Milestones Monday

Nick Larkin's 138 against Sydney was his ninth century in First Grade.  He has drawn level with Ian Fisher and HO Rock, and is now equal fourth on the club's list of First Grade century-makers behind Greg Mail, Ed Cowan and Eric Barbour.  His innings took his career aggregate for the Club to 6890, taking him past Simon Gray (6852) and into fifth place on the Club's list of run-scorers, behind Greg Mail, Ian Moran, Adam Theobald and Ed Cowan.  He also became the sixth player in the Club's history to pass 4500 First Grade runs, passing both Ian Fisher (4560) and Shane Stanton (4557) to become the Club's fourth-highest run-scorer in Firsts (behind Greg Mail, Ian Moran and Ed Cowan).

When Tim Ley dismissed Sydney's Harry Dalton on Saturday, he captured his 250th First Grade wicket for Sydney University and his 450th wicket for the Club in all grades.  He has become the sixth bowler to take 250 First Grade wickets for the Club and the eighth to reach 450 for the Club.

During his 60 against Sydney in First Grade, Damien Mortimer passed 500 runs for the season (and 500 runs for the Club).

In Second Grade's win over Sydney, both University off-spinners, Liam Whitaker (3-28) and Ryan McElduff (3-29) collected their best figures in Second Grade.

During his unbeaten 26 in Second Grade, Charles Litchfield passed 500 runs for the Club.

In the Sheds... from Afar

In the Sheds… from afar  

After making the decision to move interstate this year I found myself in the preparation stages of joining a new club. The constant thoughts of: 'How would they accept my sub-par rig and C minus (at best) banter? Do I tell everyone I played with Ed Cowan once as soon as I meet them? What if the Grade Cricketer isn't a thing over here?' circulated and kept me up more than once. The closer it comes to the first training session the more it dawns on me it’s not only the new location to familiarise myself with but new rules, new teammates, a new victory song and a new club to hate more than Manly.

The Chat

Like all cricketing circles, a cricketer’s chat must be up-to-date and rolling off the tongue at any revealing opportunities during a conversation. "You're no danger of getting a chop on the circuit with that dusty salad and sloppy rig, champ." – (This one's probably a little too close to home for a few e.g. H.Clark, L.Robertson.) However, a sentence heard quite often in the Eastern states would be essentially speaking Mandarin in the West, for anyone who is unsure of Mandarin just ask Ben Joy to translate for you.  Instead, a more commonly heard phrase would be:

"Is that a bait your marto is fuming about you tinning? Tell her to taste, you boned them today, budge."

Translation

·      Bait; adjective: Used to describe an event/performance/decision taken place, whether good or bad or piss take is dependent upon observation, reasoning. Sydney Substitute: Stitch Up.

o    "Mate, Devlin's wrong-un is an absolute bait."

o   "TK opening the stick and averaging 1.1 is such a bait."

·      Martin/Marto; noun: One's girlfriend/wife.

o   "How good was it when Faras' marto was bringing tea last year".

o   "Remember when Liam's marto came to the Nags and outskulled him?"

·      Fume/Fuming; verb: Getting angry. Sydney substitute: Blow Up.

o   "Nah you'd think BTJ would fume more considering he kicks them every week."

o   "Gaz was fuming about Dale again today."

·      Tin/Tinning; noun, verb: Consuming one or multiple beers. Sydney Substitute: Circuit.

o   "Shock me, Lewis floating around when there's a free tin on offer."

o   "Pretty sure BTJ and Kersh are tinning at the Crowie again this Saturday night."

·      Taste; noun: Non-literal meaning for someone to suck eggs. Sydney Substitute: Pack em.

o   "Did Ben Abbott hit Jono for 24 off one over? Taste, Birdy. Bowl behind the front line.”

o   "Yeah he smashed it. Ahh well, taste."

·      Bone/Boning; verb: Hitting the ball hard. Sydney Substitute: Moosed.

o   "Yeah Duges came on and this bloke just boned him everywhere."

o   "Kersh used to bone them but now he's lucky to play 6's as a stick."

·      Budge; noun: A name used in place of 'mate'.

o   "Goodge, how are you Budge, see you at Scubar on Monday night?"

The Blokes

It’s fair to say SUCC covers a very diverse range of characters. Therefore, it’s justifiably reasonable that I find it hard not to draw comparisons with my new club.

·      Will the third grade skipper lurk into college functions till 3am and try corrupting every fresh, innocent half decent cricketer?

·      Will the Under 21’s captain be picked from the second lowest grade possible?

The first few weeks go by as the difficulty rises not to think ‘gee that sounds like something Hayser would say’ or ‘this tea lady makes Dale look like he would take out Masterchef: the best of Grade Crickets Tea.” The tier systems are not in existence, nor are fine sessions after a day’s play. (To be fair, when you’re getting outrighted every week it no longer seems funny that your missus has a better rig or your hair is nearly all gone).  The stereotypes are still well and truly prominent – the fast bowlers are rare and not in any way, shape or form humorous. The wicket keepers are still prima donna’s who prefer to spend their time alone in a separate section of the ground discussing ‘admin’ (receding/proceeding salad) issues.  The batsman still trade barbs like Ali and Frazer rumbling in the jungle. There’s only one thing missing from a perfect match to SUCC, but I’m sure the Dark Lord shall reveal himself at the most inopportune time.

The Sheds

There is no doubt in my mind that Sydney Uni lays claim to arguably the greatest home sheds in Sydney, if not Australian, Premier Cricket.  

Only since leaving have I realized that I took the spacious bench within the number 1 shed for granted.  As I entered my new sheds for the first time, I quickly realized just how blessed all those who have enjoyed Sydney Uni Number 1 are.  I entered the sheds and was immediately confronted with the mere half a foot left on the bench for my ever expanding size 38 wide load and realized that only with Rene’s biomechanics could this miracle be achieved. 

The ‘tubbing’ (shower) facilities at Uni no.1 resemble a modern day picture of Roman politicians in the Thermae, sitting around with ales in hand and towels upon their wastes, despite a touch of rig depreciation over the last 2,500 years. Unfortunately, this I did take for granted. The washing facilities of the new club do not reveal an open room with twelve showerheads at your disposal (+ a bonus water jet that will destroy all morale for some unsuspecting nuffie), but rather a small, dark cubical with slippery tiles, almost as if the Cricket Gods are encouraging you to ‘slip, do a hamstring and never return’. Anyone who has played for this great club can tell you that there is something magical about those Uni sheds. Countless stories have been told in that fateful corner, some at 5pm post a hard-fought win or some dribbled out at 1am after TK’s rum punch.

The artistic image of the clubman draped in blue & gold sitting around intently listening to various club stalwarts about “this hundred he scored”, “that cover drive he hit” or “the time Rig the seriously rare unit did…”, will never leave the minds of SUCC faithful.   Neither will like the many images of Will Hay in all kinds of Bikram Yoga poses trying to get his Talcum powder just in the right spots.   

But regardless of how bad your chat is, if you’re referred to as the worst wizard of all-time, there’s still one thing certain – no song has ever echoed, or beer tasted better than those in the home sheds of University Oval no.1. There’s no place like home, and I wish I could be there to experience it all again.

Up the Students.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND: ROUND 7

Voting has been completed for the Sydney Uni Cricket Player of the Round following Round 7 of the McDonald's NSW Premier Cricket competition.

The Surjits Player of the Round goes to Damien Mortimer for his second 100 in first grade this year.

The Nags Head Performance of the Round, for the second successive round, goes to Charles Litchfield for his debut second grade 100

Damien Mortimer was once again outstanding with 115 off 210 balls in an innings that lasted 303 minutes.  Arriving at the crease with the team in major trouble at 2/5, Damien helped steady the ship and allow first grade to post a competitive 267.  It was Damien's second century of the year and pushed his season tally above 450 at an average of 81.5.  This is Damien's second Surjit's Player of the Round award after his round 4 efforts against Hawkesbury. 

Charles Litchfield, in just his second game of 2nd grade posted a match winning century following his swashbuckling hundred last round in third grade.  Charles, like Damien came to the crease with his side struggling at 3/25 and batted with exceptional patience and control to push his into a dominant position.  Charles has now scored 421 runs at an overall average of 42.1 across 2nd, 3rd and PGs this season.

There were numerous outstanding performances this round that require a mention;

Tim Ley was outstanding in first grade, posting his first half century of the year (55 off 99 balls) and then bowled with exceptional pace ripping through the Mosman top order to finish with 4/36 off 17 overs. 

Lewis McMahon grabbed his first five wicket haul of the year, claiming 5/39 off 11 overs in 3rd grade

Fourth Grade Skipper AJ Grant was inspirational in his sides victory bustling his way through 26 overs to claim his best figures in fourth grade of 5/53 

Alex Bell did his upmost to help fifth grade chase down the mammoth 343 set for them with a sublime 85. 

Brayden Dilley partnered Alex brilliantly with a 150 run opening stand to post his highest score for the club, 81

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.