And then there were four
The four teams still standing in the Kingsgrove Sports T20 are Western Suburbs, Randwick-Petersham, Manly and Bankstown. Unluckiest man of the quarter-finals was Northern Districts’ Lachlan Shaw, who exploded out of the blocks with 75 from only 32 balls, steering his side to a very competitive 7-193. Bad weather then reduced Bankstown’s target to 64 off 7, which was reached thanks to Angus Campbell’s 29 from 13. Manly bowled immaculately to defend a par score against Sydney University. Wests befuddled Fairfield with leg-spin, Tom Brooks and Ethan Jamieson each claiming three wickets, and then Harjased them into submission (22 balls, seven sixes and 61 runs). Harjas Singh celebrated his selection in the NSW Second XI by lashing Luke Hodges for three successive sixes, and Wests had more than 8 overs to spare in the chase. Randwick-Petersham contained Mosman to 8-159, and had reached 75 without loss from 32 balls when play ended – almost double the par score on DLS. Finals day is next Sunday.
Jordan Watson is seeing them well
Penrith has had a mixed start to the season, but the undoubted high point has been the form of Jordan Watson. Watson has scored runs consistently in First Grade over the last three seasons, but without quite reaching his potential and without posting a century. Now, though, his last four innings have been 37 not out, 85, 85 and 108 not out – 315 runs for twice out. His breakthrough hundred steered Penrith to a tight win over Sydney, who posted a competitive 247 batting first, and then claimed two early wickets. First with Ryan Gibson, and then with support from Adam Bayliss, Watson carried Penrith to victory with eight balls to spare. Watson, a tall right-hander, is playing this season with admirable simplicity. If the ball’s up, he drives; the short ones, he cuts and pulls; anything on a length is blocked or worked away. With Ryan Gibson running into form, Penrith’s bowlers should have plenty of runs to work with.
Sometimes old school works
Sydney University’s chase against Blacktown on Saturday reminded older observers of the early days of 50-over cricket when, instead of frantic bashing in the powerplay, teams began their innings steadily, built partnerships and kept wickets in hand for a late charge. Blacktown’s 6 for 270, built around Arthav Deshpande’s second century of the season, looked around par. Jack Attenborough (right-handed, tall) and John Rogers (left-handed, stocky) gave University a solid platform with an opening stand of 106, after which Yuvraj Sharma played busily for 44, but the Students were always slightly behind the required rate. Tim Cummins (40 from31) applied the accelerator, but University still needed more than eight an over before Cameron Frendo cracked Mandar Mariguddi straight down the ground for six. Frendo wrapped up the chase by smashing Kunj Changela for 4 and 6 in the final over.
Pick your cliché: was it scoreboard pressure, or not over til it’s over?
Illogical game of the week was at Mark Taylor Oval, where Northern Districts Seconds were down and out three times, yet somehow won. Hawkesbury’s Lachlan Boyd broke through in the third over, and when off-spinner Riley Wilson grabbed two wickets in as many overs, the home side had slumped to 8 for 107 in the 32nd over. But George Furrer dug in, while the left-handed Campbell Smith chanced his arm, and the ninth wicket boosted the score by 51 runs. Still, 158 is no sort of a target at MTO and, even though Jack Cincotta took three early wickets, Lovish Sethi and Udey Gill took the Hawks to 3 for 94: 65 needed, seven wickets in hand, almost 25 overs to go. Then Smith, whose left-arm spin had been punished early on, got one to scurry through and beat Gill’s pull shot, and won another lbw decision with his next delivery when he beat Jayden Wheeler in flight. Furrer, a tall left-arm seamer with plenty of First Grade experience, then crashed a full ball into Riley Wilson’s pads and Hawkesbury had lost three for one in four balls. Even so, they recovered well enough to reach 6 for 144, needing only 15 to win, before another dramatic collapse, as the last four wickets tumbled for only five runs. It’s not every game when you get to use your get-out-of-jail-free card three times.
Frankie Nicklin looks ready to step up
Frankie Nicklin has spent the first part of the WNCL season travelling around as an unused squad member for NSW, but marked her first club appearance of the season with a dominant display for Sydney University against Gordon. After Gordon made a lively start, Nicklin pegged things back by darting a quicker ball past Ami Campbell’s reverse sweep. Nicklin bowls her off-breaks from a short run with an economical action, but she’s very accurate and varies her flight cleverly. She lured Elsa Hunter into an indiscreet swipe, and wrapped up the tail in her second spell to finish with 4 for 18 – as well as taking two catches. She then made sure of the DLS-reduced run chase with a calm 45 from 32 balls, driving strongly off both the front and back foot.