ROUND 9 AGAINST NORTHERN DISTRICTS REPORT

1st Grade:

Northern Districts 10/131 (T Ley 2/14 off 10, D Malone 2/34, Mail 2/17, T Rogers 2/25) Defeated by Sydney University 0/132 (E Cowan 74, N Larkin 49).

Having (just) accounted for the cricket club formerly known as Balmain the week prior to the holiday break, the Students were back at home on the weekend to face table topping Northern District in the last of the preliminary one-day rounds. We had the full band back together with the Sixers releasing Carters and the Stars giving Devlin a break from Chapel St in favour of some match practice.

Skipper Larkin called correctly, and chose to bowl first on an evenly grassed, firm surface. A thick outfield and a hot, humid morning meant hard work for batsmen, bowlers and fielders alike. Uni were sharp in the field and the bowlers produced a solid team performance to dismiss the ladder leaders for 130 inside the allotted 50 overs. The score was more like 160 adjusted for the outfield, still a strong performance. Highlights included Tim Ley’s 2-14 from his 10 overs, and the opposition captain being the first man run out by Ben Joy in any format.
After lunch it was time for the rest to put their feet up and watch the show, as Larkin and Cowan made light work of the chase. A solid start against good new ball bowling was followed by clever placement and running between wicket. The Poodle even wound the clock back a few years and finished the game with a few large maximums from the off spinner, leaving just Mail inside the top six batsmen with less sixes than Ben Joy this summer.

2nd Grade: 

Sydney University 10/166 (J Holloway 40, D Holloway 28) Defeated by Northern Districts 8/167 (L Ford 38, J Holloway 3/19 off 8.5, K Elley 2/36)

The Uni boys arrived at Mark Taylor Oval in overcast conditions for the 2nd grade clash against Northern Districts. With rain around and what was clearly an unprepared wicket the start was delayed until 11:30. A tight game of Nash Ball, included a run through and a header leading to an old boy victory kicked off proceedings and got the group buzzing about the possibilities the day would offer.

However this didn’t last too long as Northern Districts won the toss, and sent us in to bat. Early wickets fell with Will Hay and James Larkin falling in consecutive balls, leaving the score at 2/8 off 3 overs. Wickets continued to fall throughout the innings with the score at 7/68. At this point posting 100 looked increasingly unlikely. Enter Brothers Rare (Holloway brothers.) Jack and Dugald combined for a 70 run partnership of which Jack played the aggressor role chipping balls over the infield and bashing them to the fence. This partnership, combined with a filthy hack over the bowler’s head for four from Liam Whittaker bumped the total up to 166.  After the lunch interval, we returned to the field at 3:30pm to defend our total.

Northern Districts got off to a flyer with boundaries and extras a constant. However, this all changed when Kieran Elley took 2 wickets in 1 over to get us back in the game. This was followed up by a miraculous spell of bowling from Jack Holloway, which produced 3 wickets for 19 runs off 8.5 overs and a tidy 9 overs from Liam Whitaker that provided 1 for 25. As the game lingered on, the possibility of a victory increased. Tight bowling and fielding from the Uni boys meant that Northern Districts struggled over the line to win by 2 wickets in the 44th over.

3rd Grade:

Northern Districts 10/112 (S McMahon 47*, J Craig-Dobson 6/13, L McMahon 2/25) Defeated by Sydney University 2/113 (J Crowley 45*, N Craze 30*, T Kierath 20)

The 3rd grade boys came back to fortress St. Pauls with a strong line up hoping to start the New Year with a big win.

A few extra kilos still lingering from the Christmas break coupled with the greasy conditions and a Pepsi meant that Nash ball was quite a sloppy affair, however tenacity and competitive spirit was as high as ever. The game was drawn out longer than usual due to both teams inability to break the nil – all deadlock. In the end the “olds” just had too much experience and scored the match winning goal via a powerful strike and a handy deflection delivered by keepers Beta and Gamma. Olds – 2, Young – 0.

Surprisingly, Ash Cowan won a toss and had no hesitation in sending the Rangers in on a green deck. The Students started superbly with Jono Craig-Dobson and Lewis McMahon making great use of the facilities and capturing some quick wickets. Joe Kershaw, making his come back after a lengthy lay off from bowling, bowled with great pace and aggression and chimed in with one wicket to have ND’s reeling at 7/30. ND’s then put on a handy lower order partnership to move their score up past 100. Tom Kierath grabbed the key wicket which broke the partnership and Craig-Dobson then came back to finish the job, finishing with career best figures of 6/13 off his 7 overs. James “Alpha Keeper” Crowley profited from the exceptional bowling taking four tidy catches behind the stumps.

The Students were largely untroubled in the run chase, moving past the required 112 with the loss of just 2 wickets. After Tom Kierath set the platform with a quick-fire 20, James Crowley (45*) and Nicky Craze (31*) combined brilliantly to score the required runs within 25 overs to get the win with a bonus point. This sees us back up in third place on the ladder.

4th Grade:

Northern Districts 10/109 (AJ Grant 3/25, A Peek 3/27, H Clark 2/24) Defeated by Sydney University 3/110 (B Larkin 45, A Shaw 32)

Fourth Grade arrived at Asquith expecting a delayed start, however as the covers were peeled back underneath lay an exceptional cricket wicket, hard with a decent grass coverage. Against last years minor premiers and the current ladder leaders, AJ won the toss and chose to bowl.  At the first drinks break the game was in the balance with NDs 2/55, enter AJ.  Two wickets in the first over after the break, followed by another in his next over saw NDs reeling at 5/65, Henry Clark chimed in from the other end claiming 2 as well.  Aidan Peek came back to finish the job and finished with 3 wickets as we dismissed NDs for a well underpar 109.

The run chase began strongly with a 50 run opening stand between Kevin Jacob(s) and 4th grade debutant Ben Larkin before Kevin was caught for 18. Fortunately, Ben (45) and Alex Shaw (32) iced the game out before Hugh Kermond and Vince Umbers got us over the line in the 39th over. A dominant victory and a solid all round performance.

5th Grade:

Northern Districts 7/224 (K Jayasekera 80, A Newton 62, A Cusack 4/35) Defeated Sydney University 10/208 (B Dilley 56, S Sivapalan 39 D Bryan 3/36)

Despite the wet conditions, both teams arrived at Camperdown to a relatively flat wicket. NDs batted with great intent and composure to post a dominant 224.  Angus Cusack was once again the stand out for Uni bowling with good pace and bounce to claim his best figures for the club, 4/35.  Angus was very well supported by Natesh and Sameer Murthy.

With the Bat the boys started strongly putting on 58 for the first wicket with Brayden Dilley scoring his second successive 50, before two more wickets before the score passed 100.   Suda Sivapalan and Brodie Frost combined well adding 42 and 39 respectively however continually losing wickets in clumps meant 224 was a bridge to far, as we were eventually dismissed for 208 in the 47th over. 

PGs:

Sydney University 10/269 (H Kerr 94 from 58 balls, N Craze 57, K Jacobs 24, P Rice 3/63) Defeated Gordon 10/249 (T Doyle 94, M Crane 53, J Craig-Dobson 4/53, L Neil-Smith 3/24)

It was a big match for the PGs side this past Sunday needing a win to keep themselves in the top 8 heading into the final round in two weeks. Uni won the toss against Gordon deciding to bat on a flat wicket out at Chatswood. A superb 94 from only 58 deliveries by in form Hayden Kerr got the side off to a great start before he was run out from spectacular fielding which was present throughout the whole of the first innings. Handy partnerships with both Kevin Jacobs (24) and Charles Litchfield (17) saw the team on 140 after 23 overs. The captain Nicky Craze then went on to score a chancy 57 with Ryan Danne (14) and Jono Craig-dobbo chipping in 17. Unfortunately the tail didn't wag and the side was bowled out in the 49th over for 269.

Young gun Lawrence Neil-Smith (3-24) and Kieran Elly Uni had the opposition 2 for 30. With a few drop catches and some poor fielding from the students saw Gordon put on a steady 100 run partnership leaving them with 13 overs to score 90 on the quick outfield of Chatswood, with plenty of wickets in hand. Tight bowling from liam whitikar (0-30) and Ryan Danne and wickets from Dobbo (4-53) backed up by classy keeping from Tom Galvin saw Gordon bowled out 20 runs short with 3 overs remaining.

The strong Uni side heads into the final round against Eastern suburbs, where a win will secure the students their first finals birth since we won the comp in 2010/11. 

Milestones Monday

First Grade's dominant, ten-wicket victory over Northern District, carried the team to first place on the competition table for the first time this season.

It was a big weekend for Jono Craig-Dobson. In Thirds against Northern District, his 6-13 was a career-best return for the Club, and the third time he has taken five wickets in an innings - besides which, while taking four more wickets against Gordon in Poidevin-Gray, he collected his 100th for the Club.

Hayden Kerr's blistering 94 from 58 balls against Gordon was his highest Poidevin-Gray score.

Angus Cusack, with 4-35 in Fifth Grade, achieved his best bowling analysis for the Club.

There have been plenty of career-best performances from the AW Green Shield team.  Against Manly, Jono Phoebus hit a career-best 72 and, in the gripping three-run win over Randwick-Petersham, Connor Slater's spell of 4-20 was a match-winner. 

Happy New Year + 100-Club Opportunities

Sydney University Cricket Club would like to take this opportunity to say we hope all our players and supporters have had a memorable festive period, and welcome to 2017!

We are excited about what 2017 holds in store both on and off the field, with all teams chasing finals glory, as well as some unique events set to take place.

With 2017 now with us, we'd like to remind all our players and supporters of the superb 100-Club offering that we are running throughout this season.

We have released a special 100-Club membership for $100 each, so jump onto our merchandise store here to get yours today (before your favourite number gets taken).

As part of the membership, you will receive a numbered Club baseball cap, updates on the Club's progress, and invites to 100 Club mini events.

Also as part of the membership, you will go in the draw to win one of three fantastic prizes including...

1st Prize:
Jonah's / Sydney Seaplanes 'Overnighter' Package (valued at $1,660)

2nd Prize:
$600 food & beverage gift card from Dedes Waterfront Group

3rd Prize:
The highly sought after Apple Watch valued at over $450.

Please check out the full details here.

The prize draw will take place at our Trivia Night fundraiser on Tuesday March 7th.

The memberships will help support the Club via funding various items that will set us apart from most other Premier Cricket clubs in Australia. This includes:

• a player video analysis package that allows players and coaches to easily watch and analyse their performances in home matches.
• providing subsidies to students who participate in our various Intervarsity Tours throughout the season.
• providing scholarship support to student cricketers via various support networks, such as tutors and specialist coaches.

Get in quick and buy yours for the new year, help your Club fund some wonderful programs, and give yourself the chance to spoil yourself or a loved one.

Click here to purchase one now!

Five Things We Learned from Round Eight

1   Sydney University might need to change its victory song

The song that Sydney University teams sing at the end of each win ends by asking “How did we do it?” to which the answer (stretched out over about eight syllables) is “easy”.  Well, maybe.  But Sydney University’s University’s nail-biting, three-run win over Sydney was its third successive victory by less than a single stroke, following its one-run T20 win over Bankstown and the five-run win against Mosman.  Some of the frayed nerves in the side will benefit from the Christmas break, but teams that win the tight finishes often end up playing finals cricket at the end of March.  University’s win was set up by a beautifully-constructed century from captain Nick Larkin (his ninth in First Grade, during which he passed 4500 First Grade runs), whose 138 came from only 147 deliveries.  He had good support from Ed Cowan and Damien Mortimer (whose 60 continued his exceptional run of form), and University’s eventual total of five for 253 was competitive though by no means unassailable.  Sydney’s ploy of opening its innings with Ben Manenti was highly successful, as the spinner retaliated for some of the rough treatment his bowling had received by blasting 50 from only 28 deliveries.  But he fell to Ben Joy, after which University’s all-rounders applied the brakes on Sydney’s middle order.  Ashton May took the key wicket of Joe Denly, Liam Robertson mixed up his pace deceptively, and Greg Mail struck three times in as many overs.  With two wickets in hand, Sydney needed 33 from the last three overs, and some furious hitting by Dan Jacob and Nic Bills reduced that target to eleven from the last over.  Tom Rogers held his nerve, firing in yorkers on a fourth-stump line, and University finished up just in front.  With that result, they leap-frog Sydney into fourth place on a very clustered table: now only two points separate the top five sides. 

2   Parramatta’s challenge is real

Parramatta hasn’t featured in the finals of the First Grade competition for so long that some of its current players weren’t born when it last happened.  But this year’s side might just change that.  It was something of a surprise when an outright win over St George in Round Seven propelled Parramatta into the top six, but there was no fluke about the team’s very solid win over Manly on Saturday.  Perhaps the most gratifying aspect of Parramatta’s victory was that Nick Bertus failed.  Parramatta has relied so heavily on the left-hander this year (he’s already notched up 722 runs for the club) that it was encouraging to see the rest of the top order stepping up and taking control of the game.  After tidy bowling (led by Scott Copperfield and Brad Taylor) contained Manly to six for 227 (in which opener Ryan Farrell notched a maiden century), Ben Abbott (55 from 28 balls), Brenton Cherry, Will Affleck and Adam Turrell all played so well that Parramatta reached its target with 13 overs to spare.  You could argue that Parramatta has benefited from a soft draw in the first half of the season, but any side that defeats St George and Manly in successive matches needs to be taken seriously.

3   There are no unbeaten sides left in First Grade, but Northern District won’t mind too much

It was a mixed weekend for Northern District, who surrendered its unbeaten record in First Grade but compensated for it by taking out the Kingsgrove Sports Twenty20 title the following day.  Northern District was comprehensively dismantled by Eastern Suburbs on Saturday, a result that would have been even worse but for the remarkable lone hand played by Jonathan Whealing, who contributed an unbeaten 91 to his side’s total of 183.  Sam Robson made the target look paltry, blasting 100 not out from 97 balls, with 8 fours and 4 sixes; his second-wicket stand of 130 with Simon Chu occupied only 65 minutes.  It wasn’t the best preparation for T20 finals day for NDs, but they had Daniel Hughes back in the side for Sunday, and he made a crucial difference, striking 64 in the preliminary final against Parramatta and 82 from 62 balls in the final against Mosman.  Chasing 154, Mosman looked out of the running when it lost its fifth wicket at 84 with only eight overs remaining, but Johan Botha produced another spectacular effort, thrashing 81 from 55 balls.  The last ball of the game was a showdown between Botha – who needed four to win the match – and regular Second Grade opening bowler Ross Pawson.  Pawson, who has played in the Riverina and Canberra, has done nothing exciting in Seconds this year, and had allowed 32 runs from his first 23 deliveries in the final.  But his last ball of the night was fast and straight and beat Botha’s hopeful swipe to shatter the stumps.  Botha’s performances in the competition were epic, but Northern District thoroughly deserved to win the first trophy of the season.

4   St George is never beaten until the last ball

For 99 overs, Campbelltown-Camden did almost nothing wrong in its match against St George at Bowral’s Bradman Oval.  They batted first, consistent opener Aaron Yabsley posted a solid 93, Jack Preddey and Jason Colliss accelerated nicely towards the end of the innings, and the eventual total of five for 297 was a very good one.  Then Jaydyn Simmons removed Nick Watkins and Stewart McCabe in his first three overs to reduce St George to two for 18.  Nick Stapleton (96), Jonathan Rose (74) and Luke Bartier (50) kept St George in the hunt, but it was always an over or two behind the required run rate after Monty Panesar produced his most effective spell of the season to date, taking 3-44 from his ten overs.  At the start of the 49th over of the innings, St George needed 30 runs with two wickets in hand.  Nathan Ellis swiped Luke Webb’s second ball over the fence, and then took a single, so the equation was 23 runs from nine balls with four wickets standing.  Left-armer Webb sent down a wide, but then removed Bartier and Harry Finch with successive balls.  Ellis was on strike for Simmons’ last over, with 22 still needed.  Simmons’ first ball was a no-ball; Ellis smashed each of the next three over the fence and, to make matters worse, the fourth delivery was a no-ball as well.  Ellis took a single from the fifth ball of the over to level the scores, and Matthew Lacey scampered a leg bye from the next delivery to give St George the most unlikely of victories with just one ball to spare.

5   Bankstown has put together a useful attack

Historically, there’s nothing unusual about Bankstown fielding a first-class pace attack: quite apart from being the home of the fiercest grade attack ever (Thomson and Pascoe on uncovered pitches in the days before helmets), in more recent years the club has been home to the likes of Nathan Bracken, Aaron Bird and Scott Thompson.  But it’s never had an attack quite like the one it fielded on Saturday, with three first-class bowlers of very varied pedigrees.  Mitch Claydon began his career with Campbelltown many years ago, but has qualified as an English player and carved out a successful career in the County Championship with Yorkshire, Durham and Kent.  He’s now in his first stint with Bankstown.  Nathan McAndrew has been a Bankstown mainstay for four and a half seasons, taking over 150 First Grade wickets, but he actually broke into first-class cricket last season in New Zealand, playing three games for Auckland.  And on Saturday, Claydon and McAndrew were joined by Sydney Thunder player Alister McDermott, who was making a guest appearance for Bankstown.  McDermott, son of Test bowler Craig, was only 18 when he made his first-class debut for Queensland in 2009-10, and he took 75 wickets in 20 first-class games.  Although he lost his State contract at the end of 2014-15, he’s still only 25 and, as he showed on Saturday, still has the potential to resume a first-class career.  At first, Penrith seemed untroubled by Bankstown’s new pace attack, hammering 47 without loss from the first six overs of the innings, but Claydon showed the value of his experience, McAndrew struck twice, and McDermott bowled beautifully to take 3-27 from his ten overs.  Penrith subsided to 130 all out in the 40th over and Bankstown made short work of the chase.  Bankstown’s conclusive victory gave it second place on the table, equal with Northern District on points but slightly behind on quotient.

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