Happy new year SUCC'ers.
Training will re-commence tomorrow (Tuesday) from 4:30pm at Sydney Uni no.2 oval and Thursday at the same time in preparation for this weekends matches against North Sydney.
1st Uni v Gordon L/O at Uni no1 10am coloured kit white ball
Henry
Larkin
Faraday
Robertson
Mail (c)
Miller
Pattison
Ley
Somerville
Arnott +
Cowell
2nd Uni v Gordon Chatswood 10am white kit red ball
Hay
Larkin
Hobson
Hill
Theobald
Clark
Toyer
Kierath (c)
Shaw +
Ryan
McMahon
3rd Uni v Gordon Uni no2 10am white kit red balls
Cowan (c)
Holloway
Hope
Visser +
Logan
Pryke
Lotliker
Kershaw
Cull
Shepherd
McPherson
4th Uni v Gordon Kilara 10am white kit red ball
Skinner
Danne
Devaraj
Grant (c)
Maddocks
New
Tate
Kurtz
Lewis +
Clayton
Hill
5th Squad Uni v Gordon 10am St Paul's white kit red ball
Eakin
Mitchell
Smyth
Waterlow ©
Roby
Mihalyka
Islam
Watt
Schultz +
Lown
Campbell
Scott Henry in action
We are still leading the Club Championship. We've played really well but it's a measure of the high standards we set for ourselves that we know we've got a lot in reserve. And we've got another challenging round against Gordon this weekend.
As I wandered between 2nds and 4ths last Saturday, I saw some of the future of the Club from our impressive young players. In 2nds, Jack Hill top scored on a slow wicket; Jimmy Ryan showed admirable ability to bowl straight and Alex Shaw took 5 dismissals behind the sumps ( his father was also a pretty good keeper in 1st Grade in the 1980s/1990s).
I got an even closer look at the 4th Graders when I sub fielded...well, actually, I just stood statuesque at 1st slip. Kieran Tate looks promising as he moves the ball late and Ryan Kertz bowls his leg spinners with a purpose as he used the breeze and his prodigious turn to snare 2 wickets.
Next season, we turn 150 and young players such as these, and the boys who take the field this week in Green Shield and Poidevin Gray, will ensure golden years as we move into the next decade of our existence.
Get down to Uni 1 and 2 on Sunday to see the under 16s and the under 21s take on St George and help us celebrate the first O'Sullivan/O'Keeffe trophy game on No 1.
James Rodgers
1st Grade @ Petersham Oval (2 Day - Saturday and Sunday 10:30am)
SO Henry
+E Arnott
NJ Cowell
N Larkin
M Faraday
LS Robertson
*GJ Mail
D Miller
S Hobson
JR Pattison
T Ley
2nd Grade @ Uni No. 1 (Limited Overs - Saturday 10am)
A Logan
J Ryan
B Joy
WR Hay
A Theobald
B Larkin
JW Hill
*T Kierath
WE Somerville
JI Toyer
+AG Shaw
3rd Grade @ Coogee (Limited Overs - Saturday 10am)
M Hope
L McMahon
K McPherson
J Holloway
*A Cowan
D Visser
J Kershaw
H Clark
R Lotliker
JR Sheperd
+E Lewis
4th Grade @ Uni No. 2 (Limited Overs - Saturday 10am)
RA Danne
R Kurtz
W Clayton
*M Skinner
AJ Deveraj
JA Maddocks
B Pryke
CC Cull
J New
K Tate
+D Schultz
5th Grade @ Kensington Oval (Limited Overs - Saturday 10am)
B Mitchell
TR Hill
C Campbell
P Eakin
S Roby
*J Waterlow
S Sivapalan
SH Smyth
A Mihalyka
+HJ Watt
A Lown
Our loyal supporters inspire us. Their generosity, affection, enthusiasm and passion for our Club spreads wide. Such a man was Gary Saint whose passing has just been announced by his family. When Gary's son John played 1st Grade for us, Gary was 1st Grade scorer. John was an exhilarating, dominant player who twice won the O'Reilly Medal for the most outstanding 1st Grader from all Clubs and who went on to play Shield cricket for Tasmania. He returned to the Club 4 seasons ago to help coach our fast bowlers. Gary was exceptionally proud when John did well (which was often)and he was even more proud when the 1st Graders played at their best. When John scored 173 against Petersham in 1993, Gary's scoring reached exultant heights. John hit 11sixes and 21fours and each boundary got larger in the scorebook as Gary got more excited. John hit the first 5 balls of one over for six and Gary upset the scoring table 5 times as he stood to applaud each one! He was a friend to all. It didn't matter what Grade you played but as long as Gary thought you were a 'good bloke' you could do no wrong.
Even when John went to Tasmania, Gary stayed on and scored for 1sts for some seasons after.
Gary Saint was part of the backbone of the Club.
We offer our deepest sympathies to John and all his family
James Rodgers
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.
Richard Curtis Mesley was the third son of a Royal Australian Navy Rear Admiral, Jack Mesley, and Gay, whose maiden name was Curtis.
From his very first day at school, there can be no doubt that little Dickie was an archetypal chatterbox. And, over the next 61 years, he turned talking … usually very loudly … into an art form!
RAN transfers meant that Dick attended a variety of schools, but … like Ed Cowan some years later … he completed his secondary schooling at Cranbrook School. He was the star player in both the Cricket 1stXI and the Rugby 1st XV and got a maximum pass in the Leaving Certificate – he was a massive over achiever!
At Sydney University, he fully embraced residential college life and breezed through his Civil/Structural Engineering degree with one minor hiccup. That was a 2nd Year Engineering exam that Dick failed to attend because he was making a match-winning century for St Paul’s College in a much more important
Rawson Cup cricket match!
I can just imagine what Dick’s reaction would have been if his own son Michael had pulled a stunt like that a generation later!
Dick was clearly academically gifted and, in the mid 1970s, he attained a Stanford University Masters degree with straight As.
He gained work experience in both San Francisco and the United Kingdom, before embarking on 25 years of senior management roles at Rankine & Hill and then Connell Wagner, after their merger. He also gave back to the profession by assuming key roles in various professional organisations.
As a cricketer, Dick had eight years at the SUCC and was a 1st Grader with both Sydney Uni and then North Sydney. He later had a long and distinguished career in Club cricket with the I Zingari Cricket Club.
Throughout his cricket career, Dick was always a very stylish batsman and a superb fielder, who accomplished both of these feats with plenty of on-field chat!
Dick always considered a “classy” 45 to be vastly superior to a scratchy “75”.
Dick’s fielding ability reflected the fact that he was also an accomplished baseballer.
Dick’s highly developed hand-eye coordination held him in good stead on both the tennis court and golf links, although he primarily saw these sports as opportunities for camaraderie and good fun with his friends.
I have a vivid memory of a game of golf with RC Mesley some 25 years ago at Elanora Country Club. In those days, Mr Mesley was a once or twice per year golfer, who still had a lot to learn about the game.
His son Michael … aged about 10 at that time … was caddying for his father. We had reached the tee block of a rather tight driving hole and Mesley Junior presented Mesley Senior with a 4 iron. Mesley Senior insisted on using a 1 wood and duly cold topped his tee shot into the bushes in front of the tee block.
Mesley Junior’s reaction was to mutter the words “dickhead”!
“What did you say?” demanded Mesley Senior.
I then intervened and said: “He very appropriately called you a dickhead!"
“Right” said Mesley Senior “give me a 4 iron and another ball, Michael.” Mesley Senior then proceeded to clear the bushes and record a good natured wipe on the hole!
Only Mike can attest as to whether there were subsequent recriminations in the car on the way home to Chatswood, where the Mesleys then lived in a house that had previously been owned by the revered ABC cricket commentator, AG “Johnny” Moyes.
Dick Mesley had a very strong philanthropic bent. He was a foundation member of The Primary Club of Australia – a cricketing-based charity which provides sporting and recreational facilities for the disabled.
For more than 25 years, Dick was a very enthusiastic member of The Primary Club committee. He attended just about every Primary Club function and helped organise most of them.
Dick and Wendy frequently offered a week’s stay at The Cowpad – their delightful South Coast holiday house – as an auction item at Primary Club fundraisers.
And didn’t Dick love the cut and thrust of a fundraising auction!
Dick made some amazing purchases at these events, but his pièce de résistance was the time that he was the successful bidder for a week’s stay at The Cowpad – the very item which he had so generously donated to the fundraising cause!
The Primary Club of Australia will be forever indebted to both Dick and Wendy Mesley for their remarkable contributions.
Let me conclude by recounting some of Dick Mesley’s most endearing qualities.
First and foremost, he loved his family. He was also the loyalist of friends to a great many people.
He also loved animals … particularly dogs, but he plonked his holiday house in the middle of a dairy farm, with hundreds of Friesian cows as his immediate neighbours!
Dick was a people person with an infectious sense of fun, which often bordered on the ridiculous.
His love of canines extended to the telling of unbelievably long shaggy dog stories! The punchlines were usually pathetic, but Dick’s telling of these yarns was always exceptionally entertaining.
Dick was a great raconteur, quick witted and with a most distinctive laugh, which was also infectious … but extremely loud. It was always an interesting experience for strangers at restaurant tables which adjoined the one where Dick was seated!
Dick compensated for hearing problems, which he incurred in the latter part of his life, by raising the level of his voice and laugher by quite a few decibels!
He embraced every aspect of life with overt enthusiasm, an extremely positive attitude and a twinkle in his eye.
For the last five years of his life, Dick fought the good fight against insidious health problems. He never complained about his fate and extended his life by many years through remarkable determination and an incredibly positive attitude.
Indeed, Dick was more concerned about providing help for others in need of support. Over the last decade, he devoted much of his time to the Action Foundation for Mental Health at Chatswood. This included acting as the bus driver on many excursions.
I should mention that Dick’s son Michael … in his day at the SUCC … was a member of a winning Sydney Uni Poidevin-Gray side. It was especially poignant that Mike took Dick, during his last weekend, for a visit the scene of former Mesley triumphs – Sydney Uni N°1 Oval.
I was privileged to spend lots of time with Dick at The Primary Club, on the cricket field and … more recently … on the golf course.
Richard Curtis Mesley made a big difference to the lives of all his family, friends and associates. We will always remember Dick with great affection.