A message from Batting for Change

To my fellow ‘Students’, past and present. I’m writing to invite you to support Batting for Change this summer. It’s a fundraising initiative I founded three years ago to support the education of women living in poverty in developing cricket-playing nations.

Now, life at Sydney University Cricket Club is not all fun and glory; it certainly has its injustices. Sometimes you get duped by poor refereeing in Nash ball. Sometimes you get bracketed in to a higher grade only to stand in the field for three weeks in a row. And sometimes you get fined for things you cannot control, like the shape of your ears or the colour of your hair, or because your great great grandfather’s last name also happens to be a first name.

But I think we can agree that overall we are immensely lucky. We live in a prosperous and peaceful country, and many of us studied at this world class university. Each Saturday we join our mates to play a game of cricket, just because we can, because we enjoy it.

It is a sad thing that millions of people in the cricket-playing world are far less fortunate. Indeed, in India alone there are more than one hundred million young people living on less than one dollar per day. That’s one dollar per day for all expenses, including food, water, shelter, and healthcare, let alone education.

Each summer Batting for Change raises money for The LBW Trust charity by asking people to pledge to donate for every six the Sydney Sixers hit in the Big Bash League. The money we raise supports the education of young women in India, Sri Lanka and Kenya who are disadvantaged by their poverty, but also their gender. Educating women greatly expands their opportunities for a meaningful life free from poverty, and helps prevent child marriage, child labour and prostitution. This summer we are hoping to raise $150,000, enough to support the education of over six hundred women.

If you're interested in supporting a more level playing field in global education, I'd love for you to log on to www.battingforchange.com.au and make a pledge or a flat donation towards our BBL campaign.  Every dollar counts for the women we are assisting; we are grateful for all donations large and small.

If you’d like to support in other ways you can share our video on social media or share this message with friends and family. You could also wear a Batting for Change sticker on your bat like several of our players have done this season (stickers can be collected at the no.1 oval canteen).

Thank you very much for your support! Here’s to a wonderful Christmas and new year for all Students, here and abroad, and for healing injustices, great and small.

Ryan Carters

Five Things We Learned from Round Seven

1   A top six is starting to emerge

As the halfway point of the season approaches, the top six in First Grade is starting to take shape.  There is, of course, a very long way to go, and fifteen of the twenty clubs could still hold realistic hopes of playing finals cricket this season.  But, for the first time this season, gaps are appearing on the table: sixth place (Parramatta) is three points clear of seventh, and fifth place (Sydney University) is six points clear of eighth (Randwick-Petersham).  Things may become clearer after next weekend, when Penrith (24) will need to beat Bankstown (31), and Eastern Suburbs (24) will need to beat leaders Northern District (38) to stay in touch with the pack.  Sutherland (25) will seek draw level with early leader Gordon (31) at Chatswood Oval, and Gordon needs to stop the two-game losing slide that has followed its five-game winning streak.  The match of the round is at Drummoyne, where second-placed Sydney (36) meets Sydney University (30), with both sides likely to be near full strength.

2   Intervals in play are more flexible than you think

Bankstown dominated the opening stages of its match with Sutherland so thoroughly that, a few minutes before lunch on the first day, nine of the home side’s wickets had fallen for only 88 runs.  County professional Mitch Claydon struck with his first ball, after which Jarrad Burke and Nathan McAndrew worked their way through the Sutherland innings.  The last pair (Kyle Brockley and Jake Wilson) survived until 12.30 and the players started to leave the field, only to be reminded by the umpires that the competition rules have changed this year.  A new playing condition (it's 1.15.4 if you don’t have your rulebook handy) provides that if nine wickets are down at the time for the lunch interval, play continues for half an hour or until the tenth wicket falls.  But the tenth wicket didn’t fall, and in the extra half hour, and Brockley and Wilson carried the score to 110. In the second session, they romped past the old Sutherland record for the tenth wicket (81 by Daniel Rixon and Chad Gilmour against Sydney University in 2010-11) and at 3.10, the time for tea, the score was nine for 202.  But the laws of the game provide, as you may have guessed, that if nine wickets are down at the time for the tea interval, play continues for half an hour or until the tenth wicket falls.  And so, for the second time in the day, the session was extended – until 3.19, when Brockley fell for 71.  It was his first fifty in First Grade; Wilson, formerly of Randwick-Petersham, equalled his highest First Grade score, and the partnership eventually amounted to 119.  Century partnerships for the last wicket are less rare than they were (this was the second in First Grade in two weeks), but this is certainly the first time that the last pair in a First Grade innings has caused an interval to be extended twice.

3   Cowan bowls

Connoisseurs of leg-spin bowling have enjoyed a feast at the University Cricket Ground this season, with Devlin Malone producing the wide variety of deliveries, fine control and calm temperament that prompt good judges to predict a bright future for him.  But last Saturday, he was in Adelaide at the Under-19 National Championships and, as the pitch flattened out into an excellent surface for batting and the ball got older and softer, Nick Larkin had another wrist-spinning option to turn to: Ed Cowan.  Cowan was, for those without long memories, a very handy leg-spinner in his Green Shield days, and even when he first broke into First Grade, he was a useful occasional bowler, but as he last took a wicket for University on 15 November 2008 (for Cowan completists, it was Bankstown's Paul Darwen, caught by Will Hay), it’s fair to say that Mosman’s Danul Dassanayake and Kurt Neely weren’t massively intimidated.  Joining forces at seven for 155, the pair had shared a half-century stand for the eighth wicket that put Mosman within reach of victory.  Cowan bowled a tidy first over, but after a single ball of the next, Greg Mail decided that the sharp turn promised by the flick of Cowan’s wrist wasn’t actually happening, and shifted himself from slip to square leg.  Two balls later, Neely flicked a shortish ball off his hip straight into Mail’s hands.  Dassanayake (once, briefly, a University player himself) went on to a well-deserved maiden hundred (his first score above fifty in First Grade), raising three figures by hitting successive deliveries from Cowan for 4, 4 and 2.  He then celebrated by launching a full toss over long on for six.  But from the very next ball, he missed a cut at a flatter, quicker ball (which we can’t quite bring ourselves to call a flipper) and was out lbw.  University held its nerve, and when Tim Ley returned to remove last batsman Sam Sykes, took the win by five runs – the same margin, incidentally, by which it won in Second Grade.

4   Declan White can be a match-winner

University of NSW hasn’t enjoyed the most successful start to the season, but upset Randwick-Petersham thanks to a devastating spell of new-ball bowling by Declan White.  After two years in the NSW Metropolitan Under-19 side, the promising White has been improving gradually throughout the season and, given helpful conditions, he surprised the home side at Coogee Oval, reducing Randwick-Petersham to 5 for 39 after Charlie Wakim invited them to bat.  White removed four of the first five batsmen and finished with 6-51 and, well-supported by Blaize Irving-Holliday (who sounds like a minor character in a PG Wodehouse novel), dismissed his hosts for only 123.   White had four wickets before the first drinks break, and a fifth before lunch.  He was carrying an unpleasant flu, and kept telling his captain that each over was his last but, as Wakim admits "I just kept bowling him because no one could hit him."  The Bees had earned first innings points before stumps on the first day and, although there were no more alarms on the second day, White’s performance has given his club hope of climbing towards the top six in the second half of the season.  A member of the Sydney Sixers Academy, White is developing into one of the more dangerous opening bowlers in Premier Cricket.

5   This may be the first hyperlinked haiku ever written about a Penrith batsman’s return to form

Saturday.  At Howell.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore

Used his bat more.

TOP TEN TUESDAY

ROUND 7 REVIEW AGAINST MOSMAN

1st Grade:

Sydney University 10/267 (D Mortimer 115, T Ley 55, M Day 5/39) Defeated Mosman 10/262 (T Ley 4/36, D Holloway 3/31, D Dassanayake 107)

We arrived at Uni No 1 to find a good batting surface to try and defend our score of 267. Good aggression and sustained pace from Timmy Rogers had the visitors literally on the back foot early. When Rogers got through the oppositions captain’s defence and Dougal chipped in to remove M Day, things were looking comfortable for the students, Mosman reeling at 5-61.

In a similar fashion to the Gordon game, the middle order dug in,  the ball lost a bit of its hardness, and we struggled to make inroads. This week we were missing the services of Devlin Malone, who is away on u/19 duty and through the middle session we started to notice how effective he has been so far this year. Looking around for a replacement, captain Larkin opted for the man closest in stature to Malone, settling on the miniature poodle that had been strutting around at cover. Cowan was remarkably effective, entertaining us with tales of wickets taken in the 90s and channeling Mo Matthews by predicting shots and what he was going to bowl next. I think he has covered the entire University database with his figures, but if by chance he has lost your email address, check out the celebration here. https://twitter.com/eddiecowan/status/807778860901101568  After that was all taken care of, Mosman came out playing shots after the tea interval, and threatened to overhaul the total. A fast, reverse inswinging Yorker from Holloway (3/31) and thin edge through to BTJ from a Tim Ley (4/36) outswinger were enough to get us the six points. Just.  A solid team bowling display, Tim Ley had his best game in recent memory and Dugald returned to First Grade with immediate impact. Onwards and upwards.

2nd Grade: 

Sydney University 9/289 (C Litchfield 103, D Miller 43, H Kerr 38, T Slack 4/69)  Def Mosman 10/284 (N McCamley 64, J Procajlo 50, N Doyle 40, H Kerr 2/30, D Miller 2/17)

Mosman set about chasing our 289 aggressively as their opening batsmen took the attack to SUCC opening bowlers K Elley and Jonathon “Dibblie Dob” Craig-Dobson (FYI Crowls did not keep up to the stumps to the new ball).  The opening pair found the boundary on several occasions but it always felt like a chance was looming. Hayden “dos-man” Kerr was the one to create that chance and regular wickets fell for the next 30 0vers.

A particular highlight was Crowls’ stumping on the first ball after tea to end Mosman’s major partnership of the day. It was a ‘well-planned’ manoeuvre; Skipper Miller speared one down the leg side forcing the batsmen to fall off balance leaving Crowls to whisk the bails off.

To have Mosman 7/180 just after tea, the students were in the drivers seat however a 90 run 8th wicket stand put the game well and truly back into the balance.  Hayden Kerr made the crucial breakthrough again to have Mosman 8/270 still requiring 20 to win, Jack Holloway then grabbed his first for the game to have Mosman 9/279. 

11 needed to win, 1 wicket in hand.  Mr 305 (Charles Litchfield) left the field early to attend his dad’s 50th, enter SUCC nicest member Vinnie Umbers… the last wicket had progressed the score to 284, 6 needed to win, I wicket in hand. A quick single was pushed to mid-on, where sub fielder Lumbers attacked the ball, collected and threw down the stumps in one motion. How did we do it? Easy! (not quite)

3rd Grade:

Sydney University 8/296 (M Powys 68, TKierath 55, A Shaw 53, M Ali 3/57) Def Mosman 10/170 (L Hearne 100, L McMahon 5/39, R Danne 2/9). 

Rolling into Fortress Pauls with 300 on the board confidence was high.

In another heated encounter on the Nash field, 'Young' turned in a spirited defensive effort partnered with an electric display of counter attack to, against all odds (notably 'Olds' dubious application of the rules, spirit and duration of the game), finally break a losing streak running back to last seasons finals series.

The day's play began equally frenetically. 3 wickets in the first 4 overs of the day and a 4th before the score had reached 20 had us firmly on our way. The ladder leading Whales would not lie down easily, digging in with a curiously abrasive wicket quickly taking the shine off the ball. Two breakthroughs on the stroke of the break made the pilgrimage down to No. 1 for tea slightly less punishing, 6-101.

The dogged rearguard effort continued into the afternoon session, led by a stoic 100 from a still Green Shield eligible Lachlan Hearne. But with the abrasive wicket now offering the elusive prize of reverse swing, the last 4 wickets fell quickly to close out another dominant display for the 3s juggernaut. Mosman all out 170. Lewis McMahon was the pick of the bowlers, combining fantastic control and late reverse swing, and despite claiming “this is probably the worst I’ve bowled all year” he finished with handy figures of 5/39.

Four wins on the bounce mean the defending premiers once again find themselves on top of the Sydney Grade pile with 8th placed Sydney waiting in the last round before the festive break

4th Grade:

Mosman 10/165 (L Kimber 66, N Heath 37, AJ Grant 5/53 off 26, A Peek 4/32) Sydney University 8/167 (T Galvin 40*, L Hughes 37, N Fitzgerald 26) 

Arriving at Rawson Park at 1/8 chasing 166 the Students knew we’d have a fight on our hands to grab the 6 points.  After reversing the batting order last week and sending out three nightwatchmen, we got off to a rough start and quickly found ourselves at 3/30. Liam Hughes or “Walshy” as he likes to be called, started to steady the ship with Nick Fitzgerald as we slowly crawled towards the target. With some tight spin bowling, Mosman broke the partnership and brought about a mild collapse.  Tom Galvin and Christian Lorenzato came together, clearly inspired by his MOM Nash performance Galvin controlled the ship with a mature 40* and Christian worked well down the other end with a crucial 19.  Christian was dismissed within touching distance of the total, with AJ joining Galvin at the crease.  AJ had only just recovered after bowling 26 overs on day one, and worked hard for 9* to get us over the line 8 down.

5th Grade:

Mosman 7/343 (D Patel 69, A Carre 62, A Nouree 55, Z Islam 3/42)  Def Sydney Uni 10/261 (A Bell 85, B Dilley 81, D Patel 5/40)

Chasing 343 was always going to be difficult for the Students, however Alex Bell (85) and Braydan Dilley got us off to the best possible start putting on 150 for the first wicket.  These two batted with superb patience and control, waiting for the bad ball and then punishing it to all areas of Camperdown Oval. Unfortunately, losing these two in quick succession brought upon an unfortunate procession of wickets, with 5 of the first 6 wickets to fall adjudged LBW. Despite an aggressive cameo by the number one Groundsman Angus Cusack (37) we were unable to capitalise on the strong start and ultimately fell 82 runs short. 

Metro Cup:

Georges River 10/243  (A Salgueira 145) Defeated Sydney University 10/151.

After the mixed day on day one, the students arrived 3/42 requiring another 201 for victory. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be with Georges River’s bowlers proving too strong as we were dismissed for a disappointing 151. Our inability to form any meaningful partnerships ensured chasing was difficult.  Hopefully we can learn from this experience and be better come round 8 next weekend. 

Milestones Monday

Ryan Carters passed 2500 runs in first-class cricket during his gritty second innings in the Sheffield Shield match against South Australia in Adelaide.

At the Under-19 National Championships in Adelaide, both Lawrence Neil-Smith (3-15 v Northern Territory) and Devlin Malone (3-34 v South Australia) set new career-best performances for NSW Metropolitan.

When Ed Cowan dismissed Mosman’s Kurt Neely last Saturday, he captured his first wicket in First Grade since 2008-09.

Lewis McMahon’s 5-39 against Mosman was his fourth five-wicket haul in Third Grade.

Liam Hughes made his Fourth Grade debut against Mosman, scoring an important 37.

Tom Galvin made his Fourth Grade debut against Mosman, contributing a matchwinning 40 not out.

Alex Bell, with 85 against Mosman, hit his first half-century in Fifth Grade and his highest score for the Club.

Brayden Dilley, with 81 in Fifth Grade against Mosman, hit his highest score for the Club.

During his 25 in Metropolitan Cup, Andrew Wilkinson passed 1000 runs for the Club.

IN THE SHEDS... SALAD

In the Sheds…Salad

To the outside observer, the hierarchy of Sydney University Cricket Club (SUCC) would logically be based around on-field performance. It would make perfect sense for runs scored, wickets taken and run-outs/catches effected to establish the foundations of your cricketing identity.

But in reality, on-field performances are the mere gloss on top of a young man’s character. In-game moments are reflected upon and great players come and go – or at Uni, come and stay – but the truly defining characteristic of any Uni cricketer lies beneath his baggy blue and gold.

It’s a salad.

For those not familiar with the term, this salad is no dietary delight. It’s not Caesar nor Greek or even Garden. It should however be ever-fresh. It’s the product of your weekly, monthly or quarterly trip to the barbers – or to the salad doctor’s surgery (Military Rd, Neutral Bay) if you’re that way inclined.

It’s your hair.

SUCC provides a peerless barometer for the transient fashions of the male lid. The varieties of style are vast, but it isn’t altogether impossible to establish some generic looks…

The Mop: Most proudly exhibited by little known enigma Josh Stuart, the mop has also seen recent exhibition by Matt Powys and, over many years, Henry Clark (sb. Balding). Characterised by a distinct lack of attention paid to it, the mop is an unruly tangle of strands also commonly sported by opponents from coastal clubs, especially in blonde.

The High and Tight: The namesake haircut of salad itself. Short sides (bowl), neatly styled top (leaves) – commonly with wax (dressing) – the high and tight salad is the apple of a number of students’ eyes at the club, just as it is the envy of many others’. Extravagantly paraded by James Crowley (sb. Balding), the high and tight commonly draws comment but can easily be spoiled by a lack of maintenance, or excessive aggression. In the mould of Tom Galvin circa 15/16, Xavier Frawley has fallen the most recent victim to “making his haircut worthwhile” and opting for No.1 sides and back. Also notably embraced by Salad Bros. Lewis McMahon and Alex Shaw, the high and tight is an undeniably strong haircut. Though if either of them worried half as much about executing their on-field skills, they might have played more than half a dozen games of 2’s between them.

The Dome: Need it any introduction? Steve Hobson has the most dominant dome that ever graced the elevated tabletop of the old No.2 or the hallowed home sheds. The man is reverse-Samson, and if there’s any causation rather than correlation to batting success, there should be blokes all throughout the inner-west pulling out the VS Sassoon to emulate him. Plus, as a haircut, it’s easier.

The Tennis Ball/Microphone: In a similarly peerless display to that of his batting, Greg Mail’s textbook single-length-all-over number must sit quite superbly beneath the Albion. It’s the epitome of no-nonsense and he wears it well. It implies the same lack of concern for salad as Greg shows for spinners, but it isn’t for everyone. The most recent attempted replication by recent SUCC alumni Alexander Logan hasn’t ended up so well. He should have stuck with the widow’s peak, despite his ardent protestations that he “likes it”. Judge for yourself by checking out @alexanderlogan.

Balding: A common affliction amongst middle-aged males, SUCC is a graveyard for once-proud salads turned shadows of their selves. Sufferers include aforementioned Clark, Crowley along with Alumni Toyer and the original Theobald.

Synonyms:

• Devon: Small to moderate bald patch, typically on the crown eg. Will Hay.

• Receding: Oversized forehead due to hairline recession eg. Jack Holloway

Antonyms:

• Proceeding: Full, thick crop of hair, protruding from the forehead eg. Ed Arnott

In a category all of his own however is 3rd Grade stalwart and skipper Ash Cowan. In what can only be described as one of the greatest debacles of all-time, on one occasion Ash decided that the services of a hairdresser were superfluous; it was either that or he needed to save money for the bus fare to Dave Phillips the following day. So bad was his DIY trim, he didn’t have the gall to tell the boys he’d done it himself, shamelessly dragging the reputation of an unsuspecting Sydney barber through the mud in a bid to save himself ridicule. It didn’t work. And so the truth came out at an end-of-year function, Cowan regaling the disastrous tale to a group of teammates who could only be described as paralysed with laughter.  If you’ve ever got a spare half hour, a 6-pack and access to tubs, hear it from the great man himself.

Malone and Neil-Smith strike again

Sydney University bowlers Devlin Malone and Lawrence Neil-Smith set up a comprehensive victory for NSW Metropolitan over the Northern Territory at the National Under 19 Championships in Adelaide today.

Northern Territory won the toss and not much else.  Batting first, they crumbled to Neil-Smith's hostile opening spell, in which he grabbed two early wickets.  Devlin Malone had too much variety and control for the middle order, and the Territory managed only 72 from 23.4 overs.  Neil Smith finished with 3-15 from 6.5 overs, while Malone captured 2-23 from seven overs.  NSW romped to a ten-wicket victory, and remains on top of Pool A, and the only unbeaten side in the Championships.

NSW Metropolitan plays the last of its pool games on Sunday, against Victoria Country, and is assured of a place in the qualifying finals, which are to be played on Monday 12 December.