From the Pavilion: Round 7 vs Sutherland – Day 2

The Randy Petes almost pulled off a Green Wash against Club Championship front runner Sutherland with only 4th Grade going down.

The Randy Petes almost pulled off a Green Wash against Club Championship front runner Sutherland with only 4th Grade going down. 

With the PG’s boys putting in a gutsy performance to get the win against Parramatta on Sunday, RPC are now sitting in 10th position on the Club Championship ladder on 430 points, trailing new leader Sydney (606 points).

1st Grade: RPC 5-387 (dec) vs Sutherland 192 @ Petersham Oval – Won by 195 runs

With the Sharks resuming at 0-13, instant success for Daniel Sams, Jakes Wilson (1-30) and Sam Doggett (1-13) had the Sharks reeling at 4-74. A middle-order fightback was halted by Sams who took 4 quick wickets before Adam Semple (2-29) cleaned up the tail. Sams finished with 6-60 from 18 overs), his best ever 1st Grade figures. And in one for the trivia buffs, it appears that there are only three other instances in Sydney 1st Grade cricket where one brother scored a hundred and the other took five wickets or more (Anthony Sams posted 105 while Daniel picked up 6-60):

1. Vic and Vince Emery, North Sydney vs. Glebe 1954-55. Vic took 7-67 as Glebe was dismissed for 202 and Vince scored 100* as North Sydney scored 5-220 for a first innings win.

2. Charlie Leabeater and Len Leabeater, Central Cumberland vs. University, 1926-27. Len scored 114 of 320 and Charlie took 5-64 as university was dismissed for 201.

3.Brett and Jaimie Williams, Parramatta vs. Mosman, 1993-94. Jaimie scored 104* of Parramatta’s 4-302d and Brett took 5-23 as Mosman was dismissed for 186.

The win sees the side climb to 5th position on The Belvidere Cup ladder.

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 (dec) vs Sutherland 242 @ Glenn McGrath Oval – Won by 129 runs

Skipper John McLoughlin declared on the overnight score, and the Sharks started well reaching 1-80, but the breakthrough quickly brought about a turnaround with the score slumping to 5-159. Jack Preddey (3-38) and Same Wood (3-58) then cleaned up to record a decisive victory.

The win sees the side move to 12th position on The Abert Cup ladder.

Link to scorecard: http://www.sydneygrade.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2110339&entityID=4 

3rd Grade: RPC 8-277 (dec) vs Sutherland 208 @ Coogee Oval – Won by 69 runs

Skipper Rod Stafford declared on the overnight total of 8-277, and with 3 ducks a part of the 4-37 score-line, RPC was on top courtesy of James Tyson (2-58) and Nigil Singh (3-34). The Sharks lower order was able to fight courtesy of several missed chances in the field, however Stafford was able to clean up with 5-77 off 19.2 overs for a good win.
The win sees the side now sitting in 17th position on The Mitchell Cup ladder.

Link to scorecard: http://www.sydneygrade.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2110788&entityID=4 

4th Grade: Sutherland 9-267 (dec) vs RPC 199 @ Sutherland Oval – Lost by 68 runs

Chasing 267 for victory, at 5-59 RPC was struggling until Rehaan Nawaz (26), Shailen Assani (43) and Jaya Murdita (36) combined to get the score to 7-189 before being wrapped up 10 runs later for the only loss of the round.

The loss sees the side in 15th position on The Reid Cup ladder.

Link to scorecard: http://www.sydneygrade.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2111141&entityID=4 

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

The Fighting Fives knocked over the hitherto undefeated Sharks in an impressive run chase. Resuming at 1/27, Randy-Petes lost some early wickets before Ash Kakkerini was joined by Sav Gracias Flor. The pair took the score 126 when Kakkerini, who made an excellent 57, fell just after tea. Gracias Flor became the Rock of the innings and, together with the lower order, saw the Fives pass the Sharks’ score of 171. But with the young batsman on 69 Randy-Petes batted on and Gracias Flor flayed the tired bowlers all around Kensington. In a final wicket partnership of 90 with Cam Fowler (40*) helped see Savio to his ton, finishing with 121.

In such an exciting game of cricket it is hard to decide what was the magic moment. To my mind it was Gracias Flor being dropped on 99. The moment was not made by what was probably one of the worst pull-shots ever executed at Kensington Oval, nor the fielding which was of the same standard as the mis-timed stroke. Rather, it was watching Savio’s body language as he realised how close he’d come to joining Club 99 followed by the joy of reaching a ton.

Luis Siddall

5th Grade Captain

The win sees the side move into 10th position on The David Sherwood Cup ladder.

Link to scorecard: http://www.sydneygrade.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2111297&entityID=4 

Metropolitan Cup: RPC Gold 9-225 (dec) vs 8-207 Blacktown @ Snape Park – Draw

According to Google Maps, it takes 55 minutes to drive from Whalan to Snape Park. And that’s without traffic. You’d think that if you’re driving that far to play a cricket match, you’d be hell bent on winning. Set a gettable target of 225, Blacktown seemed intent on making sure they don’t lose, building a stand out of Lego from ball one. After 20 overs, only 33 had been chipped from the target, both a credit to the relentless accuracy from the Gold bowlers and relentless defence from the batsmen.

It took Hayden Fox and his first two wickets for the club, both caught behind the wicket, to break open the game and bring in some batsmen that actually looked to score runs. But this was not easy against the twin spinning dangers of Paul Lawson and Mac Jenkins, who managed to pick up 4 wickets between them. When Sam Boyns dismissed the Blacktown captain, the score read 7/123 and Blacktown number 11 was at a wedding… the 8th wicket pair managed to make it to the last drinks break, leaving a simple equation; 19 overs for 68 runs or 2 wickets.

The RP bowlers never once wavered, and fielders pounced on what they could. Unfortunately, a couple of clear chances could not be taken and some close shouts went unanswered. Sam Boyns finally broke a stubborn stand to leave a scintillating finish on the cards – 31 runs off 31 balls and one wicket to take… Unfortunately, Blacktown closed the Lego stand for good, as the Gold fielders gravitated closer to the dead bats. The target ended up quite far away, while Gold were denied another win to negative cricket. It was a long way and a long day for no points… But with an attacking and unwavering team spirit, the young Gold side can hold their heads up high and use this as a learning experience going forward.

The draw sees the side in 6th position on the Triforce Sports Metropolitan Cup ladder.

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 & 3-88 (dec) vs Georges River 156 & 3-133 @ Marrickville Oval – Won by 84 runs

A win! It only took until the 7th round but the Green team were finally able to notch their first win of the season. Surprisingly, it only took them 31 overs to take out the remaining 8 Georges River batsmen, with one absentee. Max Brandy came out firing at his terrifying best, taking 2 wickets up front, while Alexis Coovre and Riley Wall provided excellent support with 3 wickets between them. However, on the day that Kraigg Brathwaite scored 94 out of 148 for the West Indies, the Georges River number 6 held firm and provided a similar ballast.

Even with the target far away, some clean hitting provided a couple of what-if moments, but these were extinguished by the evergreen straight breaks of George Frazakis, as he barged through the final three wickets. Just like he once did to the old fence at Snape Park. Georges River had been dismissed for 156, with their number 6 left stranded on 93. With plenty of overs left in the day, both teams decided to go another round, with Green happy to at least have 1st innings points.

In 23 overs, the Green team raced to 3/88, setting Georges River an improbable 172 to win off 25 overs. Encouragingly, Neale Crawford had some time in the middle to rediscover his crisp and powerful drives, while Rohan Batra held up an end. In the end, a run rate of 6.88 was a tad too much to sustain for Georges River, with Brandy taking another 2 wickets and Mitch Hunt taking a wicket in an extended trundle. They finished at 3/133, as the opposition feasted on some late part time offerings… The win leaves the Green team with a confidence booster heading into the much awaited Metro Derby next round.

The win sees the side in 12th position on the Triforce Sports Metropolitan Cup ladder.

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

Poidevin Gray Round 4 vs Parramatta @ Coogee Oval: RPC 180 vs Parramatta 8-173 – Won by 7 runs

At 1-100 for the loss of only Matt Moran (18) we were looking at a big score. However, the departure of James Psarakis for 42 (40 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes) and Adam Docos (34 off 84, 3 fours) triggered a collapse which saw 5 wickets fall for 24 leaving the scorecard in tatters at 6-124. A fightback by Will Lawrance (34 off 42, 5 fours) put some respectability into the total but when the last man fell we had batted only 45.4 of our allotted 50 overs—a cardinal sin in this type of cricket. Defending a very gettable 180 was a challenge but Tom McKenzie (2-30 off 10) and Sam Wood (2-21 off 8) were up to the task and the Eels were quickly in trouble at 4-20. A partnership of 60 was broken by Rehaan Nawaz (2-25 off 8) while Shailen Assani (2-23 off 8) chipped in with a couple and it looked all over at 8-123. But nos. 9 and 10 dug deep and got their side back in the game but needing 8 to win off the last two balls they could only manage a single. The RPC win was the first ever against Parramatta in this competition.