1st Grade:
Sydney University 7/340 (N Larkin 120, D Mortimer 61, L Robertson 50, Thornton 3/64) Def by Easts 7/345 (G Clarence 75, I Moran 71, S Robson 70, T Ley 3/83, D Malone 2/94)
The rain stayed away, or at least got out of the way early and we arrived at Uni no 1 to another belter prepared by Daryl and the boys. Tim Ley and Tom Rogers bowled with great control early to keep the Easts openers under pressure. It was Ley who got the rewards, including the dangerous Maddinson to a sharp catch from the slow red fox (Liam Robertson) at cover.
Wickets would be hard to come by, with Robson and Moran building a partnership and keeping Easts on track for the chase approaching the middle of the day. Malone made the breakthrough deceiving Moran with a wrong-un (add him to the quickly growing list) and followed it up with the wicket of Chu caught and bowled. Ley returned and with a bit of reverse swing the students were able to wrestle the game back onto our terms, Robson and Morley going in quick succession.
It looked at 6-196 that we would get the job done, but a fighting half century from the Easts skipper and contributions from Somerville and Magin got them across the line.
Overall it was disappointing to let the game slip from a position of strength but credit to Easts for fighting it out. Moran and Somerville picked up the "Pegsy" award for showing up at the Nags to talk us through it.
2nd Grade:
Sydney Uni 8/366 (J Holloway 131, W Hay 85, D Holloway 35, U Mehta 3/55) Easts 10/170 (O Maxwell 42, J Smith 40, K Elley 5/49, J Holloway 1/21)
Seconds arrived at Waverley needing to take 9 wickets for the win. Rain on the morning of the second day’s play added confidence to the camp with a hint of moisture in the deck. But when you thought morale couldn’t get higher, the squad learned that batsmen Nick Arnold successfully completed his HSC during the week and even more successfully completed his formal after-party. But Nick didn’t limit his performances to the mid-week extravaganza, also getting horizontal in the field to back up the bowlers and keep pressure on the batsmen.
As expected, the pitch did offer some assistance to opening bowlers Dugald Holloway and Kieran Elley as they regularly beat the bat. It only took a few overs before a nipping delivery was edged to skipper Dave Miller at second slip. The boys knew we were on top at this stage and in the huddle it was expertly reaffirmed that ‘that’s the length you need to bowl on these wickets’- the length where the ball nips half a bat width. And the bowlers stuck at that length continuing to build pressure before a brilliant piece of fielding from Liam Whitaker saw him throw down the pegs with one to aim at. Everything was going our way in the field and by lunch we had the hosts 5 wickets down, Dobson, Holloway, Whitaker and Elley the wicket-getters.
After lunch the roll continued, James Larkin snuck his fingertips under a ball at third slip to take us within 4 wickets of the win. But not everything was the same as the first session, a rowdy group on the hill ensured a change in the atmosphere as they both supported the Easts batsmen and taunted SUCC players, in particular Jack Holloway. But Jack didn’t let the sledging get to him, only dropping two chances to the chorus ‘was that Jack again?!’ With hindsight it seems Jack probably wasn’t psyched out by the intoxicated group but rather wanted to avoid an outright innings and maximise time studying before exams. Whatever the strategy, 10 wickets were taken before tea.
3rd Grade:
Easts 58 (K Tate 4/20 T Kierath 4/12) & 97 (T Kierath 3/8, R Kurtz 3/29) Def outright by Sydney Uni Dec6/192 (R Danne 52, M Powys 51, A Shaw 48, S Lewis 3/34)
Already 134 runs ahead, 3s arrived on day two brimming with confidence that the outright that narrowly eluded them last week was within reach.
Another encouraging new ball attack followed an overnight declaration but Easts were not to be swept aside easily, surviving to the first drinks break with only one back in the hutch. It took the introduction of spin twins Kurtz and Kierath to break the shackles. Regular breakthroughs, some more comical than others, saw both finish with deserved 3fa's. The bowling highlights, however, belonged to our gallant leader Ash Cowan who, bowling his military medium slow throw down hybrids, was twice able to replicate Shane Warne's infamous 'Gatting Ball' (his words, not mine!) to snare two scalps of his own eventually dismissing Easts for 97.
Back to back clinical displays sees last years premiers move into a spot on the precipice of the top 6 after a few early season stumbles.
4th Grade:
Sydney Uni 231 (H Kermond 80) def by Easts 6/232 (W Lawrence 124, J Bank 41)
The boys were full of confidence heading into day 2, with Easts already 1 down. However the students were unable to bowl with enough consistency to apply any pressure on the Easts batsman. Aiden Peek was impressive with the ball toiling hard all day, he was supported by skipper AJ Grant and Ryan Danne. A dominant second wicket partnership saw Easts pass 120, before Aiden Grabbed his second wicket. This was quickly followed by AJ Grant grabbing the 3rd pole, and momentum looked to be back with the students, however a very strong fourth wicket partnership pushed the game out of reach.
Will Lawrence batted with poise and control brining up his hundred as he ensured the result would go against the students. Easts passed our total for the loss of just 4 wickets in the 59th over.
Overall, a disappointing performance by the students, highlighting the need to regroup and come out next round with renewed vigour and determination to get our season back on track.
5th Grade:
Easts 272 (M Phoebus 3/43, Islam 4/48) Sydney Uni 10/175 (H Kermond 61, A Bell 36, L Course 5/29, V Agrawal 3/46)
Starting the day 1 down meant we were always behind the eight ball and unfortunately some good disciplined bowling kept us out of the game most of the day. Despite a few encouraging partnerships we regularly lost wickets in clumps removing any momentum from the chase. Hugh Kermond fresh from his 80 last week in 4th grade continued his good form, hitting a controlled 61. Hugh was well supported by Alex Bell (36) however Alex’s dismissal proceeded us losing 3 wickets for zero runs to fall from 2/69 to 5/69. Mike Harris and Ethan Clout did their upmost to support Hugh however we were unable to get close enough to the required 272 eventually dismissed for 175.
A disappointing chase against a strong team the boys will have to come back bigger and better in round 6 against Gordon.
Metro Cup: Sydney University 135 (P Carfax 44, M Miles 22, B Speechley 6/22) & 7/210 (A Wilkinson 60, B Kayani 35, J Dowd 3/27) Def by Penrith 171 (J Dowd 75, M Sullivan 45, M Miles 5/29, A Wilkinson 3/42)
After winning the toss and choosing to bat the Uni batsmen struggled to make any progress against consistent bowling and tight fielding. Loose shots under pressure brought us to 5/26 after just 11 overs. A steady effort from Pat Carfax (44) held the innings together. He combined with Brad "the wall" Kayani and Murray Miles (22) to bring our total up to a modest 135.
A strong start from our opening bowlers saw Penrith in trouble at 2/1, however, an attacking 3rd wicket partnership saw our total chased down with 8 overs still left to play. A fiery spell from Murray Miles lead to the loss of quick wickets leaving Penrith 6/165 at stumps.
Beginning the second day the students knew they needed quick wickets in order to set up a come from behind, game for the ages, win. Miles (2/4 - final figures 5/29) found movement off the seam early to close out Penrith's innings after they only added 6 runs to their overnight total.
The first innings lead of 36 was quickly reduced as the Uni openers put on 74 for the first wicket. A steady fall of wickets and a short collapse had the students 6/126 at tea, just 90 runs in front. After losing a wicket after the break Uni conceded the chance of setting a large enough total had slipped out of reach. Batting until the close of play we finished 7/210. Danny Wicks and Brad Kayani both finished the day on 35*.
Despite outperforming the home team on day 2 we were unable to gain any points. Only 3 Penrith batsmen managed double figures across their whole innings with the scorers recording a total of 6 ducks. However, 135 proved to be too small a total to defend. A strong second innings performance and a hearty bowling effort should build momentum for the team who head back to St Andrews next weekend.
PGs: Sydney University 204 (K Jacobs 59, H Kerr 35, C Lorenzato 32, D Fallins 4/38) Def By Sutherland 9/205 (S Khan 59, D Fallins 45, T Doyle 37, K Elley 4/26)
Round three of the Poidevin Gray saw our Uni boys battling it out against North Sydney on a flat, slow wicket at Bon Andrews oval. With skipper Nicky Craze going 3/3 at the toss, the students handed North Sydney the ball with intentions to set 250+. Kerr (30) and Jacob (33) had the students off to an aggressive start against the new ball, before Litchfield (33) and Craze (62) solidified the innings with a steady partnership throughout the middle overs. With the students finishing off the innings with some much needed horns and good running from Lorenzato (24*) and Elley (19*), a total of 235 seemed a potentially chasable target for North Sydney. However the students backed up their efforts with the bat seeing Holloway (5/30) tear through North Sydney’s batting order along with tight spells from Whitaker (2/23), and Danne (1/17) who made the total of 235 become quite a stretch - North Sydney all out for 153.