Dan Smith refuses to get old
For a time on Saturday, it looked as though the highlight of Sydney’s performance against Sydney University would be the debut of Kain Anderson, the teenaged Newcastle off-spinner. But by the end of the day, the stand-out effort had come from a player who made his first appearance in First Grade (in March 1997) several years before Anderson’s parents even started getting to know each other (though this is, we admit, a guess). Dan Smith came to the crease with the Tigers chasing a moderate target of 227, but in trouble after Ben Joy knocked the top off the innings with a lively opening spell. He was a little tentative early on: footwork was never really his strongest point, and now he doesn’t bother with it much at all, preferring simply to lean his weight slightly forward or slightly back. But his eye remains keen, and he strikes the ball almost as cleanly as ever. His partnership with Ben Manenti took Sydney from 4 for 64 to 5 for 161, and Smith remained there until the end, unbeaten on 91 from 112, including three beefy sixes. Anderson caught the eye with his control, variety and turn, and Ben Manenti bowled neatly and hit hard. There were some promising signs for University (who missed the injured pair of Hayden Kerr and Devlin Malone): Charlie Dummer hit a bright half-century, his first in Firsts; Tim Cummins showed again why he’s among the best keeper-batsmen in the competition; and Ben Joy found awkward bounce that eluded the other quick bowlers.
It’s still a batsman’s game
In ten matches on Saturday, almost 5000 runs were scored while bowlers picked up only 137 of the 200 possible wickets, paying just over 35 runs for every one they took. Those figures would have been even more one-sided if Mosman hadn’t surrendered its last eight wickets for 34 runs to last year’s Manly Second Grade attack. We saw the first eight hundreds of the season as well as five scores in the 90s. Parramatta’s Jacob Workman leaked 85 runs from 10 overs, and still ended up on the winning side. It’s a good time of year to be a batsman.
Zeeshaan Ahmed looks interesting
Bankstown has developed a very interesting prospect in opening batsman Zeeshaan Ahmed, who fell three runs short of a maiden century in only his fifth First Grade innings on Saturday. Ahmed has progressed through the junior ranks at Bankstown, playing Green Shield for three seasons, and turned out for NSW Metropolitan Under-19s last season, averaging a tick above fifty in the interstate carnival. He turned the match against University of NSW into a one-sided affair by blasting 97 from only 77 balls as Bankstown ran down its modest target with 22.2 overs to spare. On his way up through the grades, Ahmed showed an ability to bat for long periods of time, but he can also hit with power – he cleared the fence five times on Saturday. One to watch.
Axel Cahlin enjoys a change of scenery
Axel Cahlin had been part of the furniture at Gordon for so long – he played eight years with the Stags – that it’s something of a surprise to realise that he’s still only 22. His last two seasons in First Grade have been… OK, but without quite fulfilling the promise of his early years in the top grade. Now he’s moved up the Pacific Highway to Waitara, and celebrated his first innings as a Northern District Ranger with an impressive century against Campbelltown-Camden. His 122 came from 133 balls, with ten fours and a six, and helped NDs to a very defendable total of 6 for 267. George Furrer and Chad Soper pegged back the Ghosts’ chase, despite Ben Patterson’s rapid 93.
Don’t expect much grass at Fairfield
Fairfield-Liverpool has assembled a remodeled side this year, led by new recruit Jarrad Burke, the 37 year old all-rounder who now has almost enough clubs for a few rounds at The Lakes. Burke joins Param Uppal and Arjun Nair, giving the Lions three spinners who have represented NSW (Burke’s three appearances coming in the prehistoric T20 competition, when it was played between State teams). Quick bowlers hoping for plenty of grass on the deck at Don Dawson Oval may well be disappointed this year. Predictably, Burke was the pick of the attack against Randwick-Petersham, allowing only 31 runs from his ten overs. His spell gave Fairfield a measure of control, despite Anthony Sams’ quickfire 107, before Daya Singh boosted his side with some clean striking at the back end of the innings, lashing 39 from only 16 deliveries. Singh and the impressive Caelan Malady then each grabbed an early wicket, after which the chase was beyond Fairfield’s reach. And there was time for Scott Coyte to pick up a wicket in his first appearance for Randwick-Petersham since March 2012.