From the Pavilion Round 9 vs Hawkesbury

A great weekend saw Randy Petes record the club’s 15th ‘Greenwash’, the first time it has been done against the Hawkesbury Hawks. With the Poidevin Gray boys also getting up against Sydney University on Sunday, this sees Randy Petes move into 10th position on the Club Championship ladder with 596 points, trailing leaders Sydney (782 points).

This weeks from the Pavilion is brought to you by:

Bendigo Bank – For banking needs see the friendly staff at the Clovelly Community Bank Branch of the Bendigo Bank 222-226 Clovelly Rd, Coogee, or visit their website for further information:

http://www.bendigobank.com.au/public/community/our-branches/clovelly 

1st Grade: Hawkesbury 6-220 vs RPC 1-221 @ Owen Earle Oval – Won by 9 wickets

Sent into bat after a week’s rain the Hawks were travelling easy at 0-94. And at 2-184 a big target was looming. However, our bowlers really put in the last few overs and runs were at a premium as wickets fell. In the end 220 looked a ‘below par’ score. Daniel Sams (2-33 off 10 overs) and Soumil Chhibber (2-41 off 9) shared the spoils. In the run chase it was all one-way traffic. Shaun Eaton opening the batting got a good one early but that was the last of the celebrations for the Hawks as Nathan Price joined Alex Kemp and the pair put on an unconquered 210 for the 2nd wicket. Price finished with 123* (131 balls; 9 fours; 4 sixes) and Kemp ended up 87* (119 balls; 8 fours). The Hawks tried 10 bowlers!

Unfortunately, while the win moved us up from 12th, we finished one point out of a finals berth in 9th place in the Limited Overs Competition.

However the win sees the side climb to 6th position on The Belvidere Cup ladder.

Link to scorecard: http://www.sydneygrade.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2107057&entityID=4

2nd Grade: Hawkesbury 120 vs RPC 8-122 @ Coogee Oval – Won by 2 wickets

Sending in the Hawks after a week’s rain proved a correct decision with James Tyson (4-27 off 10 overs) and Sam Wood (3-24 off 7) giving them no respite to be 7-48 in no time. With a final target of 120 we were a bit shaky at 4-40 with Jack Preddey opening with 23. However, it was John McLoughlin (25 off 61 balls) and Henry Thornton (51* off 64 with 4 fours and 3 sixes) setting up the win despite a late flurry of wickets.

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=2110357&entityID=4

3rd Grade: RPC 7-215 vs Hawkesbury 100 @ Bensons Lane 2 – Won by 115 runs

Sent in to bat proved a bonus despite the rain all week. Ben Stares (41 off 57 balls) got the side away to a great start and he was assisted by Ash Burton (35 off 79) and later in the innings Rod Stafford with 55* off 49 to set a competitive score. Early inroads by James Mahony-Brack (3-12 off 7 overs) enabled Shailen Assani (2-14 off 6) and skipper Stafford (3-12 off 5.3) to mop up for a convincing win with a bonus point.

The win sees the side now sitting in 14th position on The Mitchell Cup ladder.

Link to scorecard: http://www.sydneygrade.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2110806&entityID=4

4th Grade: RPC 6-242 vs Hawkesbury 175 @ Petersham Oval – Won by 67 runs

Once again being sent in to bat proved beneficial with the side hitting its highest score of the season. Jack Lyle (65) and David Bourke (57) got together in a 109 runs stand for the third wicket which propped up the batting. With Matt Wallis throwing the bat for a quick 41 (4 fours and 2 sixes) aided by Tyzac Bailey with 19 (2 sixes) our 242 was a tough target. And so it turned out to be although at 2-81 they were going OK. But losing 4-1 didn’t help their cause and at 6-82 they had it all to do. A 63 runs rally gave them a window, but when Tom Evens got serious (4-31 off 10 overs) it was all over. Omair Ali (2-18 off 5) also did well.

The win 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=2111159&entityID=4

5th Grade: RPC 176 vs Hawkesbury 9-147 @ Bensons Lane 3 – Won by 29 runs

Yet another team sent in to bat but able to post a reasonable score despite being bowled out in 45.2 overs. Ravin De Silva did well at the top of the order with 34 but at 7-135 many had got a start but got out. Andrew Sprowls coming in at no.10 hit well for 35 with 3 fours and a six to enable us to post a competitive total. Good bowling by Sprowls (3-25 off 10 overs); Cooper Smith (2-14 off 10) and Jack Standing (2-16 off 6) among 9 bowlers used, did not allow the Hawks any latitude and they finished 29 short despite us allowing a huge 41 extras including 37 wides! It was a win reeking of pressure put on the opposition.

The win sees the side move into 11th position on The David Sherwood Cup ladder.

Link to scorecard: http://www.sydneygrade.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2111315&entityID=4

Poidevin Gray: Sydney University 128 vs RPC 4-132 @ Coogee Oval – Won by 6 wickets

At 2-83 the students were getting full value from having won the toss. But then James Psarakis (4-24 off 9.1 overs) and Jack Preddey (4-31 off 10) bowling in tandem quickly cleaned them up. Small totals seem to create their own agenda and at 4-41 with Psarakis run out for 15, we had it all to do. But a partnership between Soumil Chhibber (47* off 75 balls with 4 boundaries) and Henry Thornton (44* off 57 with 3 fours and a six) quickly put the issue beyond doubt as they put on an unconquered 91 to take their team into the qualifying finals in fourth place. A fantastic win!

Link to scorecard: http://www.sydneygrade.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2112917&entityID=4

Green Shield Round 6: RPC 168 vs St George 126 – Won by 42 runs

The Green shield season finally resumed after the Xmas break and two wash outs with our season on the line, 1 win, 1 Loss and 2 draws (both drawn games abandoned due to the rain).

RPC lost the toss and were sent into bat on a reasonably green wicket. The loss of an early wicket brought to the crease Himanshu Kakkireni who together with Angus Clark took RPC to the drinks break without further loss. With a loss of wicket soon after drinks, Jack James and Kakkireni built a solid 50+ partnership taking the score past 100. Kakkireni ended up on a brilliant 60 off 97 balls and was well supported by Mac Jenkins who backed up his strong batting performance against Mosman with another timely cameo of 22 off 34 taking the score to 168.

168 wasn’t our best effort, would it be enough against the might of St George who chased down 200+ against us in the trial game.

Mitchell O’Loughlin (3-22 off 8) got us off to a brilliant start dismissing the opener with a cracking in swinger and soon had 2 more scalps within his first 5 overs.
Ben Scarf (1-22 off 8) chipped in with his own wicket and almost had the Captain trapped LBW. Mac Jenkins (1-29 off 9) then brought into the attack picked up the big wicket of the captain in his first over leaving St George in all sorts of trouble at 5-47, however St George dug in and fought back with a large middle order partnership getting them closer to our total but Jack Standing (1-24 off 7) broke the partnership and was followed by Tyler Von der Heyden (3-25 off 7) who picked up wickets in quick succession, leaving Ryan Connolly (1-1 off 0.3) the burglar to claim the final wicket of the innings.

Randwick had a remarkable win, easily our best performance with the ball and in the field which sees the side just outside the 8 on quotient in 9th place. Next game we take on reigning premiers Bankstown at Coogee on Thursday

Thanks to John Stewart, Adam Semple, Eddie Otto and Nathan Stares for visiting the game today and showing their support.

Link to scorecard: http://rpcc.tv/my-cricket/results/aw-green-shield.html

Rehaan Nawaz

RPC Green Shield Head Coach

Metropolitan Cup: Sydney 212 vs RPC Green 118 @ Marrickville Oval – Lost by 94 runs

Following on from the farce that was the first round of the season, the weather was clear and warm enough for long enough to allow teams to get onto Marrickville, to restart after Christmas and New Years. On a soft wicket, Green captain Alexis Coovre continued his good form at the toss, sending the Sydney team into challenging conditions first up. Green were confident with pace attack with the strong pace attack. The opposition team was difficult to recognise from their previous outings, with a number of Green Shielders turning out to bolster the Sydney ranks. Early pressure from Mark Wall and Max Brandy resulted in a slow start, before Adam Lee and Max took the first two wickets to fall for the visitors. The younger players then came to the fore, with the Sydney number 3 providing the backbone of the innings, with solid contributions around him.

Throughout the middle overs, Riley Wall bowled economically, while Alexis managed to disturb the stumps twice. Coming into the later overs, Adam Lee turned on a show at the death, taking out the Sydney’s top scorer tantalisingly close to the hundred (98) while cleaning out the lower order to register smashing figures of 5 for 34. In the process, Adam brought up his 100th wicket for Randwick Petersham in the Metropolitan Cup Competition. He is the third player after Denis Hinds (123) and John Stewart (109) to reach the milestone.

In the end, the Sydney team were bowled out for a formidable score of 212, which proved to be a hill too far from the Green team. All players were encouragingly able to get starts, but none was able to carry on where required. Neale Crawford continued his batting rehabilitation, coming back with 32 very welcome runs, while Bala Mohan hit a breezy 16 as he continues to enjoy his post-captaincy batting. The Green team were eventually bowled out in 34 overs, for a total of 118. Reflecting later, the bolstered Sydney pace attack proved to be a formidable challenge. Sydney take on the Gold team next round back at Snape Park, and look to have their work cut out for them, even if they’re confident after knocking off Penrith. The Green team have one more chance to bounce back against Sydney University, who have been an absolute basket case this season in Metro.
The loss sees the side sitting in 12th position on the Triforce Sports Metropolitan Cup table.

Link to scorecard: http://www.smcc.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2211893&entityID=2318

Metropolitan Cup: RPC Gold 148 vs Penrith 136 @ Kensington Oval – Won by 12 runs

The Gold team’s eclectic mix of imports, seasoned heads and youth put the Metropolitan Cup Competition on notice, as they beat the runaway leaders and previously undefeated premiers, Penrith, in a cracker of a match at Kensington Oval. Gold’s stand-in skipper and groundsman, Dale McDonough, lost a crucial toss and the RPs found themselves batting after a slightly delayed start. Following a week of rain and limited preparation time, the usually moribund Kensington pitch served up something rarely seen this low in the grades – a green monster. And the youthful but vaunted Penrith pace attack made good of their hype, veering the ball around corners and getting alarming bounce off a length. It was more Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, rather than Eastern Sydney, as the Randy Petes battled hard but the early batsmen were ultimately done in by the skill and conditions on display. Standing tall amid the wreckage, Dale rode his luck and produced some powerful shots in a match defining captain’s knock, batting for 108 balls and just over 2.5 hours for 66 golden runs. On a day where the boundary was hit or cleared 16 times, Dale was responsible for 9 of the hits, including a horn into a nearby birthday party.

But it all could have been worse, had Penrith held onto a number of relatively gettable chances, with Dale in particular benefitting from 3 drops and Sam ‘Spesh’ Boyns being caught behind off a no ball. From the early wreckage of 4 for 40, the score advanced to 6 for 132, with Karthi Balasubramaniam, Sam Boyns and Hayden Fox providing solid foils for their captain’s epic. Just when the batsmen thought they’d get some respite from the pace barrage, the pitch showed it also had prodigious turn, with the young Penrith leggie burgling the last 4 wickets for 16 runs, leaving the competition leaders a competitive 149 to chase for victory. After the break, with the pitch still flourishing with life, Sam made good on his assertion that “I can’t wait to bowl on this pitch”. Just as this match was a great test for the fledgling Gold team, so to this was probably the first time that the Penrith top order had faced a bowler with this pace in metro, and with experience in green conditions.

13 overs into the chase and storm of magnificent bowling and fielding placed the Gold team firmly in the box seat, with Penrith reeling at 6 for 38. An LBW, 2 great takes behind the wicket, the off peg dented following the worst shot of the day and a spectacular one handed take behind his head from the Irish skip saw Sam with figures of 5 for 7, while Paul Lawson had the 6th wicket bunting a nothing shot to cover. When Mac Jenkins joined the party, fooling the batsman in to missing a straight one, Penrith were 7 for 60 and bonus points were there for the taking. However, the inability for Gold to finish off their last two dayers almost came back to haunt them… as the life in the pitch ebbed away, so did the fielding and a contentious no-ball call took out a clear wicket. The youthful Penrith pair of their Green Shield wicket keeper (fresh off 6 dismissals) and their 14 year old leggie put on 57 runs that belied their age, pouncing on the sloppiness that crept in. At 7 for 117 and with Sam (5 for 17), Paul and Mac all exhausting their overs, Dale pulled out one further inspirational move, bringing himself onto bowl. Heads fell into hands as the first ball dropped in the middle of the pitch, only to perk up again when the ferocious pull shot landed straight into the hands of Hayden Fox at square leg.

Both teams clearly on edge, Penrith made use of the sloppy fielding to get to 136, before numbers 10 and 11 ultimately fell trying to get out of jail and to good catches from our Green Shielders. A hugely impressive victory by 12 runs for Gold, who battled the worst of the batting conditions and took just about all the catches went their way. However, they’ll be weary that their ‘4pm game’ needs improving if they’re to maintain a spot for the finals.
The win sees the side sitting in 5th position on the Triforce Sports Metropolitan Cup table.

Link to scorecard: http://www.smcc.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2211892&entityID=2318