You’re going to need a calculator for this one
Unquestionably, the weirdest game of the weekend was at Chatswood Oval, where Gordon stumbled in pursuit of Sydney’s 103, losing its last four wickets without scoring a run – yet finished the day with a surprisingly comfortable reverse-outright, chasing down 232 with no trouble at all. There was an epic duel between Ben Manenti and Tym Crawford, both of whom seemed to have decided to win the game on their own, and while Manenti couldn’t have done much more than hit 75 and take 7-41, Crawford was there at the finish. That result, while frustrating, did nothing to harm Sydney’s place on the table: they’re still second, and can sneak past Sydney University for the minor premiership if they beat Randwick-Petersham and the Students (72 points) lose to Manly (58). Sydney University put an end to Bankstown’s season, thanks largely to an all-round masterclass from Hayden Kerr (86 not out and 4-19). Gordon had the frankly baffling experience of crashing to 90 all out in the morning, then slipping into sixth place just before 7pm. So next Saturday’s game at Chatswood is a virtual play-off between Gordon (44) and Easts (40) for sixth spot. If Gordon wins, no-one can catch them. If Easts win, they need Sydney to beat Randwick-Petersham (40). Randwick-Petersham have two ways to reach the top six, which both involve beating Sydney and Gordon losing. With a straightforward win, they will almost certainly beat Easts for the spot on quotient. Or they can win with a bonus point, in which case they will either pass Easts on points, or pass Easts on quotient (if Easts also score a bonus point). Clear? Good, because you can also create a scenario in which Sydney beats Randwick-Petersham, Easts beat Gordon, and St George (39) beats Parramatta with a bonus point. Then St George could very well be sixth on quotient. Easts are paying a price for having the lowest quotient of any side in the top nine, which leaves the Dolphins vulnerable in all these permutations.
Eight sides are in contention in Seconds
Manly’s beserk outright win against Sutherland – they bowled out the Sharks for 86 and 52, but needed a last-wicket partnership of 12 to avoid losing on the first innings – confirmed the minor premiership, and Manly now has an unassailable lead with 76 points. Wests (57) and St George (55) are also safely into the finals, although St George went down to Northern District, which broke a 21 match unbeaten streak for the Saints in Seconds. Then it gets confusing. Blacktown (51) will play in the finals if they beat Bankstown (47). Bankstown (47) will play in the finals if they beat Blacktown (51). Blacktown looks threatening, coming off an extraordinary win over Penrith: after the Mounties had been 4-29 , Matthew Day (154) and Green Shield batsman Harjas Singh (147) added 269 for the sixth wicket, with Singh passing 1000 runs for the season, and Penrith was then bowled out by the competition’s leading wicket-taker, Smit Raval, who has now taken three consecutive seven-fors. The team that loses could miss out if Sydney University (46) upsets Manly. Sixth-placed Northern District (46) needs to beat University of NSW to be sure of its spot. If it were to lose, it could be displaced by Sydney University or by Easts (42), if Easts can beat Gordon.
There are two spots left in Thirds
Northern District (76 points) will be minor premiers in Third Grade, even if they all forget the way to Asquith Oval on Saturday. They’ll be joined in the finals by Easts (64) Manly (57) and North Sydney (54). Bankstown (52) looks fairly safe, though it needs to beat Blacktown to be sure of its spot. But Bankstown would miss out of it loses to Blacktown, and Penrith and University of NSW both win. Penrith (50) needs to beat Mosman to seal its place in the six. University of NSW (49) will get in if it wins and one of Bankstown or Penrith loses, but as the Bees play Northern District at Asquith that’s a tough assignment (unless, of course, the Rangers all forget the way to Asquith Oval on Saturday). Mathematically, there’s a path to the finals for both Sydney University (44) and Sydney (44): they need to win (and a bonus point would help) and hope that Penrith and University of NSW both lose. If Sydney University, Penrith and Sydney all finished up on 50 points, it’s likely that the Students would take sixth place with the better quotient.
Fourth Grade is well and truly clustered
St George (67) are your Fourth Grade minor premiers this year, and only one side outside the six has any chance of getting in. Actually the sides placed second to seventh are incredibly tightly bunched: Sutherland has 59 points, Sydney University 58, University of NSW 58, Easts 56, North Sydney 56 and Parramatta 55. Parramatta moved within striking distance of the top six with a Round 14 outright over Wests. North Sydney owes its high position to an outright thumping of its neighbour Mosman, whose first innings total of 40 actually represented a recovery from 9 for 25, the early damage being done by Chris Savage (5-15). This week, North Sydney and Sutherland play each other, and since they can’t both win, Parramatta will pass one of them if it does. The only problem with that is that Parramatta plays St George. But the Saints have looked vulnerable in the last couple of rounds, so an upset can’t be discounted.
Two spots are open in Fifths
In Fifths, Penrith (64) holds a narrow lead over University of NSW (62) at the top of the table. Northern District (58) and Eastern Suburbs (56) are also safely in the six. Gordon (51) needs to beat Easts to make its spot safe. But if Gordon stumbles, it can be passed by Manly (46), Parramatta (46) and Wests (45, though they would need a bonus point). Manly (46) can move into sixth if it beats Sydney University and other results fall its way.