Throw Back Thursday – Round 1

Round 1 Previews v Northern District and T20 Cup v UNI. of NSW

Welcome one and all to another great season of Randwick Petersham cricket! It was a summer of “oh so close” last season

Round 1 Previews v Northern District and T20 Cup v UNI. of NSW

Welcome one and all to another great season of Randwick Petersham cricket! It was a summer of “oh so close” last season but we couldn’t bring home a trophy or two. But judging by the excitement and enthusiasm displayed at the glittering Season Launch at Sydney City Toyota last Monday night it could all happen this summer! New coach Greg Small has created a great deal of motivation and incentive since his appointment earlier this year and the season opener on Saturday is eagerly awaited. Members, supporters, sponsors and anyone who has any slight interest in Randwick Petersham Cricket is in for a treat this season. We are going to experience some exciting cricket!! BRING IT ON!!

And a BIG WELCOME to new players FRANCOIS NESER. A right arm fast bowler who swings the ball and middle order bat from Queensland where he represented in Second X1; JAMES PSARAKIS a right hand bat and off-spin bowler who played NSW under 19 last year and qualifies again this season; TOM McKENZIE, a right arm quick from Western Suburbs who played mainly lower grades last season before debuting in 1st Grade; MOHAMMAD EMRAM, a right arm leg spinner and middle order bat originally from Bangladesh who played last year with Mosman; MAX MORAN, a 19 years old wicketkeeper/batsman from Bowral who played 1sts with Campbelltown last season; WILL PERERIA, an 18 years old left arm pace bowler from the UK who has played Second XI with Surrey and a host of young players in our lower grades including KAOSER AHMED, ASHLEY KAKKIRENI, VISWAS SAINT, SHALLEN ASSANI, SHOBEL KHAN and STEVEN SALAKAS.  BARRY McCARTHY, a right arm fast bowler and middle order bat from Ireland who plays with Durham and is in the Ireland Squad will also join us soon. We are sure all of you will enjoy playing with Randwick Petersham.

And it’s goodbye to Nathan Ellis, Nick Stapleton, Brandon and Hayden McLean, Tom Jagot, Jarryd Biviano, Nick Charlwood and the recently retired Grant Rimmer who won’t be lining up with us this season. Best of luck to all with your new clubs.

We begin our 15th season this weekend with a double-header. On SATURDAY 26 September we have a formidable opponent in Northern District in a Grade round of one-day limited overs matches starting at 9.30 am in all five grades. This is almost a replay of round 1 two seasons ago when we also played ND’s losing 1s and 2s but winning 3s, 4s and 5s. Last season against ND’s all matches were declared draws when day two was called off as a tribute to Phil Hughes who passed away during that week playing a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG.   And THIS SUNDAY 27 September we have round 1 in the Kingsgrove Sports Twenty20 Cup when we play Uni. of NSW at Village Green at 1.30pm. What a great way to spend a leisurely Sunday afternoon! See you there!

FIRST ROUND RECORD: In our 14 seasons we have achieved a fantastic record in the first game of a season. In the 70 matches covering the five grades we have won 44 with one tie, lost 20 and drawn 5. Thirds and Fifths have the best record winning the first game 10 times followed by 1sts with 9 and a tie, 2nds with 8 and 4th Grade with 7 from 14. Hope to improve that record!

1st Grade is at Coogee Oval: Adam Semple will captain our 1st XI for the fourth season when he leads his team onto Coogee Oval on Saturday. He will also be playing his 174th game for the club and his 172nd in 1st Grade—45 more than second-placed Usman Khawaja. And after a big season in England in the off-season Jack Preddey arrived back to the news that at just 18 years and 298 days he will be the seventh youngest to make his 1st Grade debut for Randwick Petersham on Saturday. He also has the prestige of being 1st Grade Capped Player no.100. Queensland fast bowler Francois Neser will also debut on Saturday in place of Jake Wilson recovering from a highly-successful English season. Our NSW Rookie Henry Thornton will miss the first two weeks of the season through injury. Our record against ND’s is so-so having won 6 and lost 7 although we have won 4 of our last 6 clashes including last year’s drawn game. We were 7th and they were 9th last season. Our ambition remains the 1st Grade Belvidere Cup. With three runners-up prizes, a third place once and fourth twice, we have been knocking on the door for years and our time can’t be far off. Let’s hope this is our year!

2nd Grade is at Mark Taylor Oval, Waitara: John McLoughlin will captain the side for the second season in what will be his 100th game in 2nd Grade. He has played 196 for the club. He is also the second highest scoring player in the club with 5,443 runs and has a real chance of overtaking the leader Usman Khawaja who has 5,620. And a big welcome back to a fit and eager Nick Warren after a two season “rest.” It’s “Even-Stevens” with 4 wins apiece and a tie in the historic clashes so there’s nothing in this game but we have won two with two draws in the last five matches. They were 5th last season and we were 12th.

3rd Grade plays at Petersham Oval: This team was the big improver last season coming home with a bit of a rush at the end. The club’s most successful all-rounder Rod Stafford with 357 wickets and 2,674 runs captains the side for the second season. He also has 467 career Grade wickets. Barton Lynch needs just 89 for 1,000 runs in 3rd Grade. We have a win ratio of 5:4 over ND’s with a win and two draws in our last three clashes. They were 8th and we were 10th last season. Ours looks a strong bowling unit.

4th Grade is at Asquith Oval: David Bourke leads the side in his 218th game for the club and his 140th in 4th Grade. Last year was a shocker finishing 16th. ND’s finished 6th. It’s 4-all in the historic analysis with 3 draws. A young side keen as mustard with the will to win. A big question: Can David Bourke again win 12 tosses in a row???

5th Grade plays at Kensington Oval: Luis Siddall is the skipper but can’t play the first round. In his place Glen Standing takes over. Glen is no stranger to 5th Grade having taken 7-40 as an 18 year old on debut with Randwick in 1986. He went on to take 58 wickets for the club. His son Jack who played in Green Shield last season makes his Grade Cricket debut. Nigil Singh backs up again and needs 16 wickets to get to 400 for the club. He also needs just 46 for 500 career wickets in Grade. This is a very young side with a lot of new players. The interesting thing here is that they have plenty to play for as NORTHERN DISTRICT HAS NEVER BEATEN US IN 5TH GRADE—WE HAVE 8 WINS AND 3 DRAWS AGAINST THEM.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Metropolitan Cup.

The musical chairs that is the Metropolitan Cup begins again for another season, as we bid farewell to Wests, Fairfield and North Sydney, while welcoming back Gordon and a second UNSW team, along with Sydney and Hawkesbury. While we no longer get to enjoy the serenity at Tunks Park or the bullet holes in the Punchbowl Oval sheds, the players are looking forward to getting acquainted with the RSL near Bensons Lane 3. 

Both teams start the season with one dayers (reduced to 45 overs each) against the students. Green takes on last year’s runners-up, Sydney University, at their home jewel of the inner west, Marrickville Oval. Gold meanwhile have an arduous road trip to David Philips North to face off against UNSW Black. UNSW is proving a popular opponent, as a number of the enlightened have since joined the Randy Pete’s are looking to exacting a healthy dose of trust, humility and respect. 

The Metro Squad for this season contains an exciting mix of new players, familiar faces and returning legends. And along with the opportunity to move up the grades, there are a host of prestigious milestones up for grabs. Fuelled by a gluten-free diet and having ran rings around everyone at pre-season, the Metro myth of George Frazakis grows as he enters the round 51 runs away from 4,500 runs in Metro, and 2 catches away from a half century. A number of other players will likely be eclipsing the 100 wicket mark and 750 run mark in the coming weeks.  

Over 40s Masters: Unfortunately we won’t have a side this year as not enough senior players were prepared to commit to the season. A bit of a shame as John Mesar has been quite inspirational in his efforts to get our seniors back on the park.

Golf: Don’t forget the Phil Tresidder Memorial Golf Day at MARRICKVILLE Golf Course on Friday 16 October. It’s our first ‘Legends” function so get your team in now!

Best of luck to everyone for the 2015-16 season. Go the Randy Petes!!

Lyall Gardner