1st Grade:
Sydney University 7/340 (N Larkin 120, D Mortimer 61, L Robertson 50, Thornton 3/64) Easts 0/15
We arrived at Uni no 1 to another beautiful looking surface prepared by Daryl and the boys, flat, hard and with an even covering of grass.
The Easts skipper called correctly and surprisingly, decided to field first. A tight first session would follow, with captain Nick Larkin and the in form Mortimer taking us to lunch at 1-100. Larkin, not at his most fluent, showed great application while Mortimer continued to stroke them past point and cover. The old man Ian Moran bowled solidly for the boys from the East, in his first spell into the wind at Uni no 1. Easts new man Thornton bowled with good lift and pace in short spells.
Not to miss an opportunity for some mathematical symmetry, the students battled hard through the middle session, and finished at 2-200. Mortimer dragged one on from Thornton to end a bright 61, and was replaced by May, who accompanied skipper Larkin through to the tea break. Nick had periods of easy scoring and at times struggled to break the ring field, but showed great concentration and application to bring up his second ton in three hits, and two in a row at home. Good signs for the skipper.
Post the tea break the students attempted to push the scoring along, with good contributions from May (38), Robertson (50) and BTJ (21) . Easts quicks Magin and Thornton both toiled hard and gave nothing away with the old ball. An attacking declaration from Larkin allowed us a short stint with the ball. Alas no wickets, but we look forward to working our way through the strong Easts batting line up next week.
2nd Grade:
Sydney Uni 8/366 (J Holloway 131, W Hay 85, D Holloway 35, U Mehta 3/55) Easts 1/29 (K Elley 1/10)
Much like first grade, the boys arrived to a quality wicket at Waverley Oval, flat, hard and with a good even coverage of grass. Again similar to first grade, the East skipper won the toss and sent the students into bat.
With the promotion of James Larkin to first grade and the unavailability of James Crowley, Will Hay had yet another opening partner in Jack Holloway. It became clear after the first hour just how good the wicket was, sitting at 0/60 at the drinks break. The two combined fantastically well, with Hay sweating on anything short and Holloway punishing anything over pitched. Holloway easily passed his previous highest second grade score before joining Hay with a half century.
At the lunch break the students sat in a dominant position of 0/134 this continued immediately after the break before Hay was dismissed for 85. Losing his opening partner did not deter Jack, as he proceeded to bring up his maiden second grade hundred with a quality lofted drive for four, followed by an over-exuberant celebration. Unfortunately the dismissal of Hay brought about another quick wicket with skipper Miller departing, before Craze joined Holloway and pushed the score pasted 200. When Craze was dismissed for a well-made 30, Arnold and Kerr quickly followed losing these three wickets for 30 with the score now 5/266. Holloway attempting to resurrect the side from another collapse was eventually dismissed for a nearly chanceless 131, with uni now 6/277. Enter Jacks brother Dugald and wicket-keeper Ed Arnott (31*) these two put on 50 runs before Holloway junior was dismissed for a rapid 35. A few lusty blows from Kieran Elley saw skipper Miller happy to declare with 366 on the board and 8 overs left in the days play.
The boys bowled beautiful, with great pace and control. J Holloway, determined to prove his all-rounder status steamed in bowling aggressively at the body of the batsman making life very uncomfortable. He was well supported by Dugald and Jonathon Craig-Dobson but it was Elley who got the break through, crashing through the defence of the Easts opening batsman in the first over.
At the close of play Easts are 1/29 still requiring 338 of victory next week.
3rd Grade:
Easts 58 (K Tate 4/20 T Kierath 4/12) Sydney Uni 6/192 (R Danne 52, M Powys 51, A Shaw 48, S Lewis 3/34)
The grand final replay saw a lot of new faces in both sides with only two of the Sydney Uni XI playing. Easts, much like first and second grade, won the toss however unlike the top two grades, elected to bat. The green tinge on the wicket had Kieran Tate licking his lips as he struck with the first ball of the game. Ryan Danne was exceptional in the field with a direct hit throw unlucky not to grab the 2nd wicket for the students. Tate continued to terrorise the Easts batsman taking 4/20, he was well supported by the control and consistency of X Frawley and L McMahon, however it was the left arm spin of Tom Keirath that did the late damage, taking 4/12 off his 8 overs. Easts were reeling, eventually dismissed for a sup-par 58.
The students passed the total with the loss of just two wickets and proceeded to pile on the pain with the recently recalled trio of Danne (52), Shaw (48) and Powys (51) dominating the Easts attack. Danne and Shaw played with fantastic control and composure, allowing Powys to play his naturally flamboyant style, which he attempted to continue at the Crows Nest hotel later that evening.
At the close of play the students are in a commanding position with a 134 run first innings lead.
4th Grade:
Sydney Uni 231 (H Kermond 80) Easts 1/39.
A mature and confident knock from Hugh Kermond was the standout for fourth grade on day one against easts. Hugh was ably supported at times by Suda Sivapalan, before a slight collapse saw the students dismissed for a reasonable 231.
With a handful over overs to bowl late in the day, fourth grade picked up one wicket and set about an exciting finish on day 2 next Saturday.
5th Grade:
Easts 272 (M Phoebus 3/43, Islam 4/48) Sydney Uni 1/11.
Fresh off a comprehensive outright victory over Hawkesbury last week, the students arrived at Camperdown full of confidence against the reigning premiers, Easts.
Losing the toss and being asked to field, the boys needed a strong start, despite the best efforts from Natesh Yoganand and Ethan Clout the students were unable to make early breakthroughs.
It was only through the introduction of Michael Phoebus (3/43) and Islam (4/48) that brought about some wickets. The students eventually dismissed Easts for 283, with 5 overs to go in the day.
Unfortunately Islam was unable to replicate his bowling efforts with the bat, falling just short of stumps as we finished the day 1/11 still needing 272 for victory.
Metro Cup: Sydney University 135 (P Carfax 44, M Miles 22, B Speechly 6/22) Penrith 6/165)
A relatively disappointing day 1 against Penrith for Metro Cup. Playing with 10 men was always going to be difficulty, however PatCarfax Jnr stood above the rest with a quality 44. Pat was supported by some lusty hitting from Murray Miles.
Despite valiant efforts with the ball and in the field we were unable to restrict Penrith from passing out total 6 down, and ended the day 30 behind with a massive day two next week needed.
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)
The University’s strong PG’s side came up against an equally strong Sutherland side this past Sunday which resulted in an unfortunate last wicket loss for the side out at McGrath oval. The students started the days play off with a powerful 67 run opening partnership between Hayden Kerr and Kevin Jacobs which was then well backed up by Charles Litchfield getting the team to 1 for 97. A middle order collapse after the dismissal of Jacobs (59) saw the side 6 for 132 before young gun Christian Lorenzato (32) and Kieran Tate(17) steadied the ship helping the students post a defendable score of 204.
The home side came out swinging hard with a fast but chancy 96 run opening partnership before deadly Devlin Malone used his ex-home knowledge to make the first break through. Sutherland then continued on to 1 for 152 with only 53 runs to make with ample overs remaining. However the students then made a huge comeback bowling tight lines and lengths taking an astonishing 8 wickets for 34 runs with economical pacemen Kieran Elly and Kieran Tate taking 4 and 2 wickets respectively. The tables had turned and Uni had 19 runs to take the last remaining Sutherland wicket. With multiple LBW decisions turned down to Tate and Dugald Holloway, followed by an edge between the keeper and slip, the opposition scraped to reach the Students total in the 43rd over. An impressive display of fight and ticker from the PG’s squad to nearly bring back a match that was thought surely lost.