Match Reports - Round 1 vs Sydney Cricket Club
Cricket is an unpredictable game.
For instance:
Refreshing the website providing 1st grade live scores on Saturday proved to be largely surprising when compared to this time last year.
Spectators at St Paul’s thought for an unexpected moment they had teleported to LA Dodger Stadium, after seeing Joshua Joseph collect an in-swinging fastball to the helmet.
However, despite the games’ many uncertainties, some things will remain the same.
These being:
If it’s short and going down leg, Bennett Walsh has put it into the car park.
If it’s slow and moving down off-side, it’s Max Hope holding his hamstring.
This past weekend has well and truly served as a motivator! 1st grade will be itching to bounce back with a strong performance and the 2nds will be eager to back-up their classy outing.
Sydney University cricket is back again this Saturday against Gordon with both games at home!
Match Report - 1st Grade vs Sydney CC at Drummoyne Oval
First-grade returned to action on a blustery but sunny Saturday morning at the picturesque Drummoyne Oval and the season started the same as every year with a win to the bowlers in Nash, led by Dave Miller – playing with a point to prove to the skipper and will likely see a return to the top 6 next week.
The students won the toss and decided to bat first on a good wicket. Charlie Dummer got his season off to a great start, taking the attack to the Sydney bowlers and batting with great intent, pouncing on anything in his wheelhouse, before being dismissed for 57. He was partnered at the top with Niv Radhakrishnan on debut, who made a composed 37 before being out stumped looking to push the run rate up. The Sydney attack squeezed effectively in the middle overs, taking wickets at regular intervals reducing the Students to 5/126 before Dave Miller joined Tim Cummins and the pair began to rebuild the innings.
Miller was marginally run out, leaving Tim to guide home the rest of the innings with the tail, ending up with a crucial 55* as the Students ended on 227 all out.
Knowing it was going to be tough to keep Sydney to under 227 the bowling unit got off to a strong start taking 4 early wickets, including a maiden first-grade wicket for Kieran Tate, leaving the game delicately poised at 4/64. Sydney then managed to do what the Students didn’t in building a large partnership between Dan Smith and Ben Manenti before Tate again struck to leave the door open for a Student comeback. However, the bowlers couldn’t quite contain enough as Sydney cantered over the line with 5 overs to spare with Smith ending on 91*.
Onwards and upwards for the Students as red ball cricket returns against Gordon this weekend.
Ben Joy
Match Report - 2nd Grade vs Sydney CC at St Paul’s Oval
With University Oval still licking its wounds from a long winter season, Second Grade commenced their 2020/21 campaign at St Paul’s Oval against Sydney. City v Country Nash was a tight midfield tussle. Both sides had undergone significant changes from Round 15 last year in which City snatched victory in the dying moments of the season. The work rate of Ed Arnott proved to be the difference, Country claiming Round 1 honours 1-0. City deeply missed their cultural talisman Kieran Tate and the relentless two-way running of Alex Shaw and will need to work on their combinations down the spine to hit back in Round 2.
Skipper Hope lost the toss but gleefully accepted the visitor’s invitation to bat first on a fair wicket that was sure to get slower throughout the day. Tom Fullerton (23) and Charles Litchfield (33) opened proceedings and set about establishing a foundation that has proved all too important on a small St Paul’s ground. The 56-run opening stand was broken when Litchfield was caught at mid-off and Sydney went bang bang to also remove Fullerton with the score on 62. This brought Bennett Walsh (60) and Ryan Danne (92*) together for what would be a defining partnership. Walshy was imperious, striking the ball to all parts whilst Danno showed his class, manipulating the field and rotating the strike. The pair fell 2 runs short of notching the first 100 partnership of the season but the Students remained in a strong position at 3/160. Sydney would again strike back, taking quick wickets to halt momentum as Uni looked to accelerate. As partners fell around him, a surly Danno pressed on and started to assert himself over the Sydney attack. Josh Joseph (41) played an exceptional dig and the pair put on 83 for the 6th wicket at better than a run a ball lifting the Students to 7/276. Danno’s knock was undoubtedly a class above. He calmly accumulated through the middle overs before launching in the last 10, during which the Students put on nearly 100, in an effort that ultimately put the game out of Sydney’s reach.
With the ball, debutant Jackson Gwynne (3/43) and Henry Clark (2/19) set the tone. To a man, the Students were switched on and up for the contest in the field, an effort that Head Coach Cam Borgas described ‘as a very professional display’. Clarky in particular bowled a suffocating line, attacking the stumps relentlessly to claim his first 2nd Grade wicket since he removed our own Ben Trevor-Jones against Hawksbury in 2013/14. Ben Mitchell (3/31) and Ryan Danne (1/29) offered support through the middle, squeezing the Tigers out of the game. Despite getting sniped in the hamstring after athletically turning and chasing at mid-off, Max Hope (1/42) gritted his teeth to deliver 10 crucial overs on the trot from the City Road end to back up the work of his quicks and bowl Sydney out for 192, securing an 84 run win.
What was potentially most pleasing was the attitude and togetherness of the young 2s side. Right from the warm-up it was clear that team success was the focus for all 11 blokes and the boys thoroughly enjoyed our first sing of the season. Thanks must also go to the cats on the hill, some of whom put in a huge shift and provided energy and support for all 97.1 overs.
In Round 2, Second Grade will remain at fortress St Pauls to face Gordon in the first two-day contest of the year.
Tom Fullerton
