From the Pavilion vs Sutherland Day 1

Some great performances over the weekend against Club Championship frontrunners Sutherland sees the Randy Petes in strong positions in almost every Grade…..

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Some great performances over the weekend against Club Championship frontrunners Sutherland sees the Randy Petes in strong positions in almost every Grade…..

1st Grade: RPC 5-387 (dec) vs Sutherland 0-13 @ Petersham Oval

After skipper Adam Semple won the toss and elected to bat first at Petersham Oval, Anthony Sams and Alex Kemp set the tone with a 111 run opening partnership, before Kemp was dismissed for 58. Kemp’s dismissal brought Nathan Price to the crease and the pair found scoring easy in what was a tough day for the Sharks bowlers. Sams brought up his first century of the summer but fell shortly after for 105. This was Sams’ third 1st Grade century in the past 14 months. Price continued the run-feast and was dominant throughout, hitting 18 fours and five sixes before he was removed for brilliant 162. Price’s 162 was his highest score in Sydney Grade Cricket, second above 150 and 4th for Randy Petes.

The dominant batting allowed the declaration to come after 93 overs with the score reading 5-387, however the Sharks were able to get through the tricky 4 over period without loss, finshing at 0-13.

Nathan Price on top of his game

Link to scorecard: http://www.sydneygrade.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2107014&entityID=4

2nd Grade: RPC 8-371 vs Sutherland @ Glenn McGrath Oval

Skipper John McLoughlin won the toss and elected to bat on a flat Glenn McGrath deck, and the batsman cashed in. Max Moran (94) got the side off to the perfect start, before McLoughlin was able to control the middle order with a typically clinical 80. The innings also saw him become the highest scoring batsman in the 15 year history of the Randy Petes, McLoughlin now has 5698 runs, eclipsing the 5620 record previously held by Usman Khawaja. Some helpful contributions from Barry McCarthy (51) and Sam Woon (48*) saw Randy Petes finish the day in the dominant position of 8-371 after 97 overs.

Link to scorecard: http://www.sydneygrade.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?entityid=4&matchid=2110339&gradeid=62_1

3rd Grade: RPC 8-277 vs Sutherland @ Coogee Oval

Skipper Rod Stafford won the toss and elected to bat at Coogee Oval, and the Randy Petes batting unit responded, lead by the classy Andrew Williams. After several seasons away from the game, Williams returned to being the run machine we all know, posting a classy and mature 107 from 193 balls. With this innings, the other batsman were able to bat around Williams, with Ash Burton (32 from 108), Stafford (33 from 46), Karl Schubert (25 from 27) and Rehaan Nawaz (24* from 20) all contributing to see the side post a healthy 8-277 from 81 overs.

Link to scorecard: http://www.sydneygrade.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?entityid=4&matchid=2110788&gradeid=63_1 

4th Grade: Sutherland 9-267 vs RPC @ Sutherland Oval

Skipper David Bourke lost the toss and the Randy Petes found themselves in the field on a flat Sutherland Oval track. Two wickets to Omair Ali (2-27 from 10) up front held the Sharks at bay, and then the introduction of Kyri Tsalikidis (3-57 from 18) saw the game evenly poised at 5-109. However, some solid partnerships down the order saw the Sharks fightback to reach a par score of 9-268 at stumps, with Nathan Stares (3-40 from 12) and Tom Evans (1-75 from 25) doing a great job late in the day.

Link to scorecard: http://www.sydneygrade.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?entityid=4&matchid=2111141&gradeid=64_1 

5th Grade: Sutherland 171 vs Fairfield-Liverpool 1-27 @ Kensington Oval

Sutherland won the toss and unsurprisingly elected to bat on an excellent wicket at Kensington Oval. Veteran, Mark Wall, and Debutante, Adam Lee, took the new ball and made it tough work for the Shire Folk who worked their way along at a run-rate of 1 per over for the first ten. Wall struck first with two quick wickets helped by some fine catching in the gully by Lee and Vishwas Saini. The tight bowling continued as the game proceeded to the Tea Break when Cameron Fowler opened the innings right up with three quick wickets just before the break.

The spinners resumed their wily assault on Sutherland after the break with Fowler taking one more (finishing with 4/67 off 19 straight overs) and Sahil Sekhon bowling tightly for 1/25 off 11. Mark Wall finished the innings with two wickets in a row (4/38) and we look forward to the hat-trick ball next innings.

With Sutherland dismissed for 171, the youth of the Fighting Fivers was sent out knock off a few runs in the remaining time. Vish Saini (10*) and Ash Kakkireni (13*) have set a solid foundation for next week’s run chase.

Luis Siddall

5th Grade Captain

Link to scorecard: http://www.sydneygrade.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?entityid=4&matchid=2111297&gradeid=668_1 

Metropolitan Cup: RPC Gold 9-225 vs Blacktown @ Snape Park

RP Gold arrived at Snape Park relieved to find a certain rotund and crudely rambunctious character was missing from a youthful and friendly opposition travelling in from the far west. Their inexperienced showed at the toss though, as an uncharacteristically green wicket suckered them to send the home team in. And while he bounce was variable at times, Snape remained as it usually does… slow.

This slowness accounted for the dynamic Irish duos first partnership failure, with Paul’s attempt at clearing the stratosphere instead nestling nervously at midwicket. When Dale’s typically bustling knock was cut short on 36, Randwick Petersham got a glimpse of the future… as Green Shielders Mac Jenkins and Kel Mullins put their heads down and sought to bat Gold into the drivers seat. Both players impressed with their poise and patience on a slow pitch, with Mac playing the anchor with aplomb and Kel impressing against a rather stubborn short ball attack.

Mac’s vigil was finally ended on 47 after a 64 run stand, and with skipper John Stewart plucked out at first slip immediately after, Gold was on the precipice of the usual metro collapse at 4 for 121. Sam Boyns had other ideas though. Using the crease liberally, peppering cow corner and third man, all while Kel batted powerfully at the other end, 59 entertaining runs were added. Kel eventually fell for his highest score, 79, two balls after being bowled off a no ball, but not before taking the score beyond 200 with the improving and popular E-Young. Charith and Mitchell O’Loughlin frustrated a tired team by finishing the day at an imposing 9 for 225.

Link to scorecard: http://www.smcc.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2211838&entityID=2318 

Metropolitan Cup: RPC Green 240 vs Georges River 1-22 @ Marrickville Oval

It was almost Groundhog Day for RP Green, somehow drawing Georges River for the second consecutive round. The venue may have changed, back to the familiar surrounds of luxurious Marrickville, but again the Green team was out to bat first. This time, they were bolstered by reinforcements from higher grades, and players who hadn’t suffered from last week’s loss.
And for the first time since round 1 of the 2014-15 season, Metro players were celebrating a century of the highest order. Coming back to open the innings for Green, Sean Rushton dominated the opening stand worth 104 runs, of which Batra contributed 28. Steady contributions from the rest of the order, including 25 from returning captain Bala, helped make use of the start provided by Sean. Thumping 15 boundaries, mostly square of the wicket, Sean brought up his century in the company of his good mate, Saurov, which is his first not only for Randwick Petersham, but his first in all cricket. Saurov himself finished with a handy 31.

Unfortunately, just as a mammoth score beckoned, Sean’s dismissal for 110 saw only 40 more runs added, as the innings closed out at 240. In a tricky twilight period, Georges River finished the day on 1/22, with that pole going to an ominous looking Max Brandy. Rather eerily, with 9 wickets needed by RP Green and 219 runs needed by Georges River, the match is almost identically poised to what the two teams played out last round. Groundhog Day indeed…

Link to scorecard: http://www.smcc.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?entityid=2318&matchid=2211839&gradeid=1532_1