Player of the round, 5

Voting has been completed for the Sydney Uni Cricket Player of the Round following Round 5 of the McDonald's NSW Premier Cricket competition.

The Surjits Player of the Round goes to Jack Holloway for his composed and measured debut second grade hundred, posting 131. 

The Nags Head Performance of the Round goes to Hugh Kermond, for his dominant 80 in fourth grade on day one followed by his patient 61 in 5th grade day two.

It was Jacks debut opening the batting in second grade against his junior club, and he combined with Will Hay for a 144 run opening stand before going on and posting his first hundred for the club since scoring 124 for fourth grade in 2014.  Jack came close last year to scoring another hundred, however was caught on the long on boundary for 99 against Randwick Petersham.

Hugh Kermond's 80 on day 1 of round 5 in fourth grade was his highest NSW Premier Cricket score (Hugh has scored a 111 in Metropolitan cup in 2014) and followed this up with his highest 5th grade score of 61 on day two after being bracketed for returning state players. 

Jack receives the Surjits Indian voucher for two people, whilst Hugh claims a $20 voucher at the Nags Head Hotel.

There were a few honourable mentions this round:

Kieran Elley, who took his career best second grade figures of 5/49 in securing the 196 run victory. 

Dugald Holloway, who tore through North Sydney's Poidevin-Gray Shield taking 5/30 with his best figures in the grade.

Tom Kierath, took 4/12 in Easts first innings and 3/8 in the second to finish with match figures of 7/20.

The leaderboard for the Player of the Year Award currently has Nick Larkin leading following his two best on ground performances against St George and Manly-Warringah.

Five things we learned from Round Five

1    Manly has a new spinner

If Matt Alexander had been available for Manly last week, Joe Graham would have been playing Seconds at Graham Reserve, rather than driving south to Glenn McGrath Oval to make his First Grade debut against Sutherland.  The Caringbah ground isn’t an ideal place for an off-spinner, with its flat pitch and fast outfield, and the game was a predictably high-scoring one, with Manly (five for 398) holding off a fast-finishing Sutherland (385) to win by 13 runs.  Graham emerged as the unlikely match-winner, claiming seven for 148 from 34.2 overs.  If he was punished at times (going for nearly four and a half runs an over), he showed an excellent temperament, maintaining his line and length when under pressure, and collecting wickets at crucial times - including the first five of the innings.  Not a bad debut for a player who joined Manly as a Fifth Grade batsman and occasional medium-pacer.

2    St George’s slump is unprecedented

It’s hard to remember the last time St George began a season with five matches and no points – if, indeed, it ever happened.  Even in 2004-05, arguably Saints’ worst season on record (finishing 17th), they actually won their first three games. But the loss to Gordon in Round Five left St George firmly anchored at the foot of the competition ladder, with four losses, a draw, and zero points.  No-one sensible ever rules out St George’s chances – even chasing the home side’s 364, there were glimpses of hope when the in-form Kurtis Patterson and dynamic Moises Henriques were together at the crease.  St George had reached three for 175 when Matt Junk removed Patterson and then, for the second time in as many games, Tym Crawford took the key wicket for Gordon, hanging on to a return catch from Henriques.   St George has suffered this season from the loss of last year’s strong middle order (Ashton May, Damian Bourke and Englishman Rory Burns), but its attack has also found wickets hard to come by, having taken only 35 wickets so far this season.  It’s no coincidence that Gordon, still unbeaten and still leading the table, is the only side yet to have taken 50 opposition wickets.

3   Sydney has some depth

Five rounds in to the competition, Sydney is dominating Second Grade with five straight wins, one of them outright.  Sydney hasn’t run up the massive scores some teams have achieved, but it has kept a fairly stable side (using only thirteen players so far) and its bowlers have performed extremely well.  The experienced spinner Ash Squire, with 17 wickets, is currently the leading bowler in Second Grade but Ryan Corns, Alexander Bloomfield and Justin Rodgie have been just as effective.  Bloomfield’s 5-33 in Round Five was his best return for Sydney, and helped his side defend a modest 232 against Blacktown.

4   At North Sydney, 400 is the new 200

Teams that were knocked over for 200 used to console themselves that “At least it’s something to bowl at”.  Now, with flat pitches and flatter seams, they say that when they make 300 – Mosman, Sydney University and Western Suburbs were all chased down last weekend after posting scores well above 300, and three other sides only narrowly defended bigger totals.  At North Sydney, it looked as though 400 might be the par score – chasing the home side’s seven declared for 414, Parramatta reached four for 357 with plenty of overs in hand.  Nick Bertus destroyed the bowling on his way to his third century in five matches this season, and seemed to have set up a memorable win for his side.  But Jake Lintott and Robbie Aitken triggered an astonishing collapse, in which Parramatta’s last five wickets fell for only eleven runs, and North Sydney sneaked home by 23 runs.  It was a memorable game for the ageless Aitken, who followed an unbeaten century with three vital wickets – all against his old club, and the club for which his father and uncle played for so many years.  For good measure, he passed 10,000 First Grade runs during the game.

5    Matt Hughston is a handy Fifth Grader

Say your side has scored six for 291.  And you’ve dismissed four of the other side’s five top order batsmen for scores of 19, 11, 2 and 1.  In Fifth Grade.  You don’t lose from there, do you?  Unless, of course, the other top order batsman is Matt Hughston, who has just decided to play his first match of the season for Sutherland.  Hughston retired from First Grade at the start of last season, having decided that it was time to focus on his career away from the game.  But the right-handed opener (who represented the NSW Second XI only a few seasons back) is still only 33, and is still a tough player to remove in any grade.  On Saturday, he batted through 68 overs for an unbeaten 197, steering Sutherland to a six-wicket victory over a rather unfortunate Manly.  It was, for people who count these things, the highest score ever recorded for Sutherland in Fifths, surpassing Matt Burg’s 176 not out at Tonkin Oval in October 2011.  Sutherland’s opponents that day?  Manly.  Burg, incidentally, had a bizarre season - apart from his massive hundred, he played fourteen innings in Fifths and was dismissed for six or less in eleven of them. 

Match Report: Round 5 v Easts

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.

Mortimer to make his Thunder Academy debut alongside fellow Student

Two students have been selected for the Sydney Thunder Academy side to play the Lahore Qalanders today at 4:00pm at Pratten Park. 

Damien Mortimer, averaging 91.7 this season, has been selected to make his debut for the Sydney Thunder Academy.  Damien started his season with a brilliant hundred against Hawkesbury and followed that up with a powerful 64 against Blacktown in round two of the Kingsgrove Sports T20 Cup.  Damien showed his class once again in round 5 against Easts with a rapid fire 61.

Damien will be joined by Sydney University team mate Tom Rogers.  Tom Rogers, fresh from his Futures League game last week, will look to continue pressing his claims for higher honours.  In Round 1 of the Kingsgrove Sports T20 Cup, Tom tore through Penrith taking 3-12 off his four overs. He also impressed in the first two Thunder Academy games earlier in November bowling with great pace and bounce.  

Good luck to both our boys today. 

Top Ten Tuesday

Milestones Monday

Kieran Elley, who took 5-49 against Eastern Suburbs, returned career-best figures in Second Grade while capturing his first five-wicket haul for the Club.

Tom Kierath played a key role in Third Grade’s outright victory over Eastern Suburbs: his seven wickets for only 20 runs (4-12 and 3-8) made this his most successful match with the ball in that grade.

Ryan Danne (52 against Eastern Suburbs) scored his first half-century in Third Grade.

Hugh Kermond followed his highest Fourth Grade score last week with his highest score in Fifth Grade (61 against Eastern Suburbs).

Murray Miles’ 5-29 against Penrith in Metropolitan Cup was his first five-wicket haul for the Club.

Nicky Craze’s 62 against North Sydney was his highest Poidevin-Gray score for the Club.

Dugald Holloway, in taking 5-29 against North Sydney, returned his best bowling figures for the Club and captured his first five-wicket haul in Poidevin-Gray.

In the Sheds... Changing of the guard

In the Sheds - ‘Changing of the guard’

This is my 8th season at SUCC and I can’t help but feel there is a real feeling of evolutionary change about the club. I’m not talking so much about the state of the art new facilities or the integrated fielding/fitness approach to training (which are all great by the way). I’m talking more about the evolution of the playing roster, the natural attrition of the older statesman and the rise of the young pups. I think it is an exciting time for the club and I’m excited to see where it takes us.

SUCC stalwarts Faraday and Theobald have relinquished their playing roles but continue to serve as the fat cats on the board. Hobson has begrudgingly succumbed to family duties despite continuing to enthusiastically suggest catch-ups at the Nags. Kierath is taking more of a backseat role after so many successful years at the helm of 2nd grade. The later start time in the lower grades means he has more time with his better half and little Charlie. Morning family duties are shortly followed by afternoon family duties as he kicks the new ball at 12.16pm.

The increased focus on fitness, physical preparation and player workload management at the elite level is mirrored in our Elite Athlete Program (EAP). The club proudly boasts an EAP program second to none in the country, but disappointingly, some EAP members still display sloppy rigs; look no further than Jack Holloway. These shortcomings are overridden by the successes of the program. Hayden Kerr is a great example - rising from an overweight pre-pubescent boy from Bowral to a premiership winning (ton in the 4th grade final) 2nd grade all rounder (+/- weak achilles/sore back).

In my first years at the club, AJ was the benchmark in the gym. His immaculate (albeit 5 foot) rig turned heads (both male and female). However, his strict dieting habits were controversial – vodka waters and purchasing McDonalds at 2am but refusing to eat it. With AJ’s once immaculate rig now hidden beneath a comforting layer of beer and biltong, Jono Craig-Dibbly-Dobson seems to be the leader of the fitness sessions. His rig definitely doesn’t do him any favours but the boy is strong. He can deadlift 160kg! Lets hope that strength eventually manifests in bowling speed and keepers don’t have to stand up to the stumps anymore.

It is encouraging to see the youthful age of players filtering through the grades. This was evidenced in our Round 2 4th grade side where I was fined for being the only player in the side to not qualify for PG’s the following day. Ironically, I was fined by Brodie Frost who looks like a 45 year old Bigfoot. I was also fined for devon that day and will continue to be. Visual deterioration of hairlines is well noted in my time at the club – TheoBALD, Toyer, Holloway (Jack), Hay and Henry Clark. The latter two have also deteriorated physically. Hayza has gained 20kg since I met him in 2008 and Henry has gained 15kg, lost 15kg (repeat x 3) and contracted multiple viruses.

Another new trend in the club is the rise of the middle tier. For those unfamiliar with the tier system you are most likely tierless (Jack Hill) but here’s a quick summary. Upper tier: high-paying job, married +/- kid. Middle tier: full time job (wage irrelevant), girlfriend +/- engaged, plus Will Hay (because he’s been shunned by the upper tier due to an unfortunate incident in the Hunter Valley). Lower tier: studying, single, poor. While the lower tier flounders and the upper tier remains static, the middle tier is thriving, with many of the members of the middle tier now in leadership roles at the club. Nick is the 1st grade captain, Funky Deef is skippering the scooby doos, Ben Joy has risen from a drunk 6th grader to top 15 all time club wicket taker and the club’s humble accountant and AJ is fostering his premiership-winning young pups in the dippy 4’s. AJ will need to keep on his toes as big Wilko will continue to torment his off stump in the dark on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Despite the changes discussed above, some things have remained static in my time at the club. Smash Cowan is still a single beer mat, we are all still striving to execute our Gary Whitaker disciplines #howgood and the cats continue to congregate on the hill (except when Hayza reaches a batting milestone). Despite the inevitable evolution of the personnel and practices of the club, the vibrant SUCC culture steeped in history and tradition will remain constant for many years to come #upthestudents.