1st Grade:
Sydney University 8/296 (D Mortimer 85, H Kerr 42, B Trevor-Jones 41, B Martin 6/89) Defeated Parramatta 10/130 (W Affleck 29, D Malone 3/47, A May 2/5)
On Saturday, the top six won Nashball. Correlation and causation are clearly not the same thing, but neither Larkin nor Cowan were playing.
University won the toss and elected to bat first on a flat, if slightly slower than normal surface at No. 1. The tone for the whole day was set early, the Parramatta bowlers giving little away and the Uni batsmen forced to work hard for their runs. BTJ (41) ground out a platform at the top of the order and Mortimer (85) showed patience and temperament to get us to a competitive total. There were cameos from others, none more impressive than the partnership between Hayden Kerr (41no) and Devlin Malone (34) that frustrated the visitors and pushed us to a very defendable 8/296. The man with the third highest strike rate in the competition was not needed with the bat.
The man with the third highest batting strike rate in the competition got us away to a great start with the ball, cleverly disguising a threatening delivery as a medium pace half volley. Not satisfied with gifting us one free wicket, Parramatta set about trying to run out their entire top order. The first run out was one of the more bizarre in recent memory, when the striker appeared to misinterpret his own call of "Yes" and not leave his ground. He then was embroiled in a conversation with his Captain, who by this stage was standing next to him, about who should leave the safety of the crease. Having refused to budge, and run himself out ten minutes later, one suspects he may have another conversation with the skipper after Thursday night's selection meeting.
The bowlers shared the work around in the heat, and we were very happy to finish a little early with the six points.
2nd Grade:
Sydney University 10/160 (J Kershaw 40, A Shaw 26, J Crowley 20, J Dempsey 2/6, C White 2/19) Defeated by Parramatta 4/161 (T Bar 50, A Talwar 34, J Holloway 1/18, L McMahon 1/27)
In a fixture pitting two sides on the precipice of the top 6 against one another, it was a day to forget for the Students with highlights largely limited to a dominant Old Nash performance.
Stand in Skipper Holloway called incorrectly in what proved to be a decisive toss and we were quickly asked to bat on what was a slightly underprepared wicket. Four early scalps meant we were always behind the game. It was only dogged efforts from Shaw, Crowley and Kershaw which gave us a glimmer of hope, 160 on the board.
The bowling was disciplined but the Parramatta openers watchfully saw off the new ball and with the sun now blazing, conditions for batting were constantly improving. Despite a gutsy effort in the trying fielding conditions, 160 proved not enough as Parramatta knocked off the runs 4 down.
The loss means the last three rounds are must wins if 2s are to stand any chance of finals cricket.
3rd Grade:
Sydney University 6/227 (B Larkin 64, R Danne 40, T Kierath 34) Defeated Parramatta 9/192 (H King 54, Y Brown 43, T Kierath 3/20, K Tate 3/38)
Third grade hosted Parramatta at St. Paul’s with a very experienced side and looked to continue its push towards the minor premiership.
The covers were pulled off to reveal a hard wicket that was a little sticky on top due to the recent humid weather. Parramatta won the toss and elected to bowl.
Tom ‘Two Plates’ Kierath (34) and Ben Larkin (64) were watchful early as they negotiated the new ball conditions with caution, yet were able to keep the scoreboard moving at a steady rate. TK departed to leave Chip to bat with the middle order, playing the anchor role Chip accumulated in typical fashion (the Taree Glide was on show in all of its glory) as others batted around him. Their hard work in the first half of the innings set the platform for some lusty hitting when conditions became more favourable.
Ryan ‘Cougar Patrol’ Danne (40) put on an excellent limited overs batting display, not only by punishing the bad ball to the boundary but also with some smart running between the wickets as he tormented the Parramatta fielders. Ash ‘Beer Mat’ Cowan (23*) and Suda ‘Captain Jack’ Sivapalan (24*) closed out the innings with some rapid running between wickets and Uni finished 6/227. An innings which went completely to plan resulted in Uni taking 80 runs from the last 10 overs.
The mood in the camp at half time was that we may have been a little bit over par but as the wicket was expected to flatten out with a scorching Sydney sun beating down on it we would still have to put in a professional display with the ball. Josh Toyer’bald/devon’ was obviously confident, seen loading a full case of beer into an esky loaded with ice in full view of the dejected Parramatta fielders as they trudged up towards the changerooms.
Kieran Tate (3/38 off 10) and Ryan Danne (1/37 off 10) did the early damage with the ball as their persistent line and length was rewarded, reducing Parramatta to 2/37 off their first 14 overs.
Parramatta then struggled to build partnerships as Kierath (3-20 off 10 with 4 maidens) was relentless with his control and did not give Parra an inch. The seamers were able to rotate from the other end as wickets consistently fell.
Josh Toyer (2-48 off 10) and Tate came back with strong second spells to close the game out as the required rate slipped further and further from Parra’s reach. Sustained pressure from the bowling group never gave Parramatta a sniff of the total as they ended their 50 overs 9/192. It was also an admirable fielding effort given the heat.
A proficient display from the Uni boys whose attention now turns to Randwick Petersham as we strive to extend our winning streak to ten in a row.
4th Grade:
Sydney University 10/157 (H Kermond 34, V Umbers 32) Defeated by Parramatta 7/158 (R Holcroft 3/26)
Trekking out to parramatta, the 4th grade boys were keen to get a win under their belt for a clean run into finals. The Nash treams were changed up with country expectedly beating the younger and less experienced city. Losing the toss, we were sent into bat on a soft wicket. Some good batting up the top from Brayden Dilley and Vince Umbers, each 30 and some great lower order batting from Angus Cusack with a quick 40, brought the team total to 157.
Some great bowling by Ryan Holcroft, picking up 3 wickets, had Parramatta reeling at 3 for 10, however good batting allowed them to take out the game in the 39th over. A disappointing loss however with three rounds to go we are still well and truly in finals contention with a massive round against Randwick-Petersham coming this weekend.
5th Grade:
Sydney University 10/150 (N Powys 56, D Wicks 21, R Padhye 3/38) Tied with Parramatta 10/150 (P Calvert 25, F Chowdhury 20, M Miles 3/35, C Slater 2/22)
After the disappointment of last week, 5s arrived more than ready to make amends, and what ensued was an absolute cracker.
Losing the toss and asked to bat the students struggled early slumping to 2/12 after losing opener Gillespie for 5 and Day run out for 4. A few mini partnerships were evident throughout our dig with Danny Wicks and Sameer Murthy top scoring with 21 and 18 respectively throughout the middle order before Nick Powys entered. Nick showed enormous control, patience and intelligence working the ball around and manipulating the field. Nick combined well with Natesh to put on 53 for the 8th wicket to enable us to post 150.
Parramatta started strongly quickly progressing to 43 without loss before a great little period saw us claim 4/24 to have Parra 4/67. Excellent control and entushiasm in the field saw us continue to take wickets at regular intervals with Murray Miles the main destroyer claiming 3/35. Parramatta lost their 9th needing ten to win and tensions were high. Paul Calvert was cruising before Sameer Murthy managed to force the mistake with the scores were equal. After a numerous double checks of the scorebooks, game over scores equal. Tie.
Metro Cup
Sydney University 8/222 (E Clout 66*, H Rogers 45, T Drace 24*, M Waugh 4/38) Defeated Randwick Petersham Gold 10/218 (D McDonough 63, N Crawford 47, D Sidney 32, A Mishra 4/38)
The Metro students have solidified their position in the top 4 with a tight victory over 5th placed Randwick-Petersham.
Winning the toss yet again the Uni boys strapped on the pads and were immediately in trouble losing a wicket on the first ball of the innings. A small consolidation was undone as 3 quick wickets fell with only 1 run scored between them. At 4/34 in the 9th over Hamish Rogers and Ethan Clout set about resurrecting the innings. Rogers targeted the straight boundary, hitting over the infield for 8 boundaries in his 45. Clout played the anchor and batted through to the 50th for his 66no. His innings combined with some late hitting from Tom Draca (24*) helped lift the total to a defendable but below par 222.
A wicket in the first over was the only positive for the students in a punishing opening session of bowling. Loose width gave the home team too many 4 balls to take advantage of and they eased their way to 1/73. Long term partnerships held against the Uni attack but good defensive bowling through the middle session held the required run rate to 6 for the last 20 overs. With wickets still in hand at 2/101 the batsmen threw caution to the wind in an effort to chase the runs in boundaries. Deceptive changes of pace and length from Ayush Mishra collected 4 more wickets but the home team was still on track to reach our total off the back of their number 4's 63. At the end of the 48th over with just 5 runs required Clout stepped up again to claim the wicket of their set batsman and all but seal the win for the students. The last wicket fell with 3 balls to spare without another run added to the score.
Another close win under pressure will help our confidence in the lead up to finals. We now travel to play 1st placed Gordon with eyes on securing a home final and continuing our strong 2017 momentum.
Bowling the Whales out for 132 in the second innings (and an overall lead of 115) was a strong victory gaining valuable points in the campaign towards finals. The students now move into the top 4 and journey to Kensington to play 5th placed Randwick-Petersham.
Sydney Uni Vets against Scots College Old Boys.
Spare a thought for the men who spent a couple of hours in the field yesterday afternoon. Our first games for several years on the beautiful Scots Main Oval, with the harbour in the background. But it wasn’t an afternoon for enjoying the view.
We had only 10 men due to a late withdrawal due to sickness. Skipper lost the toss and we were asked to bowl first. One player was caught out by the early start. So we took the field with 9. Oppressive doesn’t even begin to describe the conditions as we walked onto the field. With a noticeably younger opposition, there was a possibility it could go badly. However, 2 early wickets to Smokey, both caught by the first of our 3 stand-in keepers for the day, Stevens, had us on top. From there the opposition 3 and 4 put on a partnership. But we changed around our spinners regularly, and fielded manfully, and keep them from getting away. We didn’t take another wicket until about 30th over, with each of the opposition 3 and 4 out for about 75. We held a few catches late in the innings, watched a few big hits said over the boundary rope, and did reasonably well to keep Scots to 5-217 from their 35 overs. Wickets also to Stevens, Smee (playing his first game for the Vets) and Phil Bowman. Special mention to Nick Bowman, Seb Smee and Alex Hunter, who ran the outfield for much of the afternoon. Alex dived to save boundaries several times, let nothing past him, and must have lost 5kg. And refused an offer to bowl late in the innings on the grounds of exhaustion.
In reply Smokey and Stevens opened. Smokey hit a couple of boundaries in the first few overs then departed. Stevens and Freeman then consolidated, with runs coming regularly despite quality bowling from one end in particular. A 6 to Freeman last ball before the first drinks break saw us 1-55 after 12 overs and in the hunt. Unfortunately the runs slowed for a few overs after the resumption, and then the loss of both Freeman (27) and the Stevens (19) exposed our limited batting line-up. Umar Hiyatt and Alex Hunter each hit about a dozen, and we limped to 9-125 when the game was ended at the 34 over mark.
Ed Cowan was outstanding in New South Wales' Sheffield Shield victory over Victoria in Melbourne during the week. His 212 was his 23rd first-class century and his second double-century. It was his highest score for New South Wales and in the course of his innings he passed 6000 runs in Sheffield Shield matches.
During his innings of 35 against Parramatta, Greg Mail passed 500 runs for the season (he now has 506 at 50.60). This is the 17th occasion on which Greg has scored more than 500 runs in a First Grade season.
Against Parramatta, Hayden Kerr made his first appearance in First Grade outside the Twenty20 competition. His 42 not out was his highest First Grade score, and he took his first wicket when Ashton May caught Owen Simonsen.
Devlin Malone's 34 against Parramatta was his highest score in First Grade (more than doubling his previous best of 15) and his highest in any grade since he hit two half-centuries in Fifth Grade for Sutherland back in 2013-14.
Kevin Jacob made his Second Grade debut for the Club.
Angus Cusack's 40 against Parramatta was his highest score for the Club.
Nicholas Powys, whose 56 was a vital innings in Fifth Grade, hit his first half-century for the Club.
Murray Miles, with 3-35 against Parramatta, returned his best bowling figures in Fifth Grade.
In Metropolitan Cup, Ayush Mishra's match-winning 4-38 against Randwick-Petersham was his career-best effort with the ball for the Club.
Ethan Clout, who scored 66 not out against Randwick-Petersham in Metropolitan Cup, hit his highest score and first half-century for the Club.
Equally untroubled by the the Dukes ball (being used in Shield matches for the first time) and the bowlers who propelled it, Ed Cowan scored an unbeaten 134 yesterday to guide New South Wales to a first innings lead over Victoria at the MCG.
Cowan came to the crease after the departure of Nick Larkin, who played confidently and comfortably until his dismissal for 11. Daniel Hughes was dismissed in the following over, leaving NSW in trouble at 2-17. But Cowan was immediately into his stride, driving the fourth ball he received back past the bowler, Jake Reed, for four. He batted through the rest of the day, defending securely and playing shots all around the wicket. Against the faster bowers he drove fluently and cut strongly; he used his feet to knock left-arm spinner Jon Holland off his length, and he successfully negotiated a spell of leg spin from Victorian captain Cameron White, whose bowling was described by one knowledgeable onlooker as "OK, but nothing earth-shattering". He added 141 for the third wicket with Kurtis Patterson, and 92 for the fourth wicket with Moises Henriques. A pull for two from the bowling of Evan Gulbis gave Cowan his 23rd first-class century and by stumps he had reached his highest score for New South Wales. He reached his century from 202 deliveries - altogether, he has faced 267 balls and hit 14 fours.
Update: After batting through the whole of the first session (in which he extended his partnership with Peter Nevill to 180 from 45.1 overs), Cowan drove Jon Holland for a single in the first over after lunch to reach his first double-century for NSW and the second of his first-class career. He also passed 6000 career runs in the Sheffield Shield during the morning session.
Voting has been completed for the Sydney Uni Cricket Player of the Round following Round 11 of the McDonald's NSW Premier Cricket competition.
The Surjits Player of the Round goes to Greg Mail for his 106* in First Grades exceptional chase of 356 against Blacktown
The Nags Head Performance of the Round, goes to Tom Kierath for his 103 in Third Grades comprehensive victory over Blacktown.
Greg posted his 44th First Grade hundred in imperious fashion on Saturday, arriving to the crease with the game in the balance at 3/145 he proceeded to wrestle the game away from Blacktown. Facing 142 balls during his innings with 11 boundaries, it was Greg's second hundred of the year after his round three 179 against Manly, pushing his season tally to 471, at an average of 52.33.
Tom Kierath battled the oppressive heat at Whalan to post his first Third Grade Hundred. TK combined with Kevin Jacob to post a 178 run 2nd wicket partnership to secure the 6 points. During his knock TK passed 5000 runs for the club, combined with his 465 wickets, he leads Greg Mail, Ian Moran and Ash Cowan as other students to have scored 5000 runs and taken 100 wickets.
There were a handful of other outstanding performances this round that require a mention;
Ed Cowan continued his Futures League form notching 79 during First Grades victorious run chase.
Hugh Farrow joined an elite few by scoring 108 on debut for the club in Metro Cups outright win over Mosman
Zohirul Islam claimed his best bowling for the club, taking 5/29 also in Metro Cups outright
Kevin Jacob posted a dominant 76 to guide Third Grade to victory.
Complete tally of SUCC Player of the Year Points:
On a very hot day at Rosewood oval, Barkers won the toss and elected to bat.
The two young quick vets opening bowlers (Draco, J Hobson) started off quite well bowling a pretty good line and length. However it became apparent pretty quickly that we were up against some quality opposition. The barkers opening batsman (Newton) showed serious class, I for one haven't seen the likes of it in this competition before.
He played shots all around the wicket which meant it was very hard to set a field to, coupled with a fast outfield and flat deck he proved to be a formidable force and batted almost the entire innings before getting run out for (151) on the 35th. He also had good support from his two batting partners who both scored 40's, and Barkers ended up with a daunting total of 2/261. Figures probably aren't worth mentioning but Hunter and S. Hobson put together a reasonable bowling partnership during the middle part of the innings to somewhat stem the flow of runs.
After having a long hot day in the outfield chasing the ball to all parts of the oval, the vets were tired and morale was low. It got even lower when the first 4 vets batsmen all got out for single figures, and the vets were 4/18 off 9. Le couter never gave up hope and made good use of the flat deck to score a nice 50. Along with Hunter (22) the pair showed some good resistance but the vets were never really in the game and ended up being all out for 124.
There wasn't really much to take out from the game apart from the fact that the two youngsters got some experience bowling to a quality batsman, and will apply that experience into the many years of cricket they left ahead of them. We all agreed that the start and the end of the proceedings went well eg. Fielding 11 players, and having cold beers in the esky to drink afterwards. Its just the middle part of the day 'the match' that needs some work.
1 Thirteen into six doesn’t go
By the start of Round 12, you’d expect the composition of the top six in First Grade to be reasonably predictable. It isn’t. In Round 11, both Gordon and Northern District lost games to teams placed low on the table, while Parramatta and Sutherland slugged out a gripping draw that earned neither side a point. So, while there’s a clear top six (with seventh-placed Northern District two points adrift), there are still another seven sides with realistic ambitions of playing in the finals. Two of the most interesting matches in Round 12 pit Sydney University (first on 55 points) against Parramatta (sixth, 40) and Gordon (second, 49) against Sydney (3rd, 48). But the games between teams on the fringe of the top six may be more significant. Either Northern District (seventh, 38) or Sutherland (12th, 31) has the chance to stay in touch with the leading pack, but a defeat would probably end Sutherland’s chances. Out west, Penrith (8th, 37) and Hawkesbury (ninth, 36) will fight to keep their seasons alive. There are five teams that could move into the six with just a first innings win and a couple of other results falling their way.
2 It’s just possible that they’re batting too low…
Back in Round Seven, Sutherland’s Kurt Brockley and Jake Wilson created all kinds of new records when they broke their club’s First Grade record for a last-wicket partnership. Against Parramatta, they went one step further, demolishing the club’s 47-year old record for the highest ninth wicket partnership. Brockley, now batting at nine, went to the crease with Sutherland deep in trouble at seven for 172, and 17 runs later he lost his captain, Chris Williams, who had battled for more than four hours for his 85. Brockley counter-attacked, lashing four 6s and ten 4s on his way to an unbeaten maiden century, from only 85 deliveries. Wilson was more subdued, scoring 33 from 94 deliveries, and by stumps their partnership was worth 129. Although Sutherland batted into the second day, Brockley was dismissed bowled by the second delivery he faced from Ben Martin, before another run was added. Sutherland’s previous ninth-wicket record was set 47 years ago almost to the day, on 17 January 1970, when Les Ritchie (101) and Brian Stephen (28 not out) added 103 against Bankstown. Ritchie, famously, reached his century in only 49 minutes before he was bowled by the fast bowler then known as Len Durtanovich (later Len Pascoe, and even later, a Sutherland player himself). Anyway, Brockley and Wilson now hold both the ninth and tenth wicket records for Sutherland, having broken both in the space of a few weeks, and if anything like this has happened before, it has escaped us. The eighth wicket record in First Grade for Sutherland is 130 – just saying.
3 Campbelltown-Camden got off the mark
It has been a tough season down at Raby – last year’s finalists lost several key players in the off-season, and a depleted and inexperienced First Grade side struggled through its first ten matches without a win. In most matches, Campbelltown has played highly competitive cricket, only to lose its grip on the game at vital moments. But its players have stuck to their task with grit and enthusiasm, and they were rewarded on the weekend with a solid win over Mosman. Former England spinner Monty Panesar turned in his best performance of the season, sustaining his threat over 28 overs to claim 3-50. In pursuit of a modest 234, Campbelltown slumped to five for 124, and for a while it looked as though another strong position might be squandered. But Jack Preddey, who has batted with plenty of determination throughout the season, steadied the innings, occupying the crease for more than two hours while compiling an unbeaten 59. Campbelltown meets Western Suburbs this week, and both clubs will see the game as an opportunity to improve on their record for 2016-17.
4 Aaron Royall is resilient
Five years ago, Aaron Royall was a promising left-arm wrist spinner with St George, and plenty of good judges were excited about his future. He was good enough to be chosen to play for City Colts against Country Colts, and if that doesn’t sound like the most exciting representative assignment, consider the company he was in – from that City Colts team, Jordan Silk, Kurtis Patterson and Nic Bills all progressed into Shield cricket, while others like Andrew Harriott and Kerrod White have forged impressive careers. But Royall went the other way. No cricketing talent is more fragile than that of a left-arm wrist spinner, and Royall struggled to achieve consistency. He began to slide down the grades, and towards the end of last season, he was languishing in Fourths. It’s in that situation that many promising cricketers concede that the game has defeated them, and either retire or change clubs. But Royall (who works as a development officer for the AFL) has stayed with St George and persisted, climbing from Fourth Grade to Second Grade this season with some tidy work with the ball , as well as scoring three fifties in four innings. In the last round, in Seconds, he collected 4-64 against Penrith before scoring 30 useful runs. It isn’t, perhaps, the most dramatic comeback story imaginable, but it’s always good to see a loyal and resilient player being rewarded.
5 There has never been a more exciting time to be a Fifth Grade bowler
This is the perfect time of the season to be a bowler in Fifth Grade. The standard of play in this competition tends to decline late in the season: sides that are out of finals contention are often weak and under-strength, plus there’s rain about, and the covers on Fifth Grade grounds aren’t always perfect. So plenty of bowlers in Fifths spent Round 11 improving their averages. In the ten matches in Round 11, there were no fewer than eleven instances of bowlers taking five wickets in an innings. In the first seven rounds this season, Gordon opening bowler Sam Watts took six wickets at an average of more than 30; last weekend he took 5-21 and 5-10 against North Sydney, who put together totals of 42 and 52 (which would have been significantly worse but for the efforts of Tim Reynolds, who scored 12 and 45 – yes, 45 out of 52). Parramatta’s Angus Graham was equally effective against Sutherland – he took 3-8 and 4-10 (with a hat trick) in Sutherland’s innings of 32 and 112. There are four more rounds of this kind of thing to go.