Undefeated Again
At the end of another successful round, Sydney Uni have maintained their berth at the top of the Club Championship Ladder. After dominant displays on Day 1, the Students were victorious in 4 out of 5 games against University of New South Wales – with the 1st grade fixture concluding in a draw.
With UNSW 0/21 overnight, in pursuit of Sydney Uni’s 348, the Students primed themselves for a long day in the field on an uncharacteristically low and slow Uni No. 1 wicket. After an early wicket from Dugald Holloway, Ben Joy (3-53) led the way with 2 breakthroughs to have UNSW 4/83. However, the dogged and uncompromising defence of UNSW’s middle order stifled the falling of wickets – signalling their intention for a draw very early. And, despite a brilliant direct hit run out from last week’s centurion, Damien Mortimer, the students were unable to bowl out the visitors, who saw out a (misleadingly close) draw – finishing the day 8/324.
Resuming at 7/290 and aware of Uni 2nd Grade’s Kohli-esque reputation for chasing, UNSW felt the pressure to score quickly and significantly in the morning session. However, with Charlie Cassell and Josh Toyer (3-74) seeing to the tail’s demise, the hosts managed only to add 29 to their total – finishing on 319 with 86 overs to play. For the Students, Ryan Danne (84) was powerful and Ryan McElduff, patient, in their 133-run opening stand. After lunch, Varun George (54) paired with McElduff for another 100-run stand before McElduff reached triple figures (his first NSW Premier Cricket century). The dominance was brought to a brief halt with McElduff (111) falling, however the composure of Dave Miller (23 not out) and Alex Shaw (21 not out) saw the Students home to a 5-wicket victory with time to spare.
With only 25 required to pass the UNSW total, 3rd Grade had their eyes set on an outright victory. After an exciting 77 from James Crowley and a typically hard-swung 40 from skipper, Ash Cowan, Uni declared with a lead of 138. With a brilliant inswinger seeing opening quick Jazz Rinka claim an early wicket for Uni, excitement for a double-victory brewed. But a flattening wicket and the newfound defence of UNSW’s top order slowly eroded the chance at 10 points, eventually seeing the captain’s shake hands with UNSW 3/128 and the Students claiming another comfortable 6 points.
Simply put, 4th Grade were clinical in their victory at Dave Phillips North. After a day out with the bat last week, the Students claimed regular wickets to bowl the Bees out for 130 after 62 overs. Shehan Canagasingham (1-22) and Tom Hill (2-24) led the way for the pace bowlers, while the accurate legspin of Will Masojada proved unplayable, as he finished with figures of 6-28 from 16 overs – seeing Uni to a 258-run thrashing over the hosts.
At Camperdown Park, 5th Grade declared immediately on Day 2 – with captain Andrew Wilkinson confident his bowlers had more than enough to defend. Proving him correct, the 5s bowler put in an all-round performance, with each bowler taking a wicket. Led by Zohirul Islam (3-15), the Students secured victory in the early afternoon – bowling UNSW out for 112 for a 183-run win.
Tough Day Out West
In Round 3 of the Kingsgrove Sport T20 Competition, Uni 1st Grade faced up against a strong Penrith Outfit at Howell Oval. Winning the toss and electing to bat, the Students lost wickets early, as Hayden Kerr (31 off 28) went about setting up the innings. After quick-glovework saw him depart, captain Liam Robertson hit a much-needed 42 off 32 deliveries to give the Uni bowlers something to defend – the Students finishing the innings at 7/123. In reply, Penrith came out swinging and connecting – each batsman finding the fence regularly to eventually chase down the total in the 11th over. After such a dominant display in Rounds 1 and 2, we are sure Uni will bounce back ahead of their fixture against the Central Coast this Sunday.
UniGames SUCCess
After 3 rounds of play, Sydney University’s UniGames squad are leading the competition with 3 comfortable wins including a double-bonus point victory. In Round 1, Jordan Gauci (50 not out) and Nicky Craze (56 not out) helped Uni to 178 from their 20 overs – before a dominant bowling display saw Swinburne University bowled out for 59. A similar bowling effort in Round 2 – led by Aidan Peek with 4 wickets – saw the Australian College of Physical Education bowled out for 66, before the Students chased it down within 10 overs for a double-bonus point victory. In Round 3, Varun George (83 not out) paired with Jordan Gauci (64 not out) for a 150-run stand, as Uni posted 161 from their 20 overs against Deakin University. Again, a solid bowling display restricted Deakin to 5/125 from their 20 overs to see the Students undefeated as they prepare for their semi-final against Macquarie University on Thursday.