SUCC OCTOBER WRAP-UP
So, what an amazing month for Sydney University Cricket Club!
It has been a hectic and successful month both on- and off-the-field with on-field success for our Grade, Poidevin-Gray and Kingsgrove Sports T20 Cup sides, as well as amazing events off the field such as our long-awaited Sesquicentenary Dinner and following Intervarsity match on the SCG.
SESQUICENTENARY DINNER - 18TH OCTOBER 2014 @ THE SCG
After much hype and build up, the evening finally arrived and the scene was set at the SCG for players and supporters, former and current, to come together to celebrate our 150th Anniversary.
Attendees were able to mingle over canapes and drinks on the hallowed turf of the S.C.G., discovering lost friendships and enjoying the magnificent setting before convening in the new dining room in the M.A. Noble and Bradman Stands for a magnificent 3-course dinner.
Master of Ceremonies, Chris Elder set the early pace with some light-hearted humour. Tim Croft welcomed guests to Country before some passionate words from SUCC's Chairman, James Rodgers, and the University of Sydney Chancellor, Ms Belinda Hutchinson AM.
Former SCG Trust Chairman, Rodney Cavalier AO spoke eloquently on the history of our wonderful Club whilst launching a book entitled "Golden Blues. Sydney University Cricket: 150 years of the club and its players" written by James Rodgers and Max Bonnell.
Stuart MacGill expertly displayed the passion it takes to be a part of the Sydney University Cricket Club whilst Ed Cowan posed the question of where will the Club and cricket in general be in 50 years time.
The night was hijacked by some waiters posing as opera singers, or was that opera singers posing as waiters, which provided some light-hearted entertainment during dinner.
The evening finished with a chance to mingle, share stories, and forge friendships that will last until the 200th Anniversary.
Thanks must go to our Dinner sponsors and suppliers - AMCOR, Kemp Strang, Surjits Indian Restaurant, Calton & United Breweries, and Tyrrell's Wines, as well as the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust and SCG Events.
Photos of the event are available here. We thank Dave Stanton for his photography efforts on the night.
For anyone interested, the books are on sale from the Club for $30 (plus postage). Please contact Dale Bryant at dale@sydneyuniversitycricket.com.au to order your copy.
GRADE & POIDEVIN-GRAY RESULTS:
After a disappointing Round 1, wins against Eastern Suburbs in Round Two to our 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th Grade sides, including some outstanding individual performances by Nick Larkin (157no), Will Somerville (5-54), Jim Ryan (5-54) and Alex Mihalyka (5-33) certainly set us back on course to attempt to defend the Club Championship in 2014/15.
Round Three against Bankstown has also seen excellent batting performances across the entire Club with 1st Grade being 7 - 302 (with a Scott Henry century - 105), 2nd Grade scoring 208 with Bankstown 3 - 31 at the end of play, 3rd Grade at 8 - 265, 4th Grade hitting 291 and with 1 wicket already in the bag, and 5th Grade belting 300 runs (with Jarrod Waterlow plunding 131 of them). Play continues this Saturday.
Our Poidevin-Gray side also got off to a winning start, defeating Mosman last Sunday, scoring 233 and restricting Mosman to 162 runs.
For full scorecards, please click Results in the SCA dropdown on the Menu Bar.
KINGSGROVE SPORTS T20 CUP:
SUCC's T20 side has remained undefeated through the round stage of the Kingsgrove Sports T20 Cup over the last few weeks, and went into last night's semi-final against Fairfield-Liverpool as top-ranked finisher and full of confidence.
The semi-final was a strange T20 affair with SUCC restricting Fairfield-Liverpool to just 83 runs from their 20 overs, and cruising midway through our innings before tightening up and finishing our 20 overs at 6 - 83 and needing a "super over" to claim the win. Sean Abbott claiming the key wicket of Ben Rohrer and restricting Fairfield-Liverpool to just 6 runs before Scott Henry and Nick Larkin peeled off 9 runs in 3 balls for the win.
The win sees our team head to the S.C.G. on Sunday 2nd November to take on either Bankstown or Penrith in the Sydney Thunder Conference Final at 2:30pm with the winner taking on the Sydney Sixers Conference champion at 6:30pm for bragging rights.
A full day of T20 action starts at the SCG from 11am (the Sixers Conference final), with Gate A open to the general public, food and drink available, and The Members' Bar open from 12:30pm. There will be no parking for spectators available in the Members Car Park, however we still have some pre-paid parking vouchers available for Wilson Car Park at Fox Studios for $15 (usually $25 for a full day).
Come join the Uni Army in the stands and help the lads claim the first piece of silverware for the season, and our first ever T20 title, in our 150th season.
INTERVARSITY AT THE SYDNEY CRICKET GROUND:
For many of our young players, it was their first opportunity (but hopefully not last) to play on the famed SCG turf when SUCC took on UNSWCC in an intervarsity match on Monday 27th October.
The ground was kindly provided to SUCC to help celebrate our sesquicentenary, but unfortunately the result did not follow the script with SUCC falling just short in our run-chase with only a couple of overs remaining.
Again, thanks to the SCG Trust for making the ground available, and to UNSWCC for agreeing to the match at quite short notice.
REPRESENTATIVE HONOURS:
Congratulations finally must go to Nick Larkin and Will Somerville, who are in line to make their NSW debuts, joining Scott Henry, Ryan Carters in the Blues squad to take on Victoria, and adding Sean Abbott's commitments with the Australian squad, SUCC is showing why we've been the dominant force over the last 5 years.
This is possibly the first time since 1913 that SUCC has been represented by four players in the one Shield side.
Good luck to Nick, Will, Ryan and Scott!