Andrew Edward Towzell, 1969-2017

Andrew Edward Towzell died from cancer on 8 January 2017, aged 47.

Andrew played briefly for the Club after leaving St Ignatius’ College Riverview in 1987. He was from Wagga and most of his cricket was played there. He did, however, represent the Riverview 1st XI for two seasons (winning a GPS Premiership in 1987), the Combined GPS 1st XI, and the NSW Schools’ side as a fluent middle order batsman.

Andrew appeared for the Club in 1988-89, playing once in Fourth Grade and several times in Fifth Grade.  Altogether he scored 386 runs at an average of 42.88, with a highest score of 74.  He would have played higher grades during the season but for his return to Wagga over the vacation, but he appeared in both the semi-final and final in Fifth Grade that season.  Both matches were washed out after a handful of overs had been bowled, so that Sydney University (as the minor premiers) won the premiership.  Remarkably, University also won the Fourth Grade competition that season in identical fashion.

Andrew’s older brother, Phillip, also played for SUCC as a batsman/wicket keeper from 1985 to 1990.  Andrew subsequently enjoyed a successful career in commercial real estate. 

The Club's deepest sympathy is extended to Andrew's parents, his brother, and especially to his wife and two children.

Five Things We Learned from Round Ten

1   This season, it will be harder than usual to make the finals

Warning: contains basic arithmetic.

With five rounds remaining, two-thirds of the teams in the First Grade competition are reaching for their fixture lists and calculators and trying to figure out what needs to be done to win their way into finals cricket in March.  Whatever answer they reach, one thing is clear – this season, it will be harder than usual to play finals cricket. 

To explain: most seasons, a team can expect to reach the top six if it wins slightly more than half its matches.  So, for example, last season, the team that came sixth scored 49 points and in 2014-15, the sixth-placed side had 48 points – winning, in each case, eight of its 15 games.  That won’t be any good this season.  Already, after ten rounds, sixth-placed Northern District has 38 points from six wins.  In its last five matches, it plays the teams that are currently coming 19th and 20th, and only one side (Gordon) placed above it.  So, leaving aside outrights, washouts, ties, bonus points, inexplicable form collapses and other disruptors, it’s reasonable to expect that Northern District will end up with at least 56 points, and probably more.  Parramatta, in fifth place, with 40 points, plays only one team (Sydney University) in the top six, so if its form holds, it would expect to end up on at least 58 points. 

What all this seems to indicate is that, in order to be certain of a place in the finals, a team is going to need about ten wins or 60 points.  The odd thing is that this tends to suggest that the competition is lop-sided, with the top half winning a lot and the bottom half losing consistently.  But, in fact, 13th-placed Hawkesbury (on 30 points) could still get to 60 by winning its last five games.  There are a lot of teams with a lot to play for.  And it’s possible that quotients might become important, because only a single first-innings win separates the six teams from fifth-placed Parramatta to tenth-placed Manly. 

Of course, we could be absolutely wrong about this – after all, the period after Christmas is notorious for outrights, washouts, ties, bonus points, inexplicable form collapses and other disruptors. 

2   Another obscure record is under threat

Batting records seem to be broken most weeks in this competition (on Saturday, for example, Sydney’s Joe Denly hit the highest score recorded by an English professional in the Grade competition) – here’s one you may not have considered.  After Round 10, Sydney University’s First Grade side has lost only 55 wickets while scoring 2888 runs – an average of 52.51 runs per wicket.  We can’t identify any First Grade side that has finished a season with a higher collective batting average than that – in 2014-15, Bankstown lost only 75 wickets in 15 matches, at an average of 46.93, which seems to be the highest on record.  University certainly has the potential to exceed that mark if its batsmen continue to show anything like their present form.  Captain Nick Larkin has led the way with his remarkably consistent batting – in all matches this season, he now has 855 runs, and during his century against Sutherland on Saturday, he passed 7000 runs in all grades in his career for University.  Larkin shared a second-wicket partnership of 222 with the excellent Ryan Carters, who was unbeaten on 167.  There isn’t a better top three in Premier Cricket at the moment than Larkin, Ed Cowan and Carters – in their last two matches, these three have scored 433 runs between them while conceding only two wickets.  The only drawback to their dominance has been that University’s middle order – Greg Mail, Ashton May and Liam Robertson – have had scarcely any time in the middle since November.  

3   This has been a breakthrough season for Danul Dassanayake

The easy thing to do would be to write about Mason Crane again.  And why not?  With 7-93 and another half-century, he was dominant in Gordon’s victory over Mosman.  But we mentioned his all-round improvement last week, so we could hardly learn it again, unless we called this bit, “We were right about Mason Crane”, which would be immodest.  Slightly more interesting was the showing of another young, slow-bowling all-rounder, Mosman’s Danul Dassanayake.  This has been something of a breakthrough season for Dassanayake, who first played First Grade in Mosman in 2012-13, when he was still a student at Trinity Grammar School (and represented NSW Schoolboys).  Dassanayake had obvious talent as a neat batsman and an off-spinner with plenty of drift who could turn the ball on most surfaces.  But Mosman was never quite sure how to make best use of him, and had another handy off-spinner in Jason Kreijza.  Dassanayake spent most of last season in Seconds, making no discernible progress.  This season, though, he’s found his niche, opening the batting and backing up the main bowlers with some useful overs.  He hit an attractive maiden century against Sydney University, and against a Gordon attack led by Charlie Stobo, he followed up with a lively double of 34 from 32 balls and 56 from 49 balls, playing with new-found confidence and freedom – as well as taking three wickets.  In all matches this season, he’s scored 675 runs, and he’s now firmly established in the top grade.

4   Brenton Loudon kept Penrith in the race

Mid-way through Sunday afternoon, Penrith’s hopes of staying in touch with the top six hung by a very slender thread.  After Matt Halse had declared at nine for 284, Matthew Harival (with 67) and Luke Ohrynowsky (62) had steered Fairfield-Liverpool to five for 252, a position from which few teams lose, especially at Howell Oval.  Penrith began the year with Pat Cummins and Josh Lalor sharing the new ball, but on Sunday they were on representative duty and instead, the bowling was opened by Brenton Loudon.  Loudon, who learned the game playing for the Deniliquin RSL in the Riverina, is in his third season with Penrith, but previously has made only a modest impact.  He started this season in Thirds, where he collected four wickets in three matches; promoted to Seconds, he did better, taking seven wickets over two innings against Randwick-Petersham.  Technically, Loudon made his First Grade debut as a second-day replacement player in Round Seven, but he didn’t actually make it onto the field in that game.  He had never bowled a ball in First Grade before the weekend, and had never taken a wicket in Firsts until Sunday afternoon, when he trapped Ohrynowsky in front.  Two balls later, he also hit Gurinder Sandhu’s pads, and soon afterwards he accounted for Raveesh Srivastava.  Fairfield-Liverpool lost four wickets for only eight runs, but remained in the game – Jeremy Cashman and Liam Hatcher hit off 19 of the 25 runs needed for victory.  But Loudon had the last word, having Cashman caught by Tom Kohler-Cadmore to clinch an improbable victory.  It was a vital spell, not only for the match, but for Penrith’s season – the Panthers have held onto eighth spot, only one point outside the top six.

5   There’s no match you can’t lose if you try hard enough

George Black, Eastern Suburbs’ Fifth Grade captain, has probably spent the last few days wondering exactly how his team managed to lose to Blacktown on the weekend.  After Blacktown batted first, two of its top three batsmen ran themselves out, after which Black and opening bowler Liam Course each grabbed a couple of wickets, so that the home side slumped to six for 48.  Blacktown’s Hassan Rauf ground out a patient 33 to lift his side’s total to a very gettable 128 – a target that seemed even less intimidating once Easts reached six for 114.  At which point, the last four wickets disappeared for only four runs, and Blacktown walked away with the points.  But that wasn’t the truly self-destructive aspect of the Dolphins' cricket, because in a match in which the two sides were separated by ten runs and managed to score only 246 runs between them, Easts’ bowlers gifted Blacktown no fewer than 30 wides.  If this had been a race at Randwick, there would have been a stewards’ inquiry.  And, while they were at it, the stewards would have a close look at Black’s own form with the bat: his scores this season have been 2, 5, 9, 22, 115, 6 and 6.

TOP TEN TUESDAY

ROUND 10 REVIEW AGAINST SUTHERLAND

1st Grade:

Sydney University 5/395 (R Carters 167, N Larkin 129) Defeated Sutherland 10/243 (P Saroukos 67, D Fallins 58, B Joy 5/53)  

The boys arrived at Glen McGrath oval for the first Saturday/Sunday fixture of the year. Losing the toss, the Students were sent in to bat and after losing Ed Cowan early it seemed it may have been a great decision from the Sutherland skipper.  However, Nick Larkin and Ryan Carters combined for an incredible 222 run partnership during which Nick scored his fourth hundred for the season and became only the fifth batsman to pass 7000 runs for the club.  Not to be outdone, Ryan posted his second century for the season and his highest score for the club, with an unbeaten 167.  Late innings cameos from Damien Mortimer (37) and Ashton May (19) saw the students declare with 10 overs to go in the day at 5/395.

Devlin Malone in his first game against his old club picked up the vital wicket of Jarryd Biviano to have Sutherland 1/41 at the close of day one. Needing a further 9 wickets to secure the win, the bowlers arrived Sunday and bowled with excellent discipline and consistent aggression.  Tom Rogers bowled with exceptional pace and accuracy to claim 3/33 off his 16 overs, he was well supported by Tim Ley (1/54) however Ben Joy was the pick of the bowlers.  Ben tore through Sutherlands lower order to take his first five wicket haul in first grade and claimed his 350th wicket for the club.  Ben’s 5/53 ensured the students claimed the 6 points eventually dismissing Sutherland for 279 as first grade continue their push towards the minor premiership.

2nd Grade: 

Sydney University 10/185 (B Trevor-Jones 43, D Miller 20, E Bagnall 3/30) Defeated by Sutherland 2/187 (A Whatley 110, R Darkins 47, L Neil-Smith 2/41)

The Students went in to the fixture v Sutherland off the back of a nail biting loss to Northern Districts, and we eager to make up for missed chances. Captain Miller won the toss and elected to bat on what was a hard and lively Uni deck, under somewhat hazardous skies. This was the last of the joy for the troops as wickets fell at regular intervals, with resistance shown by only Trevor-Jones (43) and Neill-Smith (21*) in a disappointing batting performance. Sutherland bowled a consistent length and were tight in the field, although it must be said that the appropriate value was not placed on wickets by Uni in a team total of 185.

In response The Sharks started positively with some swashbuckling stroke play, and it seemed that all was going the way of the men from the Shire. Despite best efforts from the bowling group, Uni were unable to penetrate Sutherland’s openers and found the total of 185 to be significantly under par on a good batting track with sun shining. Dismissed with only a handful of runs remaining, Whatley took the game away from The Students with a blistering 110 and was well supported in an opening partnership of 160. Neill-Smith was the standout performer with the ball as Sutherland passed the total with 8 wickets and 8 overs in hand.

3rd Grade:

Sutherland 10/155 (C Weatherall 34, L McMahon 4/26, A Cowan 2/14) Defeated by Sydney University 7/156 (A Shaw 41, R Danne 23, J Horner 3/23).

The boys rolled down the coast to take on cellar-dwelling Sutherland, a club not accustomed to such a lowly ladder position and undoubtedly hungry from success against a side in the six. Captain Cowan won the toss and bowled for the second fixture running, an absolute hot streak by his measures. It seemed an important win on a deck relatively indistinguishable from the rest of the square and with the heavy roller in operation as the drizzle continued at 9:20 or so.

But the wicket stayed relatively true throughout the overcast morning and wickets were tough to come by as balls flew at catchable height through gaps or just out of reach. A couple of other missed chances meant the Sharks went to the break only a couple down, but scoring slowly. The middle overs saw more consistent wickets, and they continued to fall throughout the morning’s play with Lewis McMahon taking the final two in successive deliveries to claim the lion’s share (four) and leave himself in the hunt for a hopscotch style hat-trick against Blacktown this coming weekend. Shame about Nash though, with Lewis going down again as the swing player on the young side, he probably thought we’d forgotten; just too much experience in the greasy morning conditions. The remaining scalps were shared between the rest of what was a consistent attack.

Our batting innings started positively before Kierath was caught at cover with Danne (23) advancing the scoring with Shaw (41) who continued the work with Craze (23) before skying a sweep shot in a moment of zeal. Craze batted with calm and a remarkable lack of ‘ramps’ in his innings cut short by a sliding delivery that rattled the castle. The starts kept coming, but unfortunately nobody really went on with the job, which meant we made the run chase harder than it needed to be, Arnold (22) nearly got us there but Arnott (18*) finished the chase as we limped home, 7 down.

A reserved song was complimented with better news that table-topping Penrith and Mosman were rolled for not many, allowing the students back to the Mitchell Cup summit. It feels good to be home.

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)

After a dominant 7 wicket victory over ladder leaders Northern Districts, 4s arrived at St Paul's full of confidence.  A sloppy Nash performance from the nerds combined with Julio Angus Cusack's finishing ability meant the good guys lost 4-1.

Winning the toss on a green but hard deck, AJ quickly chose to bowl. An early breakthrough for Ryan Holcroft had the students on top. However the students were not at their clinical best and bowled too many four balls, allowed Sutherland to score regular boundaries. Despite a rather lacklustre performance with the ball and in the field we kept taking wickets are regular intervals.  Angus Cusack making his 4th grade debut was without doubt the pick of the bowlers, took two outstanding return catches and breaking middle stump to finish with figures of 3/30 off his 7. Ryan Holcroft also took 3, and Clark Henry burgled 2 wickets. Eventually dismissing Sutherland for 158 in the 36th. 

Kev Jacobs and Vince Umbers started explosively with 18 coming off the first two overs. Steven Hobson also making his fourth grade debut, and subsequently joining the elite few to have played every grade at the club, was strangled down leg for 9, just a few runs less than his 5th grade debuts score of 240*.  Clark (47*) joined Jacobs (59) when Galvin was dismissed in the 19th with the score in 83. These two proceeded to push the scoring along and got painfully close to securing a bonus point victory. Unfortunately, Clark faced a maiden over in the 25th, in which he swung so hard at one ball that he let go of the bat, and for it to fly and land at the feet of short fine leg. Despite our best efforts we were unable to secure the bonus point passing Sutherlands total of 158 in the 32nd over, 

5th Grade:

Sydney University 9/196 (J Toyer 49, J Morley 34, B Frost 22, L Johnston 2/28) Defeated Sutherland 10/182 (S Kourouche 39, N Yoganand 3/27, M Phoebus 3/42)  

After a few disappointing rounds 5th grade arrived at Tonkin Park on Sunday keen to get their season back on track.  Winning the toss Mike quickly chose to bat.  A few early wickets had us struggling at 3/40, however Josh Toyer (49) in his comeback game quickly corrected this putting on 83 with Jarryd Morley (34).  Brodie Frost continued his form with the bat posting a rapid fire 22 to help set a competitive 196. 

Sutherland got off to a good start, putting on 46 without losing a wicket, however Natesh Yoganand and Michael Phoebus combined brilliantly claiming 3/27 and 3/42 respectively.  Josh Toyer joined the party to also claim 2/24 off his ten overs as we secured the win by 14 runs. Good team effort to hopefully get the season back on track. 

Metro Cup

UNSW 9/195 (O Howard 46, A Voleti 32, E Clout 3/34) Defeated by Sydney University 7/197 (D Wicks 49, J Gillespie 32)

The Metro Cup team continued their strong start to the new year with a victory over UNSW. The ‘olds’ team put on a clinical display of Nash Ball featuring a strong run by Islam (AKA: Ronaldo) from goal to goal to score his first points of the season.

After winning the toss the Sydney Uni team had first use of the ball and set about restricting the flow of runs. Tight bowling and disciplined fielding held UNSW to 43 from the first 20 overs. Ethan Clout starred with the ball taking 3/34 from his 10. However, with wickets still in hand, late hitting and suicidal running saw us chasing 196 for victory.

A solid 106 run partnership for the first wicket between James Gillespie and Danny Wicks meant that victory was almost assured. But a collapse of 5/30 with 65 more runs to chase put the pressure back on. Late hitting from Ayush Mishra and Hamish Rogers brought the chase back under control and the winning runs were scored with 13 balls remaining.

Metro Cup travel to Balmoral next round to take on 8th placed Mosman. Hopefully the weather allows for a post game recovery in the waves.

Sydney Uni Vets against Reg Bartley

On the beautiful Reg Bartley Oval, we opted to bat first, as we didn’t have 11 in whites by the time the coin was in the air.

Prior to the toss the captains had a couple of conversations about match format and decided the first innings would be 40 overs each, 70 overs per day and win, draw or loss possible on the 2nd day.

The pitch was looking very green and the outfield very slow, with a cloud cover slowly dissolving it was a tough challenge for Finny and Ryan opening the batting.

After 13 overs we were none for 40 so a very decent start to proceedings. When Finn was out LBW (12), Bibin (17) continued with a steady and sometimes hard hitting Ryan at the other end. At 1/57, Ryan was caught for 31 runs trying to force and from there on we lost wickets regularly. Craig Fletcher (20) steadied the innings and with some smart shots and quick running we managed a final score of 112 ao, in the last of the 40 allocated overs. Considering a two-paced pitch and very small outfield, we were reasonably content knowing our bowling side would be the stronger one. Some other high (or low, depends on how you see it) lights were a very elegant 6 from KP, a freakish run out ended the debut innings of Matt Cudmore and an excellent 0* from Smokey.

We collected our thoughts during an impressive lunch arranged by the Reg Bartley guys and had no less than 10 bowlers at our disposal with 30 overs left in the day.

We started with KP charging in from the New South Head Road and a skiddy Singh from the other end.  Runs were hard to find, line and length was good and soon KP took the first wicket. Their number 3, clearly the top bat, looked to take the game away from us so we opted for a double bowling change. Craig’s radar was still in Newton but Ryan was finding his groove very quickly. In his 3rd over, Craig was starting to hit the spot regularly and found the big toe of their top bat straight in front of middle stump, gone! What followed was a combination of skill, consistent line and a jaw dropping experience for all but Ryan. He first removed the opening batsman, having batted with one glove (!), with an excellent wrong’un. Next ball, standard practice for a leggie, another wrong’un first up, pegs! With a hattrick field setting and a collective roar, he bowled a full banger, only for the batsman to chip it to Mid On. Matty Freeman sobered up quickly enough to think about the impact of missing this catch before holding on, creating a celebration frenzy amongst the Vets. The hattrick field stayed on and nr 7 only just dug out the quattrick, or whatever you name 4 in 4. He wasn’t finished however and tore through the tail finishing up with an astonishing 7/15 in 8, including another catch by Matt patrolling Mid On, a Mark Waugh like 2nd slip catch by KP and a sharp take on his own bowling. There were some harsh words to Ryan for dropping a batsman in slips only to catch him off his own bowling the next over. We ended up bowling them out for 61 with a possible 3 overs to bat, but both parties agreed that the best way to finish this day is to grab some cold beers and let it all sink in. Excellent gamesmanship, lunch and beers from Reg Bartley resulted in a great day of cricket!

So with a lead of 50 we will go in day two next week, with 70 overs to play and all results possible, your truly already pondering the moment of declaration.

Milestones Monday

Nick Larkin's dominant 129 against Sutherland was his fourth First Grade century of the season.  Only Jim Bogle (who hit five in 1918-19) has made more hundreds in a First Grade season for University although, unsurprisingly, Greg Mail has twice scored four (in 2006-07 and 2009-10).  During his innings, Nick became the fifth batsman (after Mail, Ian Moran, Ed Cowan and Adam Theobald) to pass 7000 runs for Sydney University.

Ryan Carters also emphasised his class with an unbeaten 167 against Sutherland - this was his second century and highest score for the Club, and he passed 1000 runs for the Club.

Ben Joy had a memorable day at Sutherland as well, taking career-best figures in First Grade.  His 5-53 was his first five-wicket return in Firsts, and when he removed Sutherland's captain, Chris Williams, he claimed his 350th wicket for the Club.

Lewis McMahon's incisive spell of 4-26 against Sutherland included his 100th wicket in Third Grade for the Club.

Angus Cusack marked his debut in Fourth Grade by taking 3-22 against Sutherland.

Ryan Holcroft's 3-18 against Sutherland was his best return in Fourth Grade.

Suda Sivapalan has reached 4000 runs for the Club.

Natesh Yoganand (3-27) and Jono Phoebus (3-42) both returned their best bowling figures in Fifth Grade against Sutherland.

And Josh Toyer is back.  Returning from injury, the match against Sutherland was only his second for the Club in Fifth Grade, the other coming in 2012-13, and his 49 with the bat and 2-24 with the ball both improved his best performances in the grade.

PLAYER OF ROUND 9

Voting has been completed for the Sydney Uni Cricket Player of the Round following Round 9 of the McDonald's NSW Premier Cricket competition.

The Surjits Player of the Round goes to Jono Craig-Dobson for career best 6/13 off 7.3 overs in third grades bonus point victory. 

The Nags Head Performance of the Round, goes to Hayden Kerr for his swashbuckling 94 off 58 balls including ten fours and five sixes.

Jonathan bowling with typical control and proved far too skilful for his opponents.  Opening the bowling Jonathan took four of the first six wickets to have Northern Districts reeling at 6/21 before coming back to clean up the tail dismissing Northern Districts for 112 in the 38th over. This was Jono's first five wicket haul for the year and his first Surjit's Player of the Round award.  Jono topped off the weekend taking four wickets in PGs victory over Gordon on Sunday. 

Hayden Ker started 2017 in impressive form, swinging his way to 94 off just 58 balls in PGs victory  over Gordon.  Doing their best impersonation of Dave Warner and Matthew Renshaw, Hayden and Kev Jacobs put on 107 for the first wicket with Hayden scoring 83 off them.  This is Hayden's second Performance of the Round award following his round 6 third grade century.  

There were a handful of other outstanding performances this round that require a mention;

Ed Cowan was a class above with his match winning 74 from 74 balls in 1st grades bonus point victory.

Tim Ley was outstanding in first grade, bowling with extraordinary control and pace finishing with figures of 2/13 off his ten.

Angus Cusack recorded his best figures for the club claiming 4/35 off his ten overs in fifth grade.

Brayden Dilley scored his second successive half century, posting 56 in fifth grades.

Five things we learned from Round Nine

1   Jason Sangha is earning his reputation

The guests at Western Suburbs’ 120th anniversary dinner last week were warned by the former Test bowler Rodney Hogg that Cricket Australia’s talent manager, Greg Chappell, was scouring the country for promising young embryos to sign up before they ruined their cricketing potential by being born.  It could have been Jason Sangha he had in mind – signed by Cricket NSW at only 16, Sangha made his List A debut for the Cricket Australia XI earlier this season, when he had precisely one First Grade fifty to his name.  The young Newcastle batsman’s promise is obvious, but there have been grumbles in the background that some of the game’s rewards have been bestowed too easily upon a player who had done relatively little outside age-group cricket.  The best way for Sangha to answer these murmurs was to score runs for Randwick-Petersham, which he did under the most testing circumstances on Saturday.  Chasing Bankstown’s modest 182, Randwick-Petersham slumped to four for 40 against an attack that included, improbably enough, four fast bowlers with first-class experience – Nathan McAndrew, Aaron Bird, Alister McDermott and Mitch Claydon.  Sangha produced his most impressive performance yet for his club, batting for almost two hours, hitting nine fours and a six, and reaching 60 from 89 balls before he fell to spinner Jarrad Burke.  He added 71 for the fifth wicket with James Psarakis at better than four runs an over, a stand that decided the match and lifted Randwick-Petersham into the top six.  Even Rodney Hogg would have been impressed.  Maybe.

2   Ed Cowan still knows how to clear the fences

2002-03 was a memorable season for Sydney University: it won the First Grade competition for the first time in 89 years, and two young batsmen engaged in a season-long tussle to see who could hit the ball over the fence most often.  It ended in a tie – Kevin Pietersen and Ed Cowan each finished the season with 19 sixes in First Grade.  As Cowan later remodelled himself so effectively as a risk-averse opening batsman, it bears repeating that early in his career he was often accused of playing a touch too freely.  At the University Cricket Ground on Saturday, Cowan played positively enough as he and Nick Larkin chased a bonus point against Northern District – their century partnership was posted in only the 23rd over.  But no-one was quite ready for what followed.  The 24th over of the innings was sent down by off-spinner Tom Felton, who has been consistently economical all season.  Larkin took a single from the second ball; Cowan slaughtered the next four for 4, 6, 6 and 6.  Bonus point achieved, with Cowan hitting four sixes altogether in his 74 from 74 balls.  University displaced Northern District as the competition leader with an emphatic all-round display.  The pace attack of Tim Ley, Tom Rogers and Ben Joy stifled the top order and wrecked the tail; Greg Mail prised out two important wickets; and spinners Devlin Malone and Ashton May sent down 15 overs between them, taking three wickets and allowing only 39 runs.  Larkin and Cowan chased down the target so efficiently that batsmen as dangerous as Ryan Carters, Damien Mortimer and Mail were not required.  University has lost only 50 wickets in nine matches this season: batting at five in this team can be very frustrating.

3   Mason Crane is a major asset for Gordon

Half-way through his season with Gordon, English leg-spinner Mason Crane is becoming an increasingly valuable asset to his club, as he develops impressively into an all-rounder.  He dominated the match against Parramatta, first by holding the lower order together with a fighting innings of 51.  He added 35 for the last wicket with Charlie Stobo, runs that were vital in a low-scoring game.  Then he struck twice, quickly, with the ball, removing Will Affleck and Tim Ward as Parramatta slumped to five for 82.  But, with its place in the top six at stake, Parramatta fought hard, and Trent Crittenden took the attack to Crane, hitting a rapid 62.  Crane absorbed the punishment, kept his length, and worked through the lower order to collect 5-66.  Gordon squeaked home by 22 runs and if anyone is happier than the Chatswood Oval supporters, it’s the Hampshire County Cricket Club, which will gain the benefit of Crane’s progress in the English summer.

4   Hawkesbury is always good for an upset

Hawkesbury is tracking in eleventh place now, within reach of the top six but never quite in it.  The Hawks seem to find ways of losing games to teams that they’re capable of beating, before springing upsets against sides that look stronger on paper.  Sydney became the latest team to learn how dangerous Hawkesbury can be, going down by two wickets in a tight struggle at Drummoyne Oval.  Aamir Jamal (3-44) removed the dangerous Joe Denly, and Josh Clarke enjoyed a rare triumph with the ball, wrapping up the Sydney innings to take 4-14.  Hawkesbury stumbled towards its target of 178, but a mature and composed innings by Corey Lowe clinched victory with two overs to spare.  The result means that Sydney has dropped out of the top six, and that only eight points separate third place on the table (38) from eleventh (30).

5   Some days you just get them

Tas Yazdani has been a consistent grade cricketer for more than a decade now, capturing over 350 wickets for Mosman and Eastern Suburbs, but without ever threatening to break any records except as the grade player whose name scores the highest in Scrabble (edging out Ben Dwarshuis).  Before Saturday he had taken a dozen wickets this season in Seconds for Easts at an average of about 25, which is pretty much what you’d expect – solid, reliable, unexceptional.  But on Saturday he took the new ball against Fairfield-Liverpool and caused havoc.  In his first spell, he removed Chris Jones, Mitchell Williams and Nick Johns to leave Fairfield reeling at 3-10, but then he was withdrawn from the attack by captain Kevin Pillay, whose undoubtedly cunning plan allowed Fairfield to recover to reach five for 158.  Then Yazdani got his hands on the ball again, and wrapped up the innings by dismissing Zac Johns, Jeremy Maher, Nathan Smith and Chad Sammut in rapid succession.  Fairfield was all out for 163, leaving Yazdani with the kind of figures rarely seen outside the under-14s: eight overs, five maidens, five runs, seven wickets.  His own explanation for his success was that “some days you just get them”, and who could argue with that?