Ollie Robinson is in the right place at the right time
In theory, the backup fast bowlers for the touring English side are the ones travelling round the country as members of the Lions. In practice, however, it could be useful to have on hand an opening bowler who has taken 76 Test wickets at an average of 22, who also happens to be playing competitive cricket.
Welcome to Sydney, Ollie Robinson.
Robinson’s falling out with the England setup, early in 2024, was so abrupt that it’s easy to forget that, shortly before it occurred, he was ranked among the four best Test bowlers in the world. In his most recent first-class match for Sussex, he collected eleven wickets, and at the age of 31 he should be in the prime of his career. He showed glimpses of his quality in his first appearance for Sydney University, against Western Suburbs. It’s true that he picked up only two wickets, but he bowled a mean length and passed the outside edge repeatedly. His duel with Harjas Singh was a highlight: he teased the left-hander (who made a typically robust 55) around off stump, beating Singh’s forward lunge before spearing one in to the pads and winning the lbw verdict.
The pressure Robinson created certainly helped his new-ball partner, Kieran Tate, who was aggressive, moving the ball away from the bat and finding impressive pace and bounce. He wasn’t flattered by his figures for 5 for 34. The Students had few alarms chasing down their target, Patrick Xie playing beautifully for 97 in an innings anchored by veteran Jack Hill who, promoted to First Grade for the first time this season, was unbeaten on 87 when the declaration was made.
Cricket is not a fair game
The storm that swept across Sydney late on Saturday cut short a number of games, leaving four First Grade matches drawn, which was particularly cruel at Waverley Oval, where a hard-fought contest was denied a proper finish. On the first day, Easts battled their way to 268, an innings built around 96 from Old Harrovian Johnny Connell. Connell looked good: he used his feet well to Tanveer Sangha, and picked up a ball from Raheem Abdul that was only a little short, launching it over midwicket for six. Unfortunately, he tried to repeat that stroke against Jake Scott when he needed four for his hundred, and top-edged a catch to Anthony Mosca. Trystan Kennedy continued his good form with 62, and when Campbelltown lost its first three wickets for only 39 runs, the home side looked well on top. Anthony Mosca and Jake Scott resisted for a time, and then some late runs from Henry Railz and Thomas Patterson kept the Ghosts in the fight. When Harry Conway, steaming in through the gathering gloom, removed Sangha, Campbelltown still needed 37 runs with two wickets standing. Patterson and Abdul knocked off 18 of them, but at 8 for 250 the covers came out. Matt Moran hit Patterson’s leg stump soon after play resumed, setting up a tense final over. Jermey Nunan aimed several ambitious but totally unsuccessful swishes at Conway, who somehow managed to hit neither the stumps nor the edge. In the end, Easts needed just one wicket, Campbelltown nine runs. It was a tight, entertaining game that deserved, but didn’t get, a winner.
Tom Lammonby is back
You may remember Tom Lammonby as the English left-hander who played several bright, though not very long, innings for Manly about five years ago. He’s now back in Sydney, this time with University of NSW, and he marked his first game for the Bees by smashing an unbeaten 176 against Fairfield at Rosedale. Lammonby belted six 6s and 17 fours, adding 158 for the third wicket with Annay Chauhan. For good measure, he picked up the key wicket of Arjun Nair on the second day. The game was poised in an intriguing position when the weather intervened – Fairfield, thanks to Brent Williams’ unbeaten hundred, needed 83 runs in the last hour with six wickets still standing. Anyway, if Lammonby plays too many more games with Matt Gilkes, the University of NSW bowlers should have plenty of runs to play with.
Two hundreds are better than one
Here are three reasons we can think of why there aren’t many double-hundreds scored in Fifth Grade. First, you usually don’t have enough time to score that many runs; secondly, the pitches are often less than perfect, and finally, if you’re good enough to do that, you’ve probably been promoted already. Anyway, no one explained any of this to Manly’s Alfie Gatehouse, who dominated the match against Sydney at Ryde Oval by hitting 202 not out. The signs were there from the start: opening the innings, Gatehouse hit the first two deliveries for four, and he found the boundary 25 times, scoring his runs from only 190 deliveries. A local product, by way of the Warringah club and St Augustine’s College, Gatehouse is in his first season with Manly.
It wasn’t, however, the highest innings of the round because Sydney University’s Evie Fisher set about rewriting the record books in Brewer Shield. Playing against Northern District at Asquith, Fisher lashed 205 from only 148 balls, an innings decorated with 35 fours and a six. Fisher, who’s still at Kirrawee High School, erased the Brewer Shield record of 202 set by Caoimhe Bray (who, it’s terrifying to realise, is still eligible to play in the competition for two more years). The highlight was the 42nd over, during which Fisher hit every delivery for four. She scored all around the ground, but was especially clinical in dispatching anything short. Fisher has represented CHS East in the last three State championships, and looks an exceptional prospect.
Odd things happen in Fifth Grade
Batting first at Snape Park, Campbelltown’s Fifth Grade began solidly enough against Easts, reaching 2 for 38, before falling in a heap and losing their last eight wickets for only 31 runs. The agent of destruction was Tyson Jansz, a 14 year old leg-spinner. Jansz is interesting to watch: he’s still pretty short, and he races towards the bowling crease before launching the ball high into the air and giving it a mighty tweak. From 13 overs, he collected seven for 27. A common pitfall for young leg-spinners is the challenge of adjusting their trajectory as they grow taller; if Jansz can handle that, his progress will be worth watching. Jansz wasn’t the only young player to excel in Fifths: at Camperdown, Wests followed on 291 runs behind Sydney University, and slumped to 4 for 55 before 16 year old Krish Sharma salvaged some pride for his side by hitting an unbeaten 101 in a total of 5 for 133. As if to prove that old men can play too, Sydney University’s Ash Cowan (who first played in Fifth Grade in 2002) hammered his way to 99 from 84 balls before – somehow, with all that experience – deciding that a quick single was the best way to bring up his hundred. You can guess the rest.