Jack Attenborough went large
After transferring from University of NSW last season, Jack Attenborough had a tough first year with Sydney University, partly redeemed by an impressive late-season century. His innings at Mosman last Sunday suggests that he’s recovered the form that brought him almost a thousand runs for the Bees in 2022-23. The Students were chasing 310, which seems about par on Allan Border Oval, where the pitch is true and the boundaries short. Most of Mosman’s top order made starts, but only Nathan Hinton (108) produced the big innings required to post a competitive total. In reply, Attenborough and Jack Hill (who’s enjoying a striking, late-career run of form in Firsts) set up the chase with an opening stand of 133. They made an interesting contrast: the stockier Hill favours the back foot and on side, while the feature of Attenborough’s innings was the elegance of his driving. Together they nullified the threat of Shield bowler Jack Nisbett, and by the time Attenborough fell to persevering left-armer Jake Turner, the result was a formality. Attenborough batted for just over four and a half hours for a career-best 143. In this form, he’s a batsman well worth watching.
400 is the new 250
There was a time, not very long ago, when any First Grade side that scored about 250 thought that it had a pretty good chance of winning. These days, not so much. In round 7, Mosman scored 310, North Sydney 342 and Northern District 294, and they were all chased down. But the biggest chase was at Manly Oval, where Gordon posted an imposing nine declared for 449, powered by Irish international Gareth Delany, who hit 152. 449 seems like a winning total, or at any rate not a losing one. Manly ran it down with five wickets and several overs to spare. Ash Premkumar knocked over Joel Foster early, but Ahillen Beadle (who’s in phenomenal form) and Jay Lenton (whose run-a-ball 58 gave the innings momentum) shared a second-wicket stand of 133, after which Joel Davies (123 not out) and Beadle (158) added another 148. Imagine: successive partnerships of 133 and 148, but when Beadle was out, Manly still needed 163 to win. Bertie Foreman smashed five sixes in his 68, Davies had the maturity to bat right through, and Manly romped to the points.
Parramatta looks ominously efficient
Sydney’s decision to send Parramatta in to bat looked like a good idea in the handful of overs it took the Tigers to knock over the first two wickets. The problem with doing that is that it just brings together Ryan Hackney and Nick Bertus, two of Sydney’s most productive batsmen of recent times. The two left-handers added 71 before Hackney fell, after which Bertus (well supported by Patrick Xie) moved smoothly to his sixteenth First Grade hundred. Parramatta’s pace attack doesn’t look all that fearsome on paper, but they’re highly efficient, giving nothing away, maintaining pressure and exploiting any movement that on offer. So far this season, they’ve taken 63 wickets – only St George (68) have managed more. It took Michael Sullivan, Isaac Earl and Kye Thornley no time at all to reduce Sydney to 7 for 45, after which there was only going to be one outcome. Parramatta’s win keeps them level on 31 points at the top of the table, behind St George only on points.
Paul Ryan can still beat his age
Five Things doesn’t know one end of a golf club from the other, but we’re vaguely aware that once golfers reach a certain vintage, “beating your age” becomes something worth striving for. We’ve been waiting to put that little morsel of knowledge to use ever since Paul Ryan made his comeback to Premier Cricket a few years back. Ryan played in the New South Wales Under-19s back in 1986-87, which makes him, by our reckoning, about 57. He’s hit a couple of half-centuries over the last few years, without ever quite scoring more runs than his age – until Saturday. Wests’ Thirds lost early wickets to Bailey Penna and Luca Croft, and never really recovered, but Ryan showed the benefit of all his experience, crafting 64 gritty runs out of a total of 126. Between 1985 and 2004, Ryan scored 8202 First Grade runs for Wests, Mosman and St George – it would be interesting to know how many he’s now scored in all grades.
Thomas Draca is still available
Enthusiastic followers of the Metropolitan Cup competition probably recall that game a few seasons back, when Sydney University’s Thomas Draca ripped through Warringah to take 7-32 in 6.5 overs. Draca’s moved on a bit since then. He played a handful of First Grade games for Blacktown, turned up for a while at Exeter University, and has now become a key member of Italy’s T20 team. Italy isn’t at all a bad side: it’s full of Moscas, has the odd Manenti, plus Joe Burns and the former Middlesex all-rounder Gareth Berg. Please believe that they hammer Luxembourg and the Isle of Man. Draca does his bit, bowling at brisk medium from a good height, hitting an awkward length and varying his pace. He did well enough to win a place in the Brampton Wolves in Canada’s Global T20, where he played under David Warner’s captaincy and dismissed Sunil Narine on a regular basis. So why stop in Canada? Draca has now become, so far as we can tell, both the first Italian and the first ex-Metro Cup player to put himself up for auction in the IPL. Somehow he was overlooked in the first round of bidding, but he remains available for any franchise with a few crore to spare. Whatever the Italian is for chutzpah, he has it, and we applaud it.