Sutherland upset St George
Upset of the round was at Glenn McGrath Oval, where Sutherland romped past St George. It was very much a team effort; the wickets were shared around, and no batter reached fifty. It helped Sutherland that they bowled first – there was juice in the pitch after a late start, and batting wasn’t easy early in the day. Andrew Ritchie made the first breakthrough, when Adam Singleton’s flick picked out mid-on, and he finished with three wickets, but probably the most telling contribution came from Sri Lankan off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal, who bowled ten miserly overs while dismissing Harry Scowen and top-scorer Luke Bartier (73). Having battled hard to reach one for 104, St George ended up on six for 175. Mason King, whose wicket celebrations still need some work, kept St George in the match with a hostile opening burst and when Sutherland’s fifth wicket fell, the total was only 84. But Riley Keen needed only 44 balls for his unbeaten 45, and Sutherland had plenty of overs in hand when they completed a four-wicket victory.
It was a good weekend for Sydney University’s veterans
If this feels like a bit of a rebuilding season at Sydney University, two of the side’s long-serving players still provide the foundations. Damien Mortimer has made an excellent start to the season, batting with confidence and conviction, bouncing around in the field and snaring important wickets with his medium-pacers. On another day, his three wickets and 76 runs might have won the game against Manly: in the process, he passed 7500 First Grade runs, a milestone passed by fewer than a hundred players in the 134 years of the competition. An even more impressive milestone is coming up for Tim Cummins. On the weekend, he played tow vital innings – his 55 not out against Northern District came agonisingly close to securing University a semi-final spot in the T20s – and he completed his 555th First Grade dismissal. That leaves him two behind St George’s long-serving Ernie Laidler, and three behind the record holder, Anthony Sams. Watch this space.
We have some semi-finalists
There’s still time, if you like, to sign the petition calling on someone, anyone, to give Will Bosisto a professional contract. He may have picked up a few signatures on Sunday, when his 93 not out from 56 balls eased Bankstown to a comfortable victory and a spot in the first semi-finalists of the season. Elsewhere in the T20s, at Mark Taylor Oval, Northern District squeaked past Sydney University in a final-ball thriller. Randwick-Petersham monstered Campbelltown, thanks to Eknoor Singh’s unbeaten 123 from only 59 balls. After cruising through the preliminary rounds, St George looked nicely placed against Fairfield, reaching 106 without loss in 12 overs, thanks to Sam Heazlett (60) and Luke Bartier (62). Fairfield chased them down with an over and a half to spare: Jaydyn Simmons (47 from 28), Nick Carruthers (59 from 44) and Luke Ohrynowsky (55 from 24) cracked the bowling to every corner of Hurstville Oval. This Sunday, Bankstown plays Fairfield and Northern District faces up to Randwick-Petersham.
Matt Parkinson is a Bear
If you know the answer to this trivia question, you need to get out more: who are the four Test cricketers who made their debuts as concussion substitutes? If you remember any of them, it’s probably Matt Parkinson, who was called into the England side to play New Zealand at Lord’s in 2022 after Jack Leach’s mistimed dive resulted in him head-butting the boundary rope. Parkinson didn’t have all that much work to do on his debut, although he did collect his first Test wicket when he removed Tim Southee. Parkinson was a Lancashire player then; he’s since moved to Kent is search of greater opportunities, and this season he’s a North Sydney Bear. Raby Oval is, in every sense, a long way away from the manicured greenery of Kent, and Parkinson had an interesting introduction to Grade cricket when Campbelltown recovered from 4 for 38 to 4 for 181. Henry Railz hit 108 and Thomas Patterson made 64 before he skied a catch to long-off to give Parkinson his first North Sydney wicket. Parkinson’s ten overs, which went for 46, were tidy enough, and he helped to restrict the hosts to 7 for 268. The Bears timed their chase nicely and Justin Avendano, with 87 not out, ensured that Parkinson’s first outing ended as a win.
(Since you asked: the other concussion debutants have been Brian Mudzinganyama, Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka, 2019-20; Bahir Shah, Afghanistan v Bangladesh, 2023; and Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sri Lanka v India, 2026-27)
Danny Bhandari is still playing
If you’re playing Fourth Grade this season, it’s statistically likely that Danny Bhandari was already a seasoned Grade cricketer before you were born. Bhandari’s first year with University of NSW was (we think) 1999. By our reckoning, he’s the second-highest run-scorer in the history of the club, behind only the uncatchable Jungle Robson (13,885). He is, though, still distinctly handy. Last weekend, he helped to contain Randwick-Petersham to 8 for 261, bowling ten neat overs of off-spin to claim 3 for 32. Then he led his team’s chase, opening the innings and hitting 110, his first century in four seasons. University of NSW won with five wickets standing and overs to spare. So far this season, Bhandari has ten wickets at an average just below seven, which suggests that experience still counts for something in lower grade cricket.