Match Reports - Round 3 vs Eastern Suburbs Cricket Club (Day 2)

MATCH REPORTS - ROUND 3 VS EASTERN SUBURBS CRICKET CLUB

A frustrating weekend for 1sts! 1st Grade Uni opening bowlers Charlie Cassell and Ben Joy tried their best to beat the rain dismissing the Easts top 3 in quick succession, with Joy even having a look at a cheeky hat-trick! However, it wasn’t to be with the continual downfall forcing a washout.

Over at Waverley Oval, the Students 2nd Grade side were determined to continue their dominance... and that they did! Returning skipper and man on a mission Max Hope, delivered 12 unreal overs that saw him take 4 for 20 and seal the W!
2’s sit at the top of the table!

(More from Charlie and Charles below)

MATCH REPORT - 1ST GRADE VS EASTERN SUBURBS CRICKET CLUB AT UNIVERSITY OVAL (DAY 2)

SUCC 330

Damien Mortimer 122
Ben Joy 2/23/10.0

DREW

Easts Dolphins 4/99

TJ Armstrong 43 (44)
MA Atallah 5/73/23.0

With a high chance of rain, it was always going to be an interrupted day down at Uni number 1. The rain stayed away for the first hour which enabled Cassell (1/26) and Ben Joy (2/23) to make the most of the overcast conditions and dismiss the top 3 batsmen in quick succession. Rain came and lunch was taken. After lunch, Tim Armstrong hit a quickfire 43 before being caught behind by Tim Cummins off Nivethan Radhakrishnan. Will Simpson and Angus Robson finished the day not out with heavy rain washing out the rest of the day. All in all, a frustrating day of cricket.

Charlie Cassell

MATCH REPORT - 2ND GRADE VS EASTERN SUBURBS CRICKET CLUB AT WAVERLEY OVAL (DAY 2)

SUCC 241

Ben Mitchell 83 (77)
M Hope 4/20/12.0

DEF

Easts Dolphins 202

TD Gallop 55 (124)
M Sarkies 3/40/14.0

Nash: Country 2-3 City

After being flogged in the first 4 weeks of the season - City turned to M.Clarke’s win at all costs theory not only threatening with broken f*** arms but attempting to follow through with them. Country then conceded defeat to avoid the risk of losing players to injury for the good of the team. After being a tad short the week before, the bowling unit were disciplined throughout the day which paid dividends on a green top that kept the bowlers interested right to the end. It was vintage stuff from Henry Clark that got Uni of to a ripper start. Easts number 3 bat Nick Taylor fell victim to the wrongsy effect – going back to a fully early on and kicking it, walking back to the sheds without adding to his overnight score of 38. In his debut game in 2s, Rex Greeves looked anything but out of place and was unlucky not to bag more taking 2-23 from 13 overs which included the big wicket of Mark Morley for 11. Jackson Gwynne got kicked in the knee by a horse the day before the game, but you wouldn’t have known as the big quick steamed in and at times was too good for the Easts’ batters taking 1-23 from his 11 overs. This included snicking off Easts number 4 Udit Mehta to a ripper catch from Bennett Walsh at gully. Ben Mitchell also bowled well with no luck taking 1-23. It was the partnership of Jonathon Bank (38) and Tom Gallop (55) that got Easts back in the contest as the two put on 76 for the 6 th wicket. Easts’ ground their way back into the contest and it took a disciplined bowling partnership from Henry Clark and Max Hope to swing momentum back into Uni’s favour. The two built up pressure from both ends until Max landed the killer blow - sliding one straight through the gate of Bank. Clarkey then snicked off Gallop to a sharp chance to Tom Fullerton at first slip and Easts never really recovered from there. Clarky finishing with 2 – 61 and Max 4 – 20 - an outstanding performance from the 2s veterans. The two teams then met for a very enjoyable beverage after the game to mend broken relationships in a heated thriller. The team then headed down to the Bondi RSL to watch the AFL grand final – and we will leave it at that…

Charles Litchfield

Match Reports - Round 3 vs Eastern Suburbs Cricket Club (Day 1)

MATCH REPORTS - ROUND 3 VS EASTERN SUBURBS CRICKET CLUB

Location: University Oval
Time: 10:30am
Name: Damien Mortimer
Task: Dismantle the Dolphins bowling attack
Status: SUCCESSFUL

Our first 1st Grade Century of the season thanks to Damien Mortimer and his trusty Adidas Stick!

“That innings was pure class from start to finish!” + “Why does Michael Clarke play for Sydney Uni?”
(Quotes taken from the comment section on our Youtube Livestream)

Quote of the day however, was picked up by our Grandstand microphone as Morts went into the 90’s and quite honestly, I don’t think I could have said it better myself…

Ah **** me, he’s pretty good aye!” - Unknown Sydney University AFL Player

Over at Waverley Oval, it looked for a good while as though every batsmen would finish on the same score with the top 5 being dismissed for 26,27,3,27 and you’ll never guess it… 27! That was until Ben Mitchell came to the crease and put on a show, smoking Dolphin deliveries around the ground to reach 83 at a strike rate Chris Gayle would be proud of.

Mitchell backed it up on Sunday in our PG’s clash against Fairfield-Liverpool, grabbing another half century and a 3-fer! It was also no surprise to see Nivv get amongst the wickets, however, I’m certain a few of our Instagram/Livestream followers’ heart skipped a beat when they read the scoresheet…

FOW 1 - B N Radhakrishnan c S Anandarajah
FOW 2 - B N Radhakrishnan c R McElduff
FOW 3 - B N Radhakrishnan
FOW 4 - B N Radhakrishnan c B Mitchell
FOW 5 - LBW B N Radhakrishnan

Great weekend from the Students! Let’s get the sweep this weekend!

MATCH REPORT - 1ST GRADE VS EASTERN SUBURBS CRICKET CLUB AT UNIVERSITY OVAL (DAY 1)

SUCC 330

Damien Mortimer 122
Tim Cummins 69

VS

Easts Dolphins 15/0

MA Atallah 5/73/23.0
H Thornton 2/49/16.3

Round 3 saw another home game at University number 1. The day started in usual fashion with the bowlers picking up a clinical victory in Nash, absorbing pressure all game and scoring just before the final play. With Liam Robertson still out of action Tim Cummins took over as skipper, winning the toss and opting to bat, It looked like a typical Uni deck, bit of grass cover but hard underfoot and a good batting wicket. Thanks to a bit of sun and some rain, the outfield was looking substantially better than in the previous weeks.

The early wicket of Nivethan Radhakrishnan (1) from Nathan Rowe brought Damien Mortimer to the crease (122), who produced a masterfully controlled hundred and the first from the First Grade team for this season. The wicket of David Miller (15) brought out Tim Cummins (69) who hit his runs almost exclusively through backward point and combined with Mortimer to add a 115 run partnership. It looked like a huge score would be on the cards before Matt Attalah (5/75) ripped through the middle order getting a few quick wickets. Ryan Danne (43), in only his second game for the 1’s made a pivotal knock combining with Charlie Cassell (35*) to add on 51 for the 8th wicket and put on an extremely competitive score of 330.

The students then had 8 overs at the Dolphins in which Easts came out unscathed at 15/0.

Charlie Cassell

MATCH REPORT - 2ND GRADE VS EASTERN SUBURBS CRICKET CLUB AT WAVERLEY OVAL (DAY 1)

SUCC 241

Ben Mitchell 83
Henry Clark 28

VS

Easts Dolphins 71/2

M Sarkies 3/40/14.0
RJ O’Beirne 3/63/19.0

We arrived at Waverley Oval brimming with confidence after a comprehensive second round victory over Gordon.  Nash happened. City were a disgrace. Soul searching must continue. Your scribe was arguably worst on ground, we lacked spark in attack, and were a disorganised rabble in defence. For those interested, Jackson Gwyne’s Nash stock continue to rise as Ben Mitchell’s continue to plummet.

Max Hope, proceeded to lose the toss and we were asked to bat on a slightly soft, green wicket. Typical Waverley, the first session would be tough and it would require patience and discipline to get us through. Tom Fullerton set about accumulating dots, leaving and defending well while Charles Litchfield took the Steve Hobson approach, thinking it would be ‘easier’ to try and hit the ball over cover for six first ball.  Litch was in fine form, combining brutal cut shots with, what is quickly becoming trademark, full length dives for a tight (read suicidal) single. Fullers and Litch approached a half-century opening stand before a few quick wickets brought Max Hope to the crease.  Max, as he often does, quickly found himself in a verbal debate with a few of the eastern suburb’s fielders prompting a huge ‘I cant hear you anymore’ after dispatching a short ball over the midwicket fence.  Unfortunately for Max, and the crowd, a few balls later he was adjudged LBW for a well-made 27 off 38.  Reeling a little at 4/127, Ben Mitchell remembered that he could bat. What followed was a dominant, ruthless display of batting.  Benny plundered the Easts bowling, hitting fluently over the fence, through the ring to all parts of the ground, bringing up his first second grade 50 with a flick off his pads for 6. Arguably, the most impressive part was the number of times Ben would dispatch one over the fence to then drop and run next ball. Unfortunately for Ben the rest of us were unable to support him well enough and he was finally dismissed for 83 off 77.  As our innings closed for a below par, yet very defendable total of 241.

With 26 overs to bowl, the light deteriorating and the quartet of Nick Walker, Lewis McMahon, Joe Kershaw and Joe Cool well lubricated on the hill the students took to the field buzzing with energy. Rex Greaves was in the action early, taking his first second grade wicket with what can only be described as a short wide half tracker, which somehow the batsman managed to edge to first slip.   As the light got worse and worse, Ben Mitchell burgled one caught behind much to the dismay of the Easts batsman. Unfortunately, we dropped a chance in the cordon, almost entirely due to the fact that it was now almost pitch black.  With thirteen overs still to play, the umpires decided it was too dark to continue, so we left the field.  Cue chaos and absurdity.  Within about 8 minutes of coming off, at approximately 5:32pm Max Hope had a few gentle discussions with the officials who deemed the light had improved considerably and we would return to the field of play. Cue blow ups, complaints and whinging from the Eastern Suburbs players and an irate captain muttering something about safety. Unfortunately, we were guilty of some poor bowling and lack of discipline once we came back on, and leaked a few runs in the final five overs to see Easts finish the day at 2/71.

An improved, disciplined bowling effort will be needed early next week to secure the 6 points and continue our solid start to the season. With any luck it will start with a City win in Nash to buoy the spirits.

Henry Clark

Match Reports - Round 2 vs Gordon Cricket Club (Day 2)

MATCH REPORTS - ROUND 2 VS GORDON CRICKET CLUB

How good is a clean sweep!

Setting a score of 358 is good. However, defending a score of 358 with the opposition 2 down within minutes is better than lego. The 2s produced the goods from the get-go with Lewis McMahon looking to make sure Sydney Uni got more wickets than Gordon did runs. If that didn’t please the students enough, Clarky went and took 5 wickets which was more than enough to see the 2nds race to victory!

Down at Augusta National GC/University Oval 1, Sydney Uni were in a tussle. Colin, with the live stream, 1sts with Gordon and just about everyone with the sight screen. Two early wickets fell but for a good period the Gordon batsmen found themselves on somewhat of a roll. That is until O’Reilly medalist Niv Radhakrishnan threw a peach of a delivery to break the game open. It was then hunting season for Uni with Dugald Holloway doing his best Mitch Starc impersonation and going bang bang bang, followed closely by Big Ben Joy and again Niv who cleared out the tail.

It was great to see a competitive game played in good spirits with both teams coming together for a beer on the oval.

MATCH REPORT - 1ST GRADE VS GORDON CRICKET CLUB AT UNIVERSITY OVAL (DAY 2)

SUCC 286 all out

Nick Larkin 83
Ryan McElduff 57

Dylan Hunter 4/85

Def

Gordon 200 all out

Tym Crawford 61

Nivethan Radhakrishnan 3/36
Ben Joy 3/41
Dugald Holloway 3/62

Round 2 was the first home game for the students and the first time the fortress of Sydney Uni Oval No. 1 oval was used for the season after not being ready for 2nd grade the previous week.

 Both days started as usual with a comprehensive Bowlers victory in Nash, with goals from Dugald Holloway, Kieran Tate and Ben Joy, with the rig, Charlie Cassell finding his home between the sticks. However, Nash was soured on the second day with an injury to captain Liam Robertson, which meant that James (Vicci) Veitch and Michael Robinson were required to help the boys sub field for the day (thanks again to these boys, especially Vicci who very nearly had his own Gary Pratt moment, in running out the opposition skipper).

 The toss was won on Day 1 by captain Robertson, who had no hesitation in batting first on what seemed to be an old-school University deck. Some good bowling and catching from the visitors meant that SUCC found themselves 1-down early with the Gordon veteran, Tym Crawford catching the edge of Niv Radhakrishnan in the first over to put them on top. The good bowling continued from the stags but resolute batting from Larkin and McElduff saw the Gordon bowlers becoming frustrated and handing the pair some loose balls to cash in on. The great partnership between the master and his protégé laid the platform for the innings in taking on the bad ball and the students run rate quickly increased. SUCC were heading for heading for a score well in excess of 300 at 3-212, with Mortimer and Robertson looking the goods. Unfortunately, the intent of taking the game forward at a quick rate lead to some poor decisions in shot selection and wickets started to fall quite quickly, and the Students were kicking themselves in being bowled out for 286. However, the students knew that very rarely does a team chase down this sort of total against them and especially at the fortress of USYD Oval No. 1.

 The Students approached Day 2 knowing they would have to be disciplined to secure the points and that’s exactly what they did. Very good and straight bowling saw Joy and Cassell rattle the cage of both the opener and no. 3 in quick succession. This is when Gordon skipper Crawford was brought to the crease, where he and opener Brar kept the uni boys at bay until on the stroke of lunch where Tim (Paine) Cummins had the masterstroke of getting Miller in under the helmet at Bat Pad for Niv, whereby Brar couldn’t handle the pressure and flicked one straight into the grasp of Miller to see Gordon 3-down at lunch. After the lunch break a mix of undisciplined bowling, flatness in the field and good batting saw Gordon increasing the total at a decent rate, this is when an inspired spell from Dugald brought 3 wickets in close proximity to blunt any sort of upset on the cards, especially with the key wicket of Crawford. He was followed by Joy who took wickets on consecutive deliveries to then have Gordon 8-down at Tea. Niv quickly cleaned up the remaining wickets after Tea to give SUCC 1st grade their first points of the year by 86runs and setting a good tone for what is to come this season.

Stand outs for the game were clearly Andrew Hazard in the field for his somewhat 1st grade debut, as well as Nick Larkin with the bat, who heads off to Adelaide for the shield season and Dugald Holloway yet again with the ball.

 The Students Look forward to taking on the Easts Dolphins next round, again at the USYD No. 1 fortress for another gritty 2-day match. There is a lot of history between the clubs with many clubmen playing for either side, growing up alongside one another and both clubs being very successful in years gone by. It should make for an intriguing contest for both players and spectators, so make sure you either get down to the ground or tune in on the live stream.

 Kieran Tate

MATCH REPORT - 2ND GRADE VS GORDON CRICKET CLUB AT ST PAUL’S OVAL (DAY 2)

SUCC 358 all out

Ryan Danne 118
Oli Zannino 64
Charles Litchfield 52

Jaskaran Cheema 6/137

Def

Gordon 180 all out

Ryan Tullia 67

Henry Clark 5/28
Lewis McMahon 3/20

A new day began with an all too familiar story on the Nash field. Winless thus far in the new season, City were buoyed by an early goal but quickly faltered in the unfamiliar waters of the lead. New recruit Jackson Gwynne led a confident if altogether unpolished Country fight back, punctuated by a mazy ball on ground run and finish which proved enough to see off what is already looking like a relegation bound City outfit.

After missing Round 1 through injury, Lewis McMahon was keen to make up for lost time as he picked up his first, second and third wickets of the season before conceding a run to set the Students on their way. A further breakthrough from Henry Clark meant the morning session belong firmly to the bowling group. An extremely disciplined post lunch effort with the ball was met by a gritty Stags rearguard who managed to make the second session more difficult on what was becoming an increasingly lifeless Paul's surface. Scoring shots and wicket taking chances became harder to come by? That is at least for those bowling off the correct foot. Standing in for the injured Max Hope, Wrongsy's canny combination of reverse swing and a reverse action brought consistent breakthroughs meaning by the Tea interval, the finish line was in sight. A rare abstinence from the Tea table meant Henry returned to collect his best figures and maiden 5 wicket haul in the grade to cap what was the quintessential Captains knock.

The dominant performance means the Blue and Golds go 2 from 2 and can be extremely encouraged by their early season endeavours. Despite only one frontline bowler remaining from last season, this young Students bowling unit has shown an intelligence and maturity well beyond their relative inexperience in largely unfriendly bowling conditions. More of the same will be needed next week as the 2s travel to the picturesque Waverly Oval to face a so far winless Dolphins outfit who will have a point to prove after this week surrendering to Penrith despite posting a total in excess of 400.

Lewis McMahon

Match Reports - Round 2 vs Gordon Cricket Club (Day 1)

MATCH REPORTS - ROUND 2 VS GORDON CRICKET CLUB

Sydney Uni vs Gordon Day 1 is in the books and all I can say is wow!

Wow, the Sydney weather absolutely turned it on for the boys as not a single cloud was seen all day! Shout-out to Colin and Vicki for keeping the hydration stations full and available so the players, umpires and spectators could regularly fuel up!

Wow, it was a bad day to be a cricket ball. The ‘students' 1sts and 2nds teams absolutely painted their sticks with cherries.

Wow, it was extraordinary watching Nick Larkin show his class on the way to 83 off 126 deliveries. The man was made to hit the ball out of the centre!

Wow, Ryan Danne well and truly is the man! After a hard-hitting 92 not-out in Round 1, Danne was a certainty to go the distance in Round 2, and that he did notching three figures (118) which included 14 boundaries and 2 maximums!

Wow, how good were those lunchtime chicken burgers! #ElegancyCatering

MATCH REPORT - 1ST GRADE VS GORDON CRICKET CLUB AT UNIVERSITY OVAL (DAY 1)

SUCC 286

Nick Larkin 83
Ryan McElduff 57

After a tough away trip to Drummoyne in Round 1, the Students were eager to return to University Oval for Day 1 of a Round 2 clash against Gordon. 1s were lifted by the return of Nick Larkin who, from all accounts, has been in blistering form inside the NSW Blues bubble and skipper Liam Robertson showed little hesitation in batting first after the coin fell the way of the home side.

It was opposition skipper Tym Crawford (1/42) who drew first blood however, dismissing Nivethan Radhakrishnan (0) in the first over of the day. This brought Ryan McElduff (57) to the crease to join Larkin (83) as the pair combined to put on 137 for the 2nd wicket. Gordon fought hard and struck twice in quick succession to remove the set batsmen and threatened to attack the Students middle order with the score on 3/159. Damien Mortimer (39) and Liam Robertson (46) steered the Students back into a dominant position with a 53-run partnership and at 3/212 the home side was eyeing off a score well over 300. Credit must go to the Gordon bowlers, in particular Dylan Hunter (4/85), who toiled hard to prevent the Students from pushing home their advantage, dismissed for 286 in the 87th over. With 8 overs left in the day, the Students were unable to make an early breakthrough, Gordon navigating safely to stumps at 0/13.

MATCH REPORT - 2ND GRADE VS GORDON CRICKET CLUB AT ST PAUL’S OVAL (DAY 1)

SUCC 358

Ryan Danne 118
Oli Zannino 64

Light smoke haze and a Round 1 victory lingered in the air upon arrival at St Paul’s Oval for the 2’s side who were keen to continue their campaign with the same vigour and tenacity as they had begun it seven days earlier.

The return of Nick Walker in his newly appointed position as 2nd Grade manager (home games or beaches nearby ONLY) was a key inclusion for the Country Nash side who ran out dominant 3-1 victor’s against an uninspiring City outfit.

 Henry Clark took over the reigns of the 2nd Grade side following Max Hope’s hamstring injury in Round 1 and had great delight winning the toss, announcing the Students would bat on what looked a true Paul’s wicket.

 The return of Charlie Dummer saw the first two overs go for 21 as he and opening partner Tom Fullerton swiftly gathered momentum to reach a near half century stand within the opening 10 overs, before disaster to Charlie’s future spawn took a literal blow. A flush hit to the box saw the stocky left-hander retire hurt and head to RPA for further adjudication.

 New batsman Charles Litchfield and Fullers grinded hard for their keep and were imperious on anything short. Fullers eventually fell for 27, leaving the Students 1-98. Round 1 churnsman Ryan Danne joined Litchy at the crease before lunch to see him reach his 50, his first in 2nd Grade since 2017/18.

 The newly sourced and heavily spruiked chicken burgers (which Oli Zannino returned with for the Gordon boys some five minutes after the resumption of play and subsequently frisbied across the dirt to the man at fine leg $1) obviously had the secret ingredient for the fielding unit, running both Litchfield (52) and Bennett Walsh (0) out with the score on 128.

 Ben Mitchell was undone by a quality leg cutter and suddenly the Students were 4 (effectively 5 with Dummer in the emergency room) for 152 before the day was even halfway done.

 Luckily for the blue and gold’s, that man Zannino and Rowdy formed a crucial partnership with the innings in the balance. The pair of them were positive to the off-spinner, who bowled with excellent control all day, and put anything wide off the seamers to the rope.

 Matador Danne batted with outstanding maturity and showed coolness under pressure of years beyond his age, notching up his fourth tonne for the Students.

The partnership between Danno and Oli was ended at 151, Rowdy running past one for 118, the Students now 5-303 with about 12 overs remaining in the day.

 Dummer returned with the assistance of Litchfield as his runner, a few question marks about the choice of said runner considering Mr. Worldwide had indeed already been run out earlier in the day, however it counted for little as Dummer holed out to a smart catch on the fence for 27 off 26 deliveries. A certain feeling amongst the group of ‘what could have been’ had he not suffered the cruel blow within the first hour of play.

 The Sportsbet fans had Zannino at $9 to reach three figures before the end of the day, “probably unders but worth a dabble”, however Oli was caught for 64, a maiden 2’s 50 for the Students (another few $$) in a very complete display.

 Some lusty lower order hitting from skipper Clark and Jack Lawson boosted the Students score above 350, the side eventually bowled out in the 95th over for 358.

 A jovial fines session followed by some very, very jovial brews at The Tox capped off a great start to the long weekend for the Students, however a patient and disciplined bowling display will be forefront of mind in the coming week to capture the six points against a strong batting line-up.

Max Hope

Match Reports - Round 1 vs Sydney Cricket Club

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

Pre-Season Trial: Sydney University vs UNSW

Pre-Season Trial: Sydney University vs UNSW

An internal 50 over trial match was held on Saturday 12 September between 24 of Sydney University’s top cricketing talents, and the talent was most definitely on display. Damien Mortimer showed his class with the bat notching a well-played 85, a significant effort which led the Max Hope captained Blue XI to a total of 252 runs. Despite a resilient performance by Liam Robertson’s Gold XI, which included a Tim Cummins half-century, they couldn’t secure the win, falling 32 runs shy. Director of Sydney Uni Cricket Cam Borgas says that he found many positives throughout the 100 overs and is excited to see what the new season holds.

The countdown to the 157th season of Sydney’s premier grade cricket competition is almost over and what a gruelling wait it has been with COVID-19 restrictions proving to be as convenient as a Shane Watson DRS challenge. Nevertheless, St Paul’s Oval will play host to the ‘Students’ 1st and 2nd grade trial teams this weekend as they aim to set the tone for the upcoming season against the University of NSW.

A convincing Sydney Uni win in their previous first-grade battle will surely have the Bees buzzing to make an early impression, however ‘Students’ skipper Liam Robertson will undoubtedly have a few things to say and do about that. Not to mention the fact that two out of the four of last season’s joint Bill O’Reilly Medal winners have cemented their spot in the Sydney Uni squad. Newly signed Sydney Sixer, Hayden Kerr and junior Australian representative Niv Radhakrishnan will play a lethal part in Sydney Uni’s already packed batting and bowling display.

Although it’s a pre-season hit-out, this battle is steeped in tradition and will not be taken lightly! This is an opportunity for players to stand out, coaches to stand up and spectators to stand 1.5 metres apart, please and thank you.

Be sure to get around to Saturday and Sunday’s trial games and cheer on both teams as we welcome top-class cricket back to Sydney!

Oh, and did I mention… it’s a great time to bleed Blue and Gold!

Sydney University Cricket is back!

Sydney University Cricket Club Stands In Solidarity and in Grief with the Dummer Family

                                                                         IN PACE CHRISTI

It is with deepest sadness that we report the death of George Dummer, younger brother of Charlie, on Saturday.

George was a boarder in Year 9 at St Ignatius’ College Riverview.

The Club stands in solidarity and in grief with the Dummer family today: George’s parents, Jane and Murray, his brother, Charlie, and his sister, Sophie.

May he rest in eternal peace.