By Andrew Tilley
A brilliant day two bowling effort and the cool head of opening batsmen Nick Larkin have propelled Sydney University back to the top of the Sydney Grade Cricket First Grade competition.
After being bowled out by Parramatta on Sunday (day 2) for just 132 runs – 38 runs short of their opponents (170 all out) – Sydney University recovered from the first innings defeat to beat Parramatta outright in their Round Six fixture at Old Kings Oval.
In their second innings with the ball, Sydney University’s five-man bowling unit worked brilliantly as a team to bowl out Parramatta for just 102. 16 year old wrist-spinner Jonte Pattison (4-16) and fast bowler Nigel Cowell (3-27) were the chief destroyers for the Students.
Needing 141 runs to pick up maximum second innings points, Sydney University opener Nick Larkin was superb. Larkin backed up his lightning 94 run second innings score last weekend against Fairfield-Liverpool with an assured 68 not out on Sunday to guide the Students to a five wicket victory.
Nick Larkin driving through the offside.
On Saturday, Liam Robertson (3-12) and Tim Ley (3-48) did the most damage for Sydney University with the ball in Parramatta’s first innings score of 170. With the bat, Tim Ley (57) and David Miller (30) were the Students first innings top-scorers.
There are two more rounds left in the Sydney First Grade competition before Christmas. Sydney University play fierce rivals Randwick-Petersham in another Two Day match this weekend (December 14-15), followed by a 50 over clash against Gordon on December 21.
In the other grades, Sydney University defeated Parramatta in second and fifth grade One Day 50 over fixtures. Parramatta’s third and fourth grade teams defeated the Students.
Sydney University has retained their spot at the top of the Club Championship table, holding a 15 point lead over second-placed Randwick-Petersham.
First Grade: Two Day Match. Sydney University 132 (T Ley 57, D Miller 30; S Copperfield 5-42, B Martin 2-25) and 5-141 (N Larkin 68, S Hobson 25; S Cassel 2-19, B Martin 2-27) d Parramatta 170 (T Crittenden 49, S Copperfield 43; T Ley 3-48, NJ Cowell 2-40) and 102 (D Smith 20, B Cherry 17; T Ley 3-29, JR Pattison 2-16) stumps, day two at Old Kings Oval. Batted first: Parramatta. Win: Parramatta on 1st Innings and Sydney University outright.
Second Grade: One Day Match - Maximum 50 Overs per side. Sydney University 0-63 off 19.2 overs (WR Hay 34, A Logan 20; L McNaught 0-4) d Parramatta 60 off 21.1 overs (RA Potter 19, L Forbes 9; JI Toyer 4-8, T Kierath 3-10) at Sydney University 1. Batted first: Parramatta. Win: Sydney University with 1 Bonus Point.
Third Grade: One Day Match - Maximum 50 Overs per side. Parramatta 144 off 40.4 overs (individual bowling and batting information not available) d Sydney University 134 off 43.1 overs (individual batting and bowling information not available) at Merrylands Oval. Batted first: Parramatta. Win: Parramatta.
Fourth Grade: One Day Match - Maximum 50 Overs per side. Parramatta 2-101 off 21.4 overs (Y Brown 38, V Kallukalam 26; individual bowling information not available) d Sydney University 100 off 30 overs (M Skinner 34, HJ Watt 31; C Samarasinghe 5-17, F Chowdhury) at Sydney University 2. Batted first: Sydney University. Win: Parramatta with 1 Bonus Point.
Fifth Grade: One Day Match - Maximum 50 Overs per side. Sydney University 195 from 44 overs (S Roby 49, P Eakin 45; RM Mackander 3-18, M Naboulsi 2-30) d Parramatta 120 from 30 overs (A Kaul 40, L Lofts 20; individual bowling information not available) at Mona Park 3. Batted first: Sydney University. Win: Sydney University.