It took two thrillers to decide the Little Bash finalists
The conference finals of the Harry Solomons Little Bash couldn’t have been scripted any better – both games were decided on the last possible ball of the day. The game at University Oval fluctuated wildly, with the bowlers marginally on top for much of the day. Hugo Ikeda made a spectacular start to the day, when Giovanni DiBartolo swung across the line at his first ball, only to bottom-edge it into the stumps. Ikeda greeted Eknoor Singh with a leg-side wide, but the next ball was slapped to point, where Dylan Hunter held the catch. Matt Day kickstarted the innings with some meaty drives and pulls that helped Blacktown reach 2-47 in the Powerplay, but the University spinners strangled the batsmen in the middle overs: Dylan Hunter snared 3-13 from four thoughtful overs while Devlin Malone was even meaner, taking 1-10 from his four. At 5-66, Blacktown seemed unlikely to post a competitive score, but Lancashire bowler Jack Blatherwick hit a ferocious 52 from 31 balls, with six massive 6s. The University innings followed a similar pattern: Charlie Dummer gave his side a rapid start, after which wickets fell in clumps and the spinners proved hard to get away. Left-armer Puru Gaur was excellent, taking 2-8 from his four nagging overs. When Caelan Maladay was dismissed at 7-94, Blacktown seemed to be in charge. But Ryan McElduff kept his composure, working the ball around and picking the right one to hit, while Devlin Malone swung hard whenever the quicker bowlers gave him room to free his arms. 34 were needed from the last three overs, then 11 from the last. A single from the second-last ball levelled the scores, and then Malone tapped the ball down into the on-side and scampered through for the decisive single. McElduff remained unbeaten on 52, and Blacktown was left to wonder what went wrong.
As you’d expect, there were a few more runs scored at Chatswood, where Sydney posted a target of 164, mostly through a bright opening stand between Anthony Mosca and Jacob Bethell. Tym Crawford was run out in the second over, but Axel Cahlin and Dale McKay (55 from 36) made good progress in the Powerplay, and at 2-87 Gordon looked in control. Then Nic Bills, hauled out of retirement for the occasion, grabbed two critical wickets, and the required rate began to rise. When the final over began, Gordon had reached 6-152, needing 13 to win. It was a chaotic final over, delivered by Harry Manenti, including two run outs, a catch, a boundary and three wides. Quincy Titterton needed four from the last ball to win the game, but failed to make contact and the batsmen could only run through for a bye. Sydney were the Sixers Champions by two runs, and host the grand final at Drummoyne on Sunday.
Sams plus Chatswood equals runs
Two themes have run through Five Things this season: that Chatswood Oval is a road, and that Anthony Sams is in good nick. Guess what happens when Sams plays at Chatswood? Gordon posted a total of 7-260 on Saturday, mostly through James Newton (63 not out) and Tym Crawford (54). Anywhere else, that’s a solid score: on Chatswood, it looked slightly under par, and so it proved. Chatswood had a glimmer of a chance when RPs lost their second wicket at 34 in the sixth over, but Sams and Riley Ayre grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and put together an unbroken stand of 228. Sams seems to have reduced batting to a simple formula this season: someone bowls a ball to him, and he whacks it. He seems to whack the short ones further than the fuller ones, but they all get whacked. At one point on Saturday, he whacked Quincy Titterton for four 4s in succession. He finished on 134 from 119 balls, going past 700 runs in all formats this season.
It's Green Shield time
Green Shield is a tremendous competition: it’s an uncynical place where dreams are still intact and no one worries about whether that scratchy 21 is enough for you to keep your place in Third Grade. The last round before the finals is played tomorrow, and Parramatta maintained its unbeaten record in Round 6 by beating Mosman, who were previously unbeaten. Parramatta’s win was built upon a bright innings of 92 by Advith Borredy, who has been phenomenally consistent, with 67 against Bankstown, 62 against University of NSW, 34 against North Sydney, 53 against Blacktown and 84 not out against Wests. Not everyone in the competition looks quite as ready for Premier cricket, although the kid from Mosman who already has his mullet and moustache in place looks set for a lively circuiting career.
Penrith looks threatening
The Panthers may only be ninth on the First Grade table, but their recent form is excellent, and the team seems to be operating highly efficiently at the right end of the season. They took Easts apart on the weekend: Hunar Verma collected a couple of early wickets, and then Liam Doddrell (6-31) swept through the innings with a lively, accurate spell. Then the batsmen chased down a modest target inside 24 overs, Brent Williams completing the game by cracking Marcus Atallah for six. Penrith has now strung together three impressive wins in succession, and it would be no surprise if they were to win through to the finals.
The Bears are back on track
Is UTS North Sydney out of its mid-season slump? A strong win over Hawkesbury returned the Bears to the top six and suggested that they may be ready to correct a slump that led to three defeats in succession and spoiled their very promising start to the season. James Greenslade (59), Tom Jagot (51) and James Rew (46) laid the foundation for a competitive total, which was ably defended by Ollie Knight (5-48) and the tireless veteran Robbie Aitken, who claimed 2-34 from ten cunning overs. North Sydney is about to lose the services of Rew, the Somerset keeper-batsman, who has performed strongly this season but has been called up to the England under-19 side whose Australian tour begins later this month.