1ST GRADE
Sydney Uni 8-351 (dec): S Hobson 109, T Cummins 73*, B Trevor-Jones 41
Sydney 5-192: D Malone 4-45
*Match Abandoned
Following Steven Hobson’s remarkable 109 and Tim Cummins’ 73 Jazzy Rinka, the students had set Sydney a total of 350 to chase on day 2.
In light of Damien Mortimer owing the first case of the season, the boys had even more of a reason to be fired up and ready to get stuck in after what was a fiery first days play (premium only thanks Darren). Tim Ley and Joe Kershaw led from the front and bowled tight lines to apply pressure to Sydney’s top order.
This pressure led to the breakthrough provided by Hayden Kerr (1-38), who bowled in tandem with Dugald Holloway to set up what looked to become an exciting afternoon session.
Enter Devlin Malone (4-45) who had everything to prove after his abysmal performance in Nash which some would say cost the Bowlers the game…. With his iconic wrong-un, Devlin tore through the middle order and was simply a class above. With promising signs at 5/190, the students looked to be on top in what would be an exciting last session, however, the cricket gods had other ideas with the rain settling in for the afternoon session.
Match drawn, and the students look to build upon their shorter format form that was displayed on Sunday for the last 2 rounds before Christmas.
2ND GRADE
Sydney Uni 117 & 3-132: J Holloway 37
Sydney 180: L Neil-Smith 3-37, K Tate 3-50
Back over the bridge to Drummoyne, and back to business. Nash was unsurprisingly difficult for the young, losing 4/0 again, and thus having a 23/0 aggregate over the round, this was a bitter pill to swallow.
Sydney was 7 down with a lead of around 30, and Uni needed quick wickets to begin to dictate how the game should be played. Ben Joy and Kieran Tate did their job nicely, with a wicket in the first over of the day for the latter. Joy bowled with considerable pace which seemed uncomfortable for their English wicketkeeper-batsman, forcing him to have time out of the game after being struck on the head. It was a brief affair, and with Uni trailing by 80, we really needed a strong opening partnership between Litchfield and McElduff. They started positively, both scoring fluently in various areas of the oval. McElduff continued his work, scoring a valiant 90, his highest score at the club. Nicky Craze’s antics were equally Dravidian in the way he went to 0 off 49, before a marvelous single, accompanied by what was likely the loudest cheer Drummoyne has heard for years. He occupied an end for the rest of the curtailed day.
It was a miserly affair, with the state of the game being very mundane, hard to change and increasingly wet. At the stroke of tea, a most biblical storm decided to visit, and blew a gale over the covers, soaking both Sydney CC players and their wicket. It was a rather smug moment as the Uni boys tucked into the delights of tea, including croissants, bite-size Tim Tams and a myriad of coloured jelly sweets, whilst the home team slaved away on the cold and sodden covers in the rain. The game lacked impetus and we shook hands. We lost on the first innings deficit. As always, there were plenty of positives to take forward.
3RD GRADE
Sydney Uni 8-319: J Hill 110, J Crowley 53, T Galvin 41
Sydney 5-147: J Toyer 3-39
*Match Abandoned
After a series of dubious showers forecasts during the week caused covers panic for your scribe (more on that later), the BoM had outdone itself and declared a 150% chance of torrential rain on Saturday during the afternoon and evening. It was therefore unsurprising that the Units arrived at Camperdown to be greeted with a clear sunny day and the very real prospect of a full day of cricket in which to attempt to take 10 wickets.
Nash was a dour, insipid affair with the youth triumphant 1-nude after old squandered several good chances, L Newington impregnable in goal. Despite early season ineptitude, young have entered a bit of a renaissance period under their captain Ryan “trust the process” Danne. This has served to enrage Josh “hip and shoulder” Toyer which will no doubt cause a few spicy fixtures in the near future.
Toyerbald and debutant Aidan “Peeky” Peek (debutants as always receiving the simplest of nicknames) took the new ball and from the start it was difficult to extract any assistance from a very good pitch and a hard and fast outfield. Toyer burgled a wicket first ball but apart from that, the Sydney batsmen looked fairly comfortable and they got themselves into a pretty solid position at 1/100. Danno entered the attack with immediate results and broke a good partnership, and then the reintroduction of a fired-up Toyer and some beguiling work from Leggie Newington turned the screws and the game went back into Uni’s favour. With a few quick wickets prior to the tea interval and rain clouds circling, Uni had the ascendancy and Sydney were in a bit of trouble at 5/147.
Ultimately though the radar had other ideas, and for once during the week the BoM was absolutely spot on, and the rain started falling in earnest. A disastrous attempt to put on the big cover resulted in Crowls needing urgent medical attention as he suffered a puncture wound to the lower arm. Thankfully Kingy from Sydney was on hand to administer first aid, which he did in a gentlemanly fashion despite Crowls’s rampant sledging of his batting ability in the over before tea.
With the rain bucketing down the game was called for a draw, and the Units retired to the sheds to enjoy a couple of libations whilst garnering the resolve needed to put the big cover back in the shed, which was achieved with a minimum of fuss, unlike the last time. A disappointing draw after a solid performance across 2 days against a strong side, one who we expect will feature at the business end of the season. A trip to the rain belt awaits, and a contest against the defending premiers.
4TH GRADE
Sydney Uni 171: A Bell 45, T Fullerton 45
Sydney 6-117: AJ Grant 3-33
*Match Abandoned
Unbelievable scenes greeted us as we traveled to the picturesque Birchgrove to take on a strong Tigers outfit. Day 1 presented a beautiful day for batting and skipper AJ delivered, electing to bat, much to the delight of the top order.
The Unit’s started brightly with Dilley and McElduff building a promising opening partnership. However, a good spell from the Tigers quick saw both fall in quick succession leaving us wobbling at 2/38. This brought Bell and Fullerton together who batted patiently to build a solid partnership that frustrated the Tigers. Both will rue missing out on the opportunity to cash in on a big score in the afternoon session, falling for 45 apiece. Failure to convert these top order starts saw the Tigers get amongst our middle order. An elegant Jazz Rinka cameo of 20 red wrestled back some momentum but the Units fell for 171, a respectable but well below par score considering the position we had put ourselves in earlier in the day.
This left 10 overs to have a red hot crack at the Tigers top order with the hope of ruining a few weekends down the track. Jazz Rinka took the new ball and struck in his first over, leaving the Tigers at 1/15 at the end of Day 1.
With rain coming on Day 2, it was clear to both sides that each would need to push hard to squeeze in an early result. Grant struck early but the Units were frustrated by the emergence of a streaky 3rd wicket partnership with numerous false strokes evading fielders. Phoebus broke the streaky stand, aided by sharp, crab-like movement from McElduff at point, allowing the bowlers to roll through the Tigers middle order. The cats on the hill could sense momentum building with the small but vocal crowd turning on the home team. Grant was the main destroyer grabbing 3 poles aided by Rinka who bowled with superb control compiling the excellent figures of 11 overs, 8 maidens, 1/4.
With the Tigers wobbling at 6/117 we were poised for a tight finish. Unfortunately the rain came, ending the match before what would have been an exciting conclusion. Whilst the 6 points may have evaded us, the lads can take a lot out of the 2 days and take momentum into Round 7.
5TH GRADE
Sydney Uni 205 & 1-48: Z Islam 59, C Lorenzato 51
Sydney 173: S Pathak 5-17, A Wilkinson 3-38
METRO CUP
Sydney Uni 6-330 (dec): J Aylward 102, S Sivapalan 53, M Ghumman 51
Randwick-Petersham 85 & 5-181: T Synnott 4-22, M Shanahan 3-23
With 1st Innings points lost on week 1 we headed back on down to the river with the anticipation of a new day and a fresh start and the aim of claiming outright points. With the weather forecast looking ominous we headed out to bat with a positive mindset knowing if we could post a decent total in and around 40 overs, then declare, we could make a game of it.
The loss of Rahman hit wicket early for 2 was little deterrent for opening partner Ghumman who continues to apply his trade with class and power on his way to another exciting 47. Mo is starting to show the sort of commitment and consistency (season avg 46.7) that would be expected from a higher grader so hopefully, promotion is on the cards soon for the big fella.
Some cameos from Cade 18, Pockney 14 and Shanahan 13 but the regular loss of wickets every few overs hampered the run rate and thus our mission. When the heavens eventually opened we took an early tea but with the rain seemingly set in and a result more and more unlikely the game was called around 3pm. Uni 5-117 off 39 overs.
The overall result was very disappointing considering our reputation and place on the ladder. Every player who participated in the match put in full effort but having only 10 players and an extremely imbalanced lineup was a frustration. Thanks must go to Shez Canagasingham who worked tirelessly to try and get a full team on the field for this round. As a grade club, serious questions need to be asked and players held accountable regarding availabilities for matches. Late Friday dropouts due to "other commitments" should be unacceptable. We have a Lions team for those who wish to play casually...
Two more rounds before the Christmas break and a chance to reboot and get back on track with one dayers at Pauls.