Students' Scoreboard - Round 8: Day 1

After a productive week of predominately centre-wicket training, Sydney University was determined to execute the quality brand of cricket displayed by the playing group in recent weeks. Plenty of absences due to the approaching festive season promised to test the depth of the Club whilst also providing exciting opportunities for a number of debutants across the grades.

After First Grade lost the toss and were sent in to bat away from home, the match seemed to hang in the balance with the score at 3/46. Enter captain Liam Robertson and wicket-keeper Tim Cummins. The pair set about rectifying the situation and piled on plenty more pain for the hosts after that, forming a brutal partnership of 283 for the 4th wicket. Robbo finished on 130 from 197 deliveries whilst TC was finally dismissed on 156 from only 199 deliveries, allowing the Students to declare at 9/400. This allowed 3 overs with the ball and Joe Kershaw ensured that the day would end even sweeter. He picked up 2/3 from his 2 overs, the catches taken by none other than each century-maker, to cap off a phenomenal start to Round 8.

Second Grade looked to continue its momentum from an outright win in Round 7 despite 4 changes to the side that would take on Northern District in Round 8. Skipper Max Hope liked the look of the Uni No.1 deck, which had provided an excellent contest between bat and ball all year, and elected to bowl. Kieran Tate and Lewis McMahon took the new ball and bowled a tight line and length that was unlucky to go unrewarded in their respective opening spells. As pressure built, Brodie Frost broke the game open, snaring both opposition openers to put the Students on top. From there it was the Max Hope show. After snaring a tough grab at slip to assist Frost, he took the ball from the Grandstand End and ran through the middle order of the visitors to take the next 5 wickets for only 38 runs in 20 overs. McMahon and Tate returned to mop up the tail and claim just rewards for their discipline to start proceedings, whilst debutant Oli Zannino claimed 5 dismissals behind the stumps. Dismissing the visitors for 150, the Students were eager to back up a strong bowling performance and secure the advantage heading into Day 2. Despite a lively wicket and some accurate, hostile bowling, the Students finished the day at 1/42, Ryan Danne unlucky to fall with the end of the day in sight.

Third Grade were also sent in away from home after losing the toss. Bennett Walsh led contributors with 66, whilst Ben Mitchell (47 from 42) and Henry Clark (36*) chipped in to lead the Units to 265. At St Pauls, Fourth Grade won the toss and elected to bowl, a decision that was clearly a trend across the grades. The Visitors however batted with application to finish the day 8/293. Michael Robinson, AJ Grant and Rex Greaves were the pick of the bowlers, picking up 2 wickets each. In Fifth Grade, captain Wilkinson lost the toss and was also sent in by the opposition. Azhar Saeed continued his excellent run of form making 117 and was ably supported by his skipper who made 83, placing the Students right on top at 8/308 (dec). With 5 over left to make inroads in the Northern District lineup, Zohirul Islam struck to leave the hosts 1/14 at stumps.

Metropolitan Cup also enjoyed a strong day against Sutherland. Metro’s were also sent in to bat after losing the toss and reached 222, thanks largely to Clancy Barrett’s 77 at the top of the order. Numerous clubmen backed up for both 5th grade and Metro fixtures, including none other than Andrew Wilkinson who snared a wicket with the new ball alongside Cullen Hathurusinghe to leave Sutherland at 2/14.

On Sunday, our PG’s finished off an excellent weekend, securing victory against a strong Parramatta outfit. Charlie Dummer lead the way with the bat making 77, a score matched by Matt Moran, allowing the young Students to reach 8/249 from their 50 overs. In reply, Moran was again the difference maker, taking 4 wickets with his seamers to restrict Parramatta to 217. With one round to play, PG’s face a likely must win match up against Fairfield-Liverpool to secure a finals berth.

For a full wrap of all the records that tumbled on an exciting Saturday, check out our Milestone Monday. Next week, Uni will look to secure the points across all grades to further close the gap in the Club Championship and finish strongly as we head into our Club Christmas Party and a much deserved break.

Milestone Monday

Tim Cummins, with 156 against Northern District, recorded his second century, and highest score, in First Grade. During his innings, he passed 1500 runs for the club, all in First Grade.

Liam Robertson hit his sixth First Grade hundred, and second of the season: 130 against Northern District. The innings took Liam to 761 runs in Firsts this season: it’s his highest tally in any First Grade season, and the second time he’s passed 700 runs. He also batted for 282 minutes and 197 balls, so it was his longest innings in First Grade not to include at least one 6. He now has 4262 First Grade runs, which makes him exactly equal with Mark Faraday as the club’s eighth highest run scorer in Firsts.

The fourth wicket stand of 283 between Cummins and Robertson was the highest partnership either had ever been involved in in First Grade, but still fell short of the club record (310 between Greg Mail and Dave Miller against Northern District in 2009-10). David Ball of Northern District had the pleasure of bowling during both of those partnerships, and John Kilford scored them both.

Charlie Dummer made his first appearance in First Grade for the club. He has previously played 10 First Grade matches for Campbelltown-Camden.

Max Hope, with 5-38 against Northern District, collected his second five-wicket haul for the club, both of them in Second Grade. He took his 50th wicket for the club when he dismissed Nic Badings.

Oli Zannino played his first Second Grade match for the club, having previously played 12 Second Grade games for Gordon. He marked the occasion by holding five catches in Northern District’s innings, the third time he’s done this in Premier Cricket (but the first time for Sydney University and the first time in Seconds).

Tom Fullerton made his Second Grade debut. He doesn’t have an average there yet: at stumps on the first day he was not out on 27.

During his 22 against Northern District in Third Grade, Josh Toyer passed 1500 runs for the club.

Bennett Walsh (with 66 against Northern District) passed fifty for the fourth time in Third Grade (including his century earlier this season, and two fifties for North Sydney).

Ben Mitchell’s 47 against Northern District was his highest Third Grade score.

Azhar Saeed passed fifty for the third time in as many innings, and carried on to reach his first century for the club, 117 against Northern District in Fifth Grade.

Andrew Wilkinson posted his highest score for the club, 83 against Northern District. It was his seventh half-century for the club and his third in Fifth Grade.

Someone probably did something in Poidevin-Gray’s solid win over Parramatta, but no-one could be bothered putting the scores in, so who knows?

Kendal Binns still keeps the scorers busy

If you looked closely at the sports results in the Sydney Morning Herald last week, you would have found the latest results from the Pennant Hills Golf Club, and if you looked closely at those, you would have found the name “K Binns” among the leaders.

Which is interesting because, if you looked at the Sydney Morning Herald sports results back in December 1941, you would have seen the name of that very same K Binns, turning out in the Sydney University First Grade cricket side.

Born on 10 March 1923, Kendal Binns is, at 96, the oldest living University First Grader. He made his First Grade debut in 1941-42, becoming our 316th capped player. In one of his earliest matches, against St George at Hurstville, he played a defiant, unbeaten innings against Ray Lindwall, Bill O’Reilly and Arthur Morris to save his side from an outright defeat. Between 1941 and 1944, he scored 587 runs in First Grade. He earned a Blue for cricket in 1942, to match the Blue for Baseball he won in the same year. In December 1942, he contributed useful runs when University achieved a surprise win over a powerful Petersham side including Test batsman Sid Barnes and future professionals Cec Pepper and Bill Alley. Graduating with a degree in Dentistry in 1944, he then served in the Army until 1947. He later played cricket for the University Veterans into the 1960s, and he has been a long-standing and highly successful golfer at Pennant Hills. That club’s program for supporting young players is named the Kendal Binns Junior Foundation.

The only other Sydney University players who approach Kendal’s age are former Club President Greg Scahill (95) and former First Grade captain Bert Alderson, who will turn 95 on Saturday.

Students' Scoreboard - Round 7

4 wins (inc. 1 outright win) from 5 matches against UNSW and a hard fought draw for Metropolitan Cup against Eastern Suburbs makes for happy reading for SUCC fans. 1st Grade declared immediately on the morning of Day 2 to hunt an outright result. Hayden Kerr struck early and was well supported by Dugald Holloway (2/54) and Ben Joy (2/32) to have UNSW reeling at 5/55. However, the effort for 10 points was thwarted by a defiant innings from the opposition skipper and early handshakes ensued.

The highlight of the round was undoubtedly the outstanding performance from 2nd Grade. With the match delicately poised at the commencement of Day 2, the Students were superb in the first session to wrap up the UNSW innings for 157 and claim first innings points. The intention was always to set the game up for a grandstand 4th innings in the afternoon. The Students batted positively, and despite the loss of an early wicket, Ryan Danne (69) and Dave Miller (74) put on 149 for the 2nd wicket in excellent time. Skipper Max Hope decided he’d seen enough with the score at 1/155 leaving UNSW with plenty to play for in the final session. Despite a strong start by the visitors, reaching 1/81, the Students held their nerve. Lewis McMahon combined with gloveman Alex Shaw to dismiss both set batsmen and then added another scalp for good measure. Suddenly the game had shifted, the Units claiming 4/22 to get right back in the hunt. But this seesawing affair had more momentum shifts in store, with UNSW fighting back to put on 60 for the 6th wicket. Again the Students’ metal was tested and again they rose to the task striking twice with the score on 162. A much needed and much deserved 10 points was finally secured on an excellent day of Premier Cricket.

In the middle grade, captain Henry Clark was at his wrong-footed best taking 6/28 to secure 6 points away from home. 4th Grade faced an awkward chase at St Paul’s and were unable to put the opposition away early. An important half-century from Rex Greaves ensured that the points were safely secured with 4 wickets in hand. 5th Grade will rue a below par performance with the bat on Day 1 as UNSW secured first innings points. Positives may be taken from the performance with the bat in the second innings, staving off an outright defeat by 4 wickets. Despite conceding nearly 300 with the ball against Eastern Suburbs, Metropolitan Cup batted with patience and resilience to hang on for the draw with only a single wicket in hand.

Round 8 sees the Students on the road against Northern Districts. All grades will be striving for a strong performance to cap off the first half of the season and head into the Christmas break on a high.

Join us for our 2019 Christmas Party

All players, friends and supporters of the Club are invited to join us for our 2019 Christmas Party on Saturday 21 December at University Oval following the close of Day 2 play against Northern District’s.

The evening will kick off with a few light refreshments and a BBQ at No.1 before festivities are ramped up at the Toxteth Hotel in Glebe. Venues thereafter are for the fans to decide; will the Golden Sheaf still be an option now Ben Joy has relocated to the Inner West? Join us to find out.

When: Saturday 21 December. 6:30 PM.

Where: University Oval

Milestone Monday

Nick Larkin hit 68 not out against Victoria in the second innings of the Sheffield Shield match in Melbourne last Monday. This was the eleventh time he had passed fifty in first-class cricket (with three centuries). It was the second time he has passed fifty in both innings of a first-class match, and only the second time in 56 first-class innings that he remained not out.

David Miller, with 64 and 74 not out against University of NSW in Seconds, passed fifty twice in the same match for the first time in his career with the club.

Alex Shaw held eight catches over two innings in Second Grade against University of NSW, his most productive match behind the stumps for the club.

Ryan Danne, with 69 against University of NSW, passed fifty for the 18th time in his career with the club (including two centuries).

Henry Clark, with 6-28 against University of NSW, took his third five-wicket haul for the club (all of them in Thirds).

Rex Greaves contributed a matchwinning 57 not out in Fourth Grade against University of NSW. This was not only his first half-century for the club, but was also 51 more runs than he had scored in total in his ten previous matches for the club.

Zohirul Islam claimed his 50th wicket for the club during Fifth Grade’s match with University

Students' Scoreboard - Round 7: Day 1

Sydney University executed well across the grades on Saturday to take the upper hand on Day 1 of our clash against rival students, UNSW. In First Grade, captain Liam Robertson won the toss and sent the home side in to bat on a deck that promised to offer something for the bowlers early. Making a return after injury kept him sidelined in recent weeks was Joe Kershaw and he did not miss a beat. Kersh collected 4/33 from his 12 overs to lead a ruthless bowling performance from the Students who utilised the favourable conditions with experience and class to dismiss UNSW for 133. In the afternoon, Ryan McElduff and Damien Mortimer both passed 50 in an unbeaten 2nd wicket stand of 112. Securing a first innings victory before stumps, 1s will be looking to push for 10 points this week.

In the 2s, the Units won the toss and elected to bat at Fortress Number 1. Facing early trouble at 3/33, Dave Miller and Josh Josephs staged a fluent counterattack, putting on 103 for the 4th wicket in good time. However it was UNSW who would once again wrestle momentum back in their favour, bowling accurately to restrict the hosts to 9/189. Enter Brodie Frost. Brock (50), accompanied by a determined Lewis McMahon (2*), put on 52 for the final wicket, including 4 stellar maximums from the Snowman to lift the Students to 241. Whilst Brock’s half-century from 38 deliveries was perfect for an Instagram highlights reel (refer for some brutal and flamboyant striking), it would not have been possible without the resolute McMahon who met 32 deliveries with a disciplined straight bat and occupied the crease for 42 minutes to facilitate an invaluable partnership. Entering the 2nd weekend, the game hangs in the balance with UNSW 4/102, Charlie Cassel breaking through twice in the afternoon.

3rd Grade also won the toss and elected to bat. Opening bat, Matt Powys raced out of the gate in typical fashion to get the Units away to a strong start, falling for 40 with the score on 44. Oli Zannino’s half century was the other significant contribution for the Students, bowled out for 170. However, if there was a thought that we were below par, the three-pronged pace attack of Toyer, Wood and Clarke wrestled back momentum, cutting through the opposition top order in the 11 overs before stumps. UNSW will resume at 4/18.

At fortress St Paul’s, 4th Grade looked to bounce back from a disappointing Round 6 in which they suffered their first loss of the season. Skipper Michael Robinson lost the toss and UNSW elected to bat first on what is typically a fair deck for all comers. New ball pair Rex Greaves and Jazz Rinka set the tone from the get go, both claiming 3 scalps and bowling accurately to restrict the opposition despite the short boundaries. The medium pace cartel of Johns, Canagasingham and Ansell were even more disciplined, each boasting oppressive economy rates and justly rewarded with a wicket each. The skipper also chipped in with his tweakers to round off a superb bowling display that dismissed the visitors for 131 in the 72nd over. The Students will resume at 1/4 on Day 2.

5th Grade rounded out 4 from 5 toss wins and elected to bat at Alexandria Park. Zohirul Islam was the pick of the sticks, compiling 64 from 81 deliveries to reach his first half-century of the season. However, significant partnerships proved elusive and the Students were dismissed for 159 inside 50 overs. Despite a disciplined opening spell from Lachie Anderson and a wicket to captain Wilkinson, UNSW will resume on 1/93.

Hard, disciplined training will be the order of the week to chase down plenty of points on Day 2. Good luck to all teams.