The Whales are good in the wet
First Grade premiers Mosman got their title defence away to a solid start with a win in a rain-shortened game at Howell Oval. The difference between the two sides was probably Harry Dalton’s rapid 52 from 53 balls at the top of the innings which, backed up by Nathan Hinton’s more cautious 50, laid the platform for a competitive total of 223 from 45 overs. Ryan Gibson and Tyran Liddiard gave Penrith’s reply a rapid start, adding 58, but after they fell in quick succession (to Dean Crawford and Matt Moran), the run rate was dragged back by Jayden Park. The left arm spinner choked the middle order, allowing only 21 runs from his 8 overs while picking up three wickets. Liam Doddrell made the finish interesting by blasting 45 from 33 balls, but Penrith’s chances evaporated when he was bowled by Jake Turner. Even after just one round, Mosman looks every bit as efficient a team as it was last season.
The Students made an impressive start
For an hour or so, Campbelltown-Camden was well positioned in its game against Sydney University at Raby. The Ghosts built a slow but steady start, profiting from some early-season fielding fumbles to reach 1 for 60. From then on, the Students were clinical. The spin attack of Dylan Hunter (3-26), Ryan McElduff (2-12) and Devlin Malone (2-28) strangled the innings, claiming 7 for 66 from the 26 overs they shared. The fielding sharpened up, thanks to Jordan Gauci, who snared five catches. Tim Cummins stumped Luke Webb to complete the rare achievement of 400 First Grade dismissals. And then Nick Larkin (52), Hunter and Damien Mortimer (41 not out) made short work of the target of 129, walking off with a bonus point. Sydney University enjoyed an excellent white ball season in 2021-22, and looks set, on this form, for another strong white ball campaign.
Saints’ second century is away to a good start
Two Saturdays back, St George celebrated the centenary of its admission to First Grade cricket with a match at Hurstville against the NSW Blues and a memorable dinner attended by hundreds of former players, including club royalty Brian Booth and Warren Saunders. After all that, the actual cricket could have been an anticlimax, but St George launched its season with a thumping win over Hawkesbury. Ever-reliable Nick Stapleton set up his team’s innings with a bright 67, and Luke Bartier finished it with a furious 64 not out from only 49 balls, but really everyone else was overshadowed by Blake Macdonald, who cleared the cycling track eight times on his way to 144 from only 104 balls. It was Macdonald’s fifth century in First Grade, and took him past 2500 First Grade runs for St George at the very healthy average of 46. Any chance Hawkesbury had of reaching its Duckworth-Lewis target before the rain came was then snuffed out by Trent Copeland, who produced a typically miserly spell of one for nine from seven overs.
Evan Pitt had a breakthrough day
Opening bowler Evan Pitt has been part of the Parramatta club for ten years now, coming through the 2012-13 Green Shield side and generally hovering between Seconds and Thirds. After playing a bit of indigenous representative cricket, he made his debut in First Grade late last season, when he bowled only four wicketless overs. So Blacktown’s batsmen probably weren’t alarmed to see his name on the Parramatta teamsheet last Saturday. With only Nick Bertus (56) looking in full control, Parramatta struggled to 8 for 190, not a lot of runs for an inexperienced attack to defend. But Pitt sliced through the top order, removing Will Affleck, Tim Affleck and Puru Gaur in quick succession. Blacktown crashed to 6 for 35 (before recovering to 80 all out) and Pitt collected 3-19 from his 8 overs. Pitt has always been a popular clubman at Parramatta; now he has the chance to make a big contribution in the top grade.
Plus ca change…
Odds are that you’re not all that familiar with the 19th century French journalist Alphonse Karr. If you’re an especially keen gardener, you might remember that there’s a species of bamboo named after him. Almost certainly, though, you’ve heard the most famous words he ever wrote: the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Writing about this season is a bit like writing about last season. Mosman has hit the ground running in First Grade. It’s wet: another season is about to be dominated by La Nina. Sydney University is looking good in short-form cricket. Games at Raby are being called off. North Sydney’s teams are full of people called Aitken. Hurstville Oval is good for batting. Dean Laing still turns out for Hawkesbury and Stephen Wark still turns out for St George, although rain on Saturday prevented them from turning out against each other. Even the Cricket NSW Match Centre website spent the entire weekend defiantly stuck in 2021-22.
Next week, though, things could look a little different, as two-day cricket returns after who remembers how long. For the first time in ages, First Graders will go looking for their whites, middle order batsmen will have more than eleven overs to bat, and teams will need to apply themselves in the field for more than three hours. It’s going to be interesting. Unless it rains, which it probably will.