hand and ground play but a diabolical passing game with the slippery soccerball being hard to grip (at least that is what I said to excuse my fumbles). Galvin the standout, with a full piece of skill on display, however old had too much talent and ended up being justifiably victorious.

As mentioned above we won the toss and elected to bowl, and after a slightly delayed start it was game on. A strong start was made by the NDs openers, aided by some profligacy in the slip cordon (see above, new ball also slippery). At 0/80 the game was getting away, but some quick wickets from Danno and L Newington changed the game back in our favour. We promptly lost that ascendancy however, and a classy 90-odd from Jace Hayward and some solid contributions from the middle order meant that we went to the KFC interval needing 260 to win, Danne and Lawso the pick of the bowlers. It should be noted that new levels (depths?) of rareness were reached (plumbed?) by Lawson, who inexplicably had a nosebleed for 40 overs, and bowled with what appeared to be a blood-soaked tissue hanging out of his nose. Claytonesq levels, and the graph is currently being updated after these scenes, just in time for the xmas party next week.

After a sumptuous chicken feast (including the mattress being alphaed by the KFC server who rated his accent but not much else) it was on to the chase. Tight lines and a bit of wobble each way were exactly what was expected however it was not easy to deal with, and the Units soon found ourselves in serious trouble at 4/34 after 12 with more than 6 an over needed. Galvin joined Shaw and set about getting us back in the contest, and with your scribe finally scoring some runs we put together back to back 80 run partnerships at a run-a-ball which meant that with 10 to go we were every chance. However, some disciplined bowling and composed fielding meant that the Rangers ended up with the spoils, and Liamo was caught on the longest boundary to end a gallant runchase. Special mention to the young kid Joe Hiley who has a big future with his left-arm orthos, and of course the old dog Phil Melville who I understand is 3 times as old but still knocked over our top order with consummate ease.

Disappointing result but there was one shining light, the innings of the man of the match, Alex Shaw. Shawry came in at 2/17 and left at 8/231, and scored 119 of those. He batted with power and patience, and played shots all around the ground in what was most certainly his best innings in SUCC colours, and therefore his life (all other colours being subservient). It was a pleasure to watch from the other end, and a real shame that the rest of us couldn’t quite get enough in support to get a famous victory, but hats off to the young man.

A trip to Cabramatta is next for a chance at 6 points before the break, and a step up is needed if we are to regain our position in the top 6 after a couple of fruitless weeks.

 

4TH GRADE

Sydney Uni 167: AJ Grant 40, B Dilley 35, K Jacob 26
Northern District 7-204 (cc): J Rinka 2-37

4s had a frantic start to the game with only 10 players present at the coin toss. The julios grabbed the 3 dollars in a clinical 3-1 demolition of the nuffies in nash.

Nds got off to a good start in the first ten before Jazz snicked off the opener and we grabbed an 11th man who happened to play baseball. Shez and Ollie then proceeded to put the squeeze on with Shez bowling 3 maidens in a row. This led them to be restricted to 200 from their 50.

Uni started off well with the bat with a fifty opening stand. Dill played well and so did AJ and Fullerton with a few bombs along the way. Unfortunately some consistent wickets throughout the game meant that we fell 30 runs short.

 

5TH GRADE

Sydney Uni 6-261 (cc): R Browne 64, H farrow 62, L McElduff 45
Northern District 177: A Wilkinson 4-14, N Barnet 2-40

A strong 5th grade unit travelled up to Storey Park aiming to build their momentum against the winless Northern Districts. The Youth barely had the chance to build an attack so stifled were they by the organised and disciplined Olds. Slick ball movement, precision passing, and especially the objective refereeing a hallmark of their superior game. Debutant Barnett was a surprise star for the Young avoiding the pitfalls of the newer player and forcing a higher standard from his teammates. An effort that would fall in vain as the Olds won comfortably 6-2. A sloppy piece of goal keeping by your scribe unfortunately allowing them onto the scoreboard. A bleak Christmas looms for the youth if they face another loss next week.

The toss was won, and even under overcast skies the students were confident to bat and set a total. McElduff and Farrow got to work and notched up their 50 and 100 run partnerships with ease. Both looked comfortable until the NDs captain trapped the Crab in front of middle for 45. He would later end Farrow's innings on 62. The rest of the bowling attack was mercilessly taken apart by the combination of Robbie Browne and Christian Lorenzato. Browne hit his first 50 for the club with 10 boundaries and 1 maximum. Lorenzato continued his good run of form finishing with 44 before he was run out off a direct hit that probably should have been sent upstairs for referral (read: looked very close from the scorer's table). Reaching the 50 over mark at 261 the students were happy with their innings on a pitch that was as slow as Islam's running between the wickets.

NDs started strongly in their chase going at 7 an over for the first 10. But once the top order had made their way back to the change rooms the game was all but won for the students. A spectacular outfield catch by Browne, more run outs and a bit of infield catching practice locked in the six points with a few overs to spare. We travel out to Don Dawson just before the break to try and set up a late charge for the top 6.

 

SYDNEY UNI LIONS

Sydney Uni: Champe Joo Lennox 66, T Derrick 33, T Synnott 20
Cricketers Club: Champe Joo Lennox 3-46, Prasan A 2-28, Olly O 2-36

SU Lions welcomed SUCC players Tom Derrick, Jacob Pockney, Tim Synott , and Champe Joo Lennox into their side. This doubled the energy and enthusiasm the side went about all aspects of the game, but especially fielding. Croft lost the toss, again, so will be relieved of this task (toss) next time he skippers. Lions were asked to field.

CC always bat with depth and this day was to be no different. Prasan A and Olly O bowled reasonably good areas but anything loose went to the fence quickly. Both ended with 2 well deserved wickets. Nick Bowman came on and was also rewarded a bowled scalp courtesy of the slight up and down nature of the wicket.  But the real highlights of the bowling were Tim Synott’s leg-spin and Champe’s pace and guile, notwithstanding a no ball issue which he will hopefully get rid of soon. Tim deserved a couple of poles but kept the scoring down and Champe got 3 but could have had more with at least one bowled victim off a no-ball. In the field Tom D kept all batsmen honest with his speed to the ball and sharp arm and Jacob took the catch of the season so far at backward point. Pieter Mees again showed his keeping skills would not be out of place in a higher grade and took a very impressive catch and almost had a stumping off Tim S.

The CC score of 204 was not out of reach on the quick outfield.

Tom and Tim S started our chase brightly. Unfortunately at 0-54 both got out when well set after making the scoring look easy. We then lost Jacob, Matt Freeman and Prasan cheaply so were quickly 5-60 odd. Croft looked to score a few but was beaten by the accuracy and movement off the wicket. In walked Champe batting at 8. When he had unleashed a few boundaries and was asked were he normally bats, he said in the top 5 and this will be his position next game.

It reminded the skipper Croft of a young Ash Cowan in his first SUCC game at Rance vs Penrith early 2000’s. “Oh yeah I like hitting lofted boundaries and I don’t normally bat at 8!”. Well we hope Champe has some of the impact batting higher that Ash did and still does. Champe was supported by Pieter Mees for awhile but when he got out 2nd time Champe had to make the all the scoring himself and eventually went for a big shot when only left with one more batting partner. His 66 was a great dig to watch and indicated to the club he will be handy addition in grade, especially if he can sort out his run up. We eventually fell 40 short but had a good chat and bevvy with the CC guys after the match, and also complemented them on the best arvo tea in C + S.

This was the last of our Jack Pace Shield games (knock-out). With one more game before the Christmas break all commented on the relaxed feel but great approach to the games in SU Lions and look forward to getting back in the winners column.

 

Neil-Smith dominating National Champs

Neil-Smith dominating National Champs

Talented Sydney Uni quick, Lawrence Neil-Smith has continued his rich vein of form with the new ball to rip the heart out of home team, Tasmania, in today's Qualifying Final win for NSW Metro in the Under 19 National Championships.

Neil-Smith has claimed 5-17 from 7 overs, picking up both opening bats before returning to claim a further three quick wickets to complete the milestone, as Tasmania were bundled out for 111 runs in response to NSW Metro's 7-251.

The comprehensive win, led by Neil-Smith, was revenge for a tied game (4-269 v 9-269) in Round One of the tournament, in which Neil-Smith took 2-47.

Neil-Smith sits second on the wicket-takers list with 12 wickets at an average of 13.67, whose performance so far will stand him in a strong position to secure a berth in the Under 19 World Cup squad.

Fellow Sydney Uni 2nd Grade player, Ryan McElduff, is also representing NSW Metro but with limited opportunities has taken 3 wickets across the tournament.

Rounding out the Sydney Uni contingent at the National Championships is Green Shield spearhead, Dominic O'Shannessy, who at just 15 years, is representing the Cricket Australia XI, following his standout performance in the U17 National Champs in October.

O'Shannessy has claimed 4 wickets at an average of 32, including the prized wicket of Queensland Bulls Rookie, Max Bryant in today's thriller against Queensland.

Semi-final matches continue tomorrow with the Grand Final set to be contested on Friday. All the best for our three talented youngsters in the remaining matches.

Follow the action at www.nationalchamps.com.au

Team Announcements: Round 7

Team Announcements: Round 7

Round 7.jpg

2ND GRADE

Syd Uni vs Northern District
Uni No1 Oval
10am

Jack Holloway
Jack Hill
Charles Litchfield
James Larkin (c)
Nicky Craze
Matt Powys
James Crowley +
Tom Kierath
Jono Craig-Dobson
Kieran Tate
Ben Joy

 

5TH GRADE

Syd Uni vs Northern District
Storey 10am

Suda Sivapalan
Liam McElduff
Hugh Farrow
Ned Barnett
Zohirul Islam
Rob Browne
Christian Lorenzato
Shivansh Pathak
Andrew Wilkinson
Jon Phoebus
Murray Miles

3RD GRADE

Syd Uni vs Northern District
Asquith 10am

Ryan Danne
Ben Larkin
Ed Arnott +
Alex Shaw
Lewis Bedford
Ash Cowan (c)
Tom Galvin
Josh Toyer
Sam Wood
Liam Whitaker
Jack Lawson

 

METRO CUP

Syd Uni vs Warringah
St Paul's 10am

Liam Hughes
Muhammad Ghumman
Nick Mortimer
Julian Dimas
Oscar Kirk
Max Veltro
Jon Aylward
Ashwin Kirubanandan
Greg Cade (c)
Tom Draca
Om Prakash Sah

4TH GRADE

Syd Uni vs Northern District
Marrickville 10am

Alex Bell
Brayden Dilley
Kevin Jacob
Tom Fullerton
AJ Grant (c)
James Robertson
Oliver Thompson
Hayden Storey +
Aidan Peek
Jazz Rinka
Shehan Canagasingham

 

SYDNEY UNI LIONS

Lions vs Cricketers Club
Camperdown Oval  1:30pm

Jacob Pockney
Tim Synnott
Tim Croft (c)
Tom Derrick
Ethan Jamieson
Pieter Mees
Olly Ottossan
Prasan Adikirage
Phil Bowman
Nick Bowman
Champe Joo Lennox

Round 6 (Day 2) Match Reports

Round 6 (Day 2) Match Reports

1ST GRADE

Sydney Uni 8-351 (dec): S Hobson 109, T Cummins 73*, B Trevor-Jones 41
Sydney 5-192: D Malone 4-45
*Match Abandoned 

Following Steven Hobson’s remarkable 109 and Tim Cummins’ 73 Jazzy Rinka, the students had set Sydney a total of 350 to chase on day 2. 

In light of Damien Mortimer owing the first case of the season, the boys had even more of a reason to be fired up and ready to get stuck in after what was a fiery first days play (premium only thanks Darren). Tim Ley and Joe Kershaw led from the front and bowled tight lines to apply pressure to Sydney’s top order. 

This pressure led to the breakthrough provided by Hayden Kerr (1-38), who bowled in tandem with Dugald Holloway to set up what looked to become an exciting afternoon session. 

Enter Devlin Malone (4-45) who had everything to prove after his abysmal performance in Nash which some would say cost the Bowlers the game….  With his iconic wrong-un, Devlin tore through the middle order and was simply a class above. With promising signs at 5/190, the students looked to be on top in what would be an exciting last session, however, the cricket gods had other ideas with the rain settling in for the afternoon session. 

Match drawn, and the students look to build upon their shorter format form that was displayed on Sunday for the last 2 rounds before Christmas.

 

2ND GRADE

Sydney Uni 117 & 3-132: J Holloway 37
Sydney 180: L Neil-Smith 3-37, K Tate 3-50

Back over the bridge to Drummoyne, and back to business. Nash was unsurprisingly difficult for the young, losing 4/0 again, and thus having a 23/0 aggregate over the round, this was a bitter pill to swallow.

Sydney was 7 down with a lead of around 30, and Uni needed quick wickets to begin to dictate how the game should be played. Ben Joy and Kieran Tate did their job nicely, with a wicket in the first over of the day for the latter. Joy bowled with considerable pace which seemed uncomfortable for their English wicketkeeper-batsman, forcing him to have time out of the game after being struck on the head. It was a brief affair, and with Uni trailing by 80, we really needed a strong opening partnership between Litchfield and McElduff. They started positively, both scoring fluently in various areas of the oval. McElduff continued his work, scoring a valiant 90, his highest score at the club. Nicky Craze’s antics were equally Dravidian in the way he went to 0 off 49, before a marvelous single, accompanied by what was likely the loudest cheer Drummoyne has heard for years. He occupied an end for the rest of the curtailed day.

It was a miserly affair, with the state of the game being very mundane, hard to change and increasingly wet. At the stroke of tea, a most biblical storm decided to visit, and blew a gale over the covers, soaking both Sydney CC players and their wicket. It was a rather smug moment as the Uni boys tucked into the delights of tea, including croissants, bite-size Tim Tams and a myriad of coloured jelly sweets, whilst the home team slaved away on the cold and sodden covers in the rain. The game lacked impetus and we shook hands. We lost on the first innings deficit. As always, there were plenty of positives to take forward.

 

3RD GRADE

Sydney Uni 8-319: J Hill 110, J Crowley 53, T Galvin 41
Sydney 5-147: J Toyer 3-39
*Match Abandoned

After a series of dubious showers forecasts during the week caused covers panic for your scribe (more on that later), the BoM had outdone itself and declared a 150% chance of torrential rain on Saturday during the afternoon and evening. It was therefore unsurprising that the Units arrived at Camperdown to be greeted with a clear sunny day and the very real prospect of a full day of cricket in which to attempt to take 10 wickets.

Nash was a dour, insipid affair with the youth triumphant 1-nude after old squandered several good chances, L Newington impregnable in goal. Despite early season ineptitude, young have entered a bit of a renaissance period under their captain Ryan “trust the process” Danne. This has served to enrage Josh “hip and shoulder” Toyer which will no doubt cause a few spicy fixtures in the near future.

Toyerbald and debutant Aidan “Peeky” Peek (debutants as always receiving the simplest of nicknames) took the new ball and from the start it was difficult to extract any assistance from a very good pitch and a hard and fast outfield. Toyer burgled a wicket first ball but apart from that, the Sydney batsmen looked fairly comfortable and they got themselves into a pretty solid position at 1/100. Danno entered the attack with immediate results and broke a good partnership, and then the reintroduction of a fired-up Toyer and some beguiling work from Leggie Newington turned the screws and the game went back into Uni’s favour. With a few quick wickets prior to the tea interval and rain clouds circling, Uni had the ascendancy and Sydney were in a bit of trouble at 5/147.

Ultimately though the radar had other ideas, and for once during the week the BoM was absolutely spot on, and the rain started falling in earnest. A disastrous attempt to put on the big cover resulted in Crowls needing urgent medical attention as he suffered a puncture wound to the lower arm. Thankfully Kingy from Sydney was on hand to administer first aid, which he did in a gentlemanly fashion despite Crowls’s rampant sledging of his batting ability in the over before tea.

With the rain bucketing down the game was called for a draw, and the Units retired to the sheds to enjoy a couple of libations whilst garnering the resolve needed to put the big cover back in the shed, which was achieved with a minimum of fuss, unlike the last time. A disappointing draw after a solid performance across 2 days against a strong side, one who we expect will feature at the business end of the season. A trip to the rain belt awaits, and a contest against the defending premiers.

 

4TH GRADE

Sydney Uni 171: A Bell 45, T Fullerton 45
Sydney 6-117: AJ Grant 3-33
*Match Abandoned

Unbelievable scenes greeted us as we traveled to the picturesque Birchgrove to take on a strong Tigers outfit. Day 1 presented a beautiful day for batting and skipper AJ delivered, electing to bat, much to the delight of the top order.

The Unit’s started brightly with Dilley and McElduff building a promising opening partnership. However, a good spell from the Tigers quick saw both fall in quick succession leaving us wobbling at 2/38. This brought Bell and Fullerton together who batted patiently to build a solid partnership that frustrated the Tigers. Both will rue missing out on the opportunity to cash in on a big score in the afternoon session, falling for 45 apiece. Failure to convert these top order starts saw the Tigers get amongst our middle order. An elegant Jazz Rinka cameo of 20 red wrestled back some momentum but the Units fell for 171, a respectable but well below par score considering the position we had put ourselves in earlier in the day.

This left 10 overs to have a red hot crack at the Tigers top order with the hope of ruining a few weekends down the track. Jazz Rinka took the new ball and struck in his first over, leaving the Tigers at 1/15 at the end of Day 1.

With rain coming on Day 2, it was clear to both sides that each would need to push hard to squeeze in an early result. Grant struck early but the Units were frustrated by the emergence of a streaky 3rd wicket partnership with numerous false strokes evading fielders. Phoebus broke the streaky stand, aided by sharp, crab-like movement from McElduff at point, allowing the bowlers to roll through the Tigers middle order. The cats on the hill could sense momentum building with the small but vocal crowd turning on the home team. Grant was the main destroyer grabbing 3 poles aided by Rinka who bowled with superb control compiling the excellent figures of 11 overs, 8 maidens, 1/4.

With the Tigers wobbling at 6/117 we were poised for a tight finish. Unfortunately the rain came, ending the match before what would have been an exciting conclusion. Whilst the 6 points may have evaded us, the lads can take a lot out of the 2 days and take momentum into Round 7. 

 

5TH GRADE

Sydney Uni 205 & 1-48: Z Islam 59, C Lorenzato 51
Sydney 173: S Pathak 5-17, A Wilkinson 3-38

 

METRO CUP

Sydney Uni 6-330 (dec): J Aylward 102, S Sivapalan 53, M Ghumman 51
Randwick-Petersham 85 & 5-181: T Synnott 4-22, M Shanahan 3-23

With 1st Innings points lost on week 1 we headed back on down to the river with the anticipation of a new day and a fresh start and the aim of claiming outright points. With the weather forecast looking ominous we headed out to bat with a positive mindset knowing if we could post a decent total in and around 40 overs, then declare, we could make a game of it.

The loss of Rahman hit wicket early for 2 was little deterrent for opening partner Ghumman who continues to apply his trade with class and power on his way to another exciting 47. Mo is starting to show the sort of commitment and consistency (season avg 46.7)  that would be expected from a higher grader so hopefully, promotion is on the cards soon for the big fella.

Some cameos from Cade 18, Pockney 14 and Shanahan 13 but the regular loss of wickets every few overs hampered the run rate and thus our mission. When the heavens eventually opened we took an early tea but with the rain seemingly set in and a result more and more unlikely the game was called around 3pm. Uni 5-117 off 39 overs.

The overall result was very disappointing considering our reputation and place on the ladder. Every player who participated in the match put in full effort but having only 10 players and an extremely imbalanced lineup was a frustration. Thanks must go to Shez Canagasingham who worked tirelessly to try and get a full team on the field for this round. As a grade club, serious questions need to be asked and players held accountable regarding availabilities for matches. Late Friday dropouts due to "other commitments" should be unacceptable. We have a Lions team for those who wish to play casually...

Two more rounds before the Christmas break and a chance to reboot and get back on track with one dayers at Pauls.