Rain Halts Play

With University Oval No. 1 and Camperdown falling prey to the week’s incessant rain, 1st and 3rd Grade saw no play on Day 2 and the matches were drawn – despite strong bowling and batting performances respectively.

Trumper Park however, fared much better and 2nd Grade commenced their chase of Easts’ 290 (declared overnight) having lost only 8 overs of play. In their first pairing of the season, openers Ryan Danne (32) and Charles Litchfield (20) were patient and in control throughout their opening stand of 56. Despite losing the openers in successive overs, Varun George and captain James Larkin steadied for a 110-run partnership before Larkin was dismissed for a well-compiled 55. Dave Miller then took advantage of a frustrated Easts’ attack, amassing a quickfire 42 off just 51 deliveries before Varun George (111 not out) and Max Hope (15 not out) took Sydney Uni’s total past 290 for a 6-wicket win in the 71st over. With a commanding victory in a round where many games were abandoned, 2nd Grade have pocketed a handy 6-points come the season’s second half.

While play was not halted, 4th grade were victim to the difficulties posed by a damp and hence, active, wicket. In pursuit of 276, Uni was bowled out for 86 and – despite the lower order resistance of Sanjiv Khalko (37) and Brayden Dilley (23) – suffered a 190-run loss to Easts.

The weather was perhaps of most frustration to 5th grade, whom – after posting 256 last week – found Easts 7/94 before play was abandoned. Tom Hill was outstanding with 5-27 and Luca Dimeglio finished with figures of 2-13.

In their opening game of the season, Sydney Uni’s PGs squad lined up against Bankstown at Bankstown Oval for a T20 clash. After losing the toss and being sent in, Uni were in a stable position of 2-42 at the end of the powerplay. However, frequent wickets stemmed the flow of runs and Uni found themselves short of par with a total of 117(Varun George top-scoring with 83 not out). After a fast start, Bankstown chased down the total 1-down with 6 overs to spare.

Success for Green-Shield Graduates - where they are now:

As an entry-point to NSW Premier Cricket, the A.W. Green Shield competition is often the first exposure to an elite training environment for many young cricketers. Today we wish to acknowledge particular players, who have continued their success after passing through Sydney Uni’s Green Shield program.

Lawrence Neil-Smith (2014/15)

After securing a rookie-contract with Tasmania – on the back of a successful showing for NSW Metro at the Australian U19 Championships (and Sydney University in NSW Premier Cricket) – Lawrence has been selected in the Hobart Hurricanes 2018 Abu Dhabi T20 Squad. Lawrence made his professional debut in the tournament’s opening round last Friday.

Ryan McElduff (2015/16)

Having recently established himself with a half-century for Sydney University 1st Grade, Ryan McElduff is also pushing for a repeat-selection in the U19 NSW Metro Team after a solid showing at the NSW State Challenge last week. Ryan scored 47 and took 3 wickets in Metro Thunder’s loss to Country Sixers.

Ben Mitchell (2017/18)

Identified for his strong performances in the 2017/18 Green Shield season, Ben Mitchell was selected to represent the U17 ACT/NSW Country Team at the U17 Australian Championships. Ben was instrumental in his side’s bonus point victory over Western Australia, where he scored 43 not out and claimed 1 wicket.

Dominic O’Shannessy (2017/18)

Already turning out for Sydney Uni’s 2nd Grade and PGs team this season, Dom capped off a successful 2017/18 season by being selected in the 2018 Cricket Australia Pathways Rookie Squad. The squad is selected by the Youth Selection Panel, which includes CA’s National Talent Manager Greg Chappell, High Performance Program Head Coach Troy Cooley and Pathways Manager Graham Manou,” (Cricket Network). We wish Dom all the best as he pushes for selection in the squad’s final 24, to partake in the CA Rookie Camp in January 2019.

With such high-achieving graduates to look up to, we wish the 2018-19 Green Shield squad all the best in their pursuit of Uni’s first ever A.W. Green Shield title.