Jaiveer Singh Dhanoa bowls straight
To be honest, we still haven’t quite figured out Jaiveer Singh Dhanoa. The Fairfield-Liverpool opening bowler ambles in from a short run (which starts with a hint of a Jasprit Bumrah stutter), doesn’t seem disconcertingly quick or bouncy, and doesn’t move the ball around dramatically. He just keeps getting good batsmen out. After Brent Williams’ dominant 152 not out allowed Fairfield to close at 9 for 303 against Bankstown, Dhanoa struck two vital blows at the end of day one, bowling Justin Felsch in his second over, and pinning Daniel Solway lbw two balls later. On the second day, he removed Ryan Felsch and was too good for the tail, as Bankstown collapsed for only 118. Dhanoa finished with 6-42, five of them bowled or lbw. As far as we can tell, he’s a touch quicker than you expect from his approach, hits the seam a lot, and bowls very, very straight. Dhanoa is still in the Under-19 pathway, and his development over the next few years will be interesting to watch.
Dan Christian is still handy
Dan Christian is 41 years old, and it’s been a while since he played in a match that lasted longer than 40 overs. But he’s still a pretty useful player to have in your First Grade side. Turning out for University of NSW against Sutherland, Christian went to the crease with his side in trouble at 3 for 46. He took guard, poked at the pitch for a bit, and then, calmly as you like, drilled his first ball from Zac Philipson through cover for four. It was a remarkable stroke, with no great backlift and no extravagant swing – just a short, perfectly-timed punch. In the next over, Thomas Pinson strayed onto Christian’s pads and was whipped to the fence at midwicket. And Christian carried on in the same vein for the next three hours, picking off every loose ball and hitting it for four – there were 24 of them in all, in his innings of 130 from 156 balls. Oh, and he bowled, too, running in hard and picking up three wickets. In his 13th over, he snared Luke Ritchie and Rhys Cattle with successive balls, leaving Pinson to avoid the hat trick by prodding forward hopefully. The Bees won by a lot. One thing that has helped to sustain the club over a difficult few years has been the fierce loyalty of a core group of former players, and Christian’s enthusiasm is a perfect example of that spirit.
Sydney can’t be underestimated
It’s doubtful that many people gave Sydney much of a chance of beating Eastern Suburbs but the Tigers showed, not for the first time this season, that they’re not to be underestimated. Given first use of an unusually spicy pitch at Cricket Central, Sydney’s bowlers made the best of it, budling out the Dolphins for only 119. Cian Egerton, whose run-up starts from somewhere near deep extra cover, bowled a dangerous line and jagged one back to remove James Matthews lbw. Two balls later, Angus Robson nicked to third slip, where Will Fort held a sharp, low left-handed grab, and when Trystan Kennedy edged behind, Egerton had taken 3 for 3 in seven balls. But Sam Skelly was just as effective when Sydney batted, and at the end of the first day, Sydney still needed seven to win, with only two wickets standing. When play resumed, Tyler Robertson was run out after pushing a single, which left the last pair to make six runs. Kain Anderson hit Skelly for four, reducing the target to two, but Skelly and Tom Aspinwall then bowled three excruciatingly tense maidens until Kain Anderson sliced skelly away for the winning runs. Easts had the better of what was left in the game, but it was too late to deprive the Tigers of six valuable points.
Jack James is seeing it well
Also, probably, in the upset category was Hawkesbury’s romp to victory over Randwick-Petersham. Randwick-Petersham raced to 340 on the first day, scoring at almost four and a half an over and playing with almost cavalier confidence. But Jack James and Taj Brar ran up an opening partnership of 222, James following his century against UTS North Sydney with an innings of 138. His last four innings have included two centuries and a 66; it’s fair to say that he’s in decent form. Brar batted for four and a half hours for his 120, and veteran Dale McKay finished things off with an unbeaten 66. The result pushes the Hawks into the top six on quotient.
Ryan McElduff is out of place in Seconds
For about twenty minutes, it looked as though the Blacktown Mounties might be able to stop Sydney University’s unbeaten run in Seconds: batting first in tricky conditions, the Students slumped to 2 for 15. Which brought in Ryan McElduff, who’s playing Second Grade this season through his own choice. Just over four hours later, University declared at 4 for 349, with McElduff still there on 206. He played shots all round the ground, especially strong through the on side, and cracked 19 fours and two sixes. It was the first double-century of his career, the ninth double-century for the club in Seconds and the fifth-highest score ever recorded for the Students in Seconds. McElduff already has 599 runs for the season, including his 206 not out, a 186, three fifties and an incongruous first-ball duck. The message for Second Grade attacks this season is to get him first ball, or be prepared for a long afternoon.