Realistically, there are two finals places to play for
So there are now four rounds to go, but already the shape of the top six is fairly clear. St George, who have won 11 from 11, will be minor premiers unless every single player in the club tests positive for performance-enhancing substances between now and the end of March. They’re a ridiculous 15 points clear of Northern District, second on 53, who are also certain to play in the finals. Manly (45) and Parramatta (43) look pretty secure, because there’s a ten-point gap between Parramatta and seventh-placed Penrith (33). Gordon (40) and Mosman (37) are potentially vulnerable to a chasing pack that includes Easts (33), Wests (32) and a bunch of teams on 31. This week, Gordon play Wests, and Mosman plays Penrith – so Penrith has a chance to pass Mosman, and Wests could theoretically (with an outright) pass Gordon. What complicates things is that all the remaining games are two-dayers (so there are 40 points still available) and it’s going to rain (which always creates the risk that good teams get no points at all). Next week will shake things up, but the last two spots may not become clear for some time yet.
Nick Larkin still plays
Sydney University came within an over or two of taking first innings points against Bankstown on day one, and it wasn’t entirely coincidental that this was the game in which Nick Larkin returned to the top of the Students’ order. Larkin has missed several games through a combination of BBL duties, Blues coaching work and parenthood, but if Bankstown were hoping he’d be rusty, they were disappointed. Bankstown’s total of 139 seemed well under par on a slow and unthreatening pitch: Will Salzmann removed Daniel Solway for a first-ball duck, and the Bulldogs never recovered. Kieran Tate, Devlin Malone and Harrison May all maintained the pressure, and University was left with 21 overs to bat at the end of the day. Larkin got things moving by driving Ryan Felsch through cover, before whacking a delivery from Liam Marshall that was only fractionally short to the fence at square leg. It wasn’t a bad idea to introduce spin early, but Larkin welcomed Kobe Layton into the attack by swiping a boundary through midwicket and launching a full-length ball over the bowler’s head for a straight six. Larkin raced to 84 from 71 balls, and it took some dogged batting from Bankstown’s lower order on the second day to deprive the Students of full points.
Manly won the Green Shield
The upsets in the Green Shield happened in the semi-finals, when the two highest-placed teams, Northern District and Gordon, were knocked out by Manly and Parramatta. Manly hosted the final at Manly Oval, batted first, lost a wicket in the first over and struggled to 5 for 110 against some disciplined bowling. But Miles Milliner, who plays Shires cricket for Warringah, blasted Manly back into the game by taking on the Parramatta spinners. The left-hander’s 76 came from only 58 balls and included four sixes, either driven straight down the ground, or pulled over midwicket. Chasing 216, Parramatta was well in contention at 2 for 88, with the excellent Blake Noorbergen well set on 23. But left arm spinner Myles Kapoor produced an arm ball that scuttled through to bowl Noorbergen, and medium pacer Bill Martin kept a good line and length to profit from some increasingly desperate lower-order slogging. Martin collected 5-30, and the leg stump yorker with which he took the last wicket gave Manly is first Green Shield success since 1991-92.
Addison won the battle of the Sheriffs
UTS North Sydney all-rounder, Addison Sheriff, had a memorable game against his former club Sydney, which was made a touch spicier by the presence of his brother, Ellis, in the opposition. Ellis was on top early, grabbing a couple of early wickets as Sydney reduced the Bears to 7 for 111. But Addison was still there, and he received some sensible support from Olly Knight and Everett Oxenham, with whom he added 137 runs for the next two wickets. Addison’s game is neat and well-organised, and is largely based on waiting for the right ball to drive, although he also cuts effectively when allowed any width. He hit seven boundaries in his 111, reaching his first hundred in the top grade by dabbing left-arm spinner Tom Mullen away to third man. Addison is still only 17, and it will be interesting to see what he does when he adds a touch more power to his game. The Bears’ bowlers wrapped things up efficiently on the second day, when captain Mac Jenkins knocked over the tail and collected the absurd figures of 4-4.
Harpo was unique
Saddest news of the week was the loss of Neil (“Harpo”) Marks, at the age of 85. Harpo was an outstanding young batsman, who burst into first-class cricket in 1958-59, scoring 180 not out on his debut for NSW against South Australia. When he scored 103 in his second game, against Victoria in Melbourne, he was hailed as cricket’s next big star. But he played only eight more first-class matches: he had a congenital heart defect, which required surgery in the United States, and afterwards he never returned to top-level cricket. But he never left Northern District. He scored the first of his 18 centuries for the club in Green Shield in 1951-52, and he remained an outstanding First Grade batsman for twenty years, until he decided to drop down to captain Seconds to help develop the club’s younger players. His captaincy was a unique combination of fierce competitiveness – he set and demanded high standards – and affability, because he knew everyone in Sydney cricket, everyone knew him, and everyone liked him. The success that Northern District enjoyed in the 1980s had its roots in Harpo’s Second Grade teams of the 1970s. He was also an early promoter of the young Mark Taylor. He became patron of the Northern District club – a devoted one-club man. There was much more, of course – he was a State selector, a popular writer, an in-demand speaker. He’ll be missed, and not only at Waitara.