Scott Rodgie’s form is ridiculous
There were two moments on Saturday when North Sydney looked to be in the contest with Northern District. First, they reduced the visitors to 2 for 11, when Matt Alexander opened his second over with two wides followed by two wickets. Then, chasing 282, the Bears climbed to 1 for 196. Each time, it was Scott Rodgie who shattered their hopes, first with a massive 147 from 157 balls, then with a spell of 4 for 6, in which he was twice on a hat-trick. Apart from the T20 games, Rodgie this season has 604 runs at 86 and 25 wickets at 11. The engraver can start work on the O’Reilly Medal any time now.
Imagine if they could bowl straight
Weird match of the day was at Raby, where Campbelltown-Camden shot out Sutherland for 128, collapsed to 4 for 35, then fell over the line to win by three wickets. That’s not the weird bit – which is that although only 257 runs were scored in the day, no fewer than 40 of them (or just over 15%) were wides. Campbelltown-Camden contributed 25 of them; Luke Webb, whose left arm swing did most of the damage, sent down 10 wides while taking 4-27. Top-scorer with the bat was Chris Williams, who managed only 23. When Campbelltown batted, Tom Pinson ripped the top off the innings, and grabbed 4-41, but sent down 14 wides of his own. Pinson’s chaotic first over included two wickets (Adam Whatley looping a leading edge to point, Jackson Isakka edging behind), a boundary and five wides. In the end, Blake Smith ushered Campbelltown to its second win of the season. But imagine if they could bowl straight.
The Conference finals were epic
It’s hard to recall a season in which both Conference finals in the Harry Solomons Little Bash were so compelling to watch. University of NSW looked well placed to take the Sixers flag after posting a competitive 5 for 167 and reducing Randwick-Petersham to 3 for 11. Thomas Scoble hit five 6s in his 82 not out, while Jack Attenborough needed only 38 balls for his 60. Then Declan White removed Jason Sangha and Chris Tremain dismissed Daniel Sams to leave Randwick-Petersham in all kinds of bother. No-one counted on Adam Semple launching eight 6s in a furious 100 not out from only 54 deliveries. With two overs remaining, Randwick-Petersham still needed 20 to win, but the left-handed Semple sliced Chris Tremain past point for four, smacked a pull to the fence, and then smeared another short ball over midwicket for 6. That last over was never needed.
Parramatta seemed in control at the halfway mark at Sydney University, after Ryan Hackney’s polished 88 and a furious cameo from Luke Dempsey, whose 41 from 21 included five 6s, all of which cleared the fence by a considerable distance. 6 for 191 was a pretty decent total, but Nick Larkin and Charlie Dummer hammered the bowling all around the ground, carving 61 runs from the first five overs of University’s innings. Dummer lashed three successive sixes from off-spinner Hayden Goulstone, the last of which was caught by one of the Uni Army sitting high in the Grandstand. Unsurprisingly, the chase was finished off by Liam Robertson, who has now scored more Premier Cricket T20 runs than anyone except Scott Rodgie, Dan Smith and Adam Crosthwaite. Robertson’s unbeaten 73 came from 44 balls, and although he hit no fours, he cleared the fence six times (including two more massive blows against Goulstone). Damien Mortimer made a vital contribution, Ryan McElduff bustled at the end, and University squeaked home with a ball to spare. Let’s hope that the rain (which is forecast for the next ten days) doesn’t spoil what ought to be an exceptional grand final.
Saints march in to another Green Shield
The Green Shield season ended in suitable style with a gripping final at Hurstville Oval. Northern District posted a competitive 8 for 205, mostly through Tom Bermingham (57) and Sam Weir (78), who added 71 for the second wicket. After which, the match appeared likely to turn on whether and when NDs could dismiss Sam Konstas, whose form this season has been phenomenal. Konstas duly crunched his way to 54 from 48 balls, and St George was 71 without loss after 14 overs. But Konstas then dabbed at a ball from left arm spinner Peter Murray, and edged it only as far as the keeper, Jordan Netto. Murray tightened the screws – he finished with 4-37 – and the contest was alive. But Tom Forrester anchored the innings with a patient 59, and Jackson Ingram played a vital, bustling innings towards the end. St George prevailed with three wickets and 16 balls to spare.
Konstas, though. He ended the Green Shield with a record 795 runs at an average of 113. He followed up with a hundred in Second Grade on Saturday, and 51 in the Poidevin-Gray semi-final on Sunday. In all grades so far this season, he has 1139 runs at 75. This is so insanely impressive that it feels slightly mean to point out that his bowling hasn’t flourished quite so much (and, remember, he took 5-47 in a Third Grade semi-final last year). He finished up the Green Shield season with only one wicket, conceding 177 runs. And so, we think, he made history by becoming the first player in Green Shield ever to average over 100 with both bat and ball in the same season.
Mo, meet Gladys
Here’s a paradox for you: the least coveted award in Grade cricket is the most hotly contested. There were contenders all over Sydney for the Gladys Berejiklian Sudden and Unexpected Collapse of the Week Award. England, by the way, is still not eligible, although by losing their last four wickets in as many balls in the final T20 match against the West Indies, they continue to show the amateurs how it’s done. Sutherland Thirds, obviously, put in a persuasive bid, this time at the top of the order, beginning a chase against Campbelltown-Camden by losing 5 for 24. In First Grade, North Sydney reached 1 for 196 against Northern District before losing five for 14. But it’s hard to go past Penrith Firsts. They began their match against Wests by losing 3 for 13, with returning Pakistani fast bowler Muhammad Irfan junior doing most of the damage. While Irfan rested, Adam Bayliss and the promising Jordan Watson assembled a partnership of 140 – and then six wickets crashed for only 13 runs, completing a spectacular Split Gladys. Irfan marked his return to Wests by taking 5 for 15 from his ten overs. Irfan, incidentally, answers to “Mo”, which could cause all manner of confusion at the next Wests players reunion.