Round 7 Day 1 – Randwick Petersham (17th Club Championship) v University of New South Wales (12th Club Championship)

After a tough Round 6 against Sydney, when only Fifth Grade managed to grab the 6 points, we faced local rivals UNSW in the last 2-day fixture before the Christmas break. It was also a big weekend in the Metropolitan Cup with the Big Green v Gold Derby at Marrickville Oval. To complete an actioned packed weekend of cricket 1st grade played their final T20 Round match needing a big win over Gordon to qualify for the finals. Having played a couple of the Grade powerhouses in Penrith and Sydney in the past two matches, picking up Club Championship points this round against UNSW and next round against North Sydney is going to be vital if we are to climb up the ladder before Christmas. There were a few surprises on Day 1 against UNSW with First Grade already conceding first innings points, whilst our Second Graders have already claimed first innings honours. The lower Grades all look evenly matched heading into Day 2, with Third and Fourth Grades desperate to get back in the winners circle, while Fifth Grade look to continue their winning run. Read below for who starred against our local rivals and the latest First Grade debutant for the Club.

After a tough Round 6 against Sydney, when only Fifth Grade managed to grab the 6 points, we faced local rivals UNSW in the last 2-day fixture before the Christmas break. It was also a big weekend in the Metropolitan Cup with the Big Green v Gold Derby at Marrickville Oval. To complete an actioned packed weekend of cricket 1st grade played their final T20 Round match needing a big win over Gordon to qualify for the finals. Having played a couple of the Grade powerhouses in Penrith and Sydney in the past two matches, picking up Club Championship points this round against UNSW and next round against North Sydney is going to be vital if we are to climb up the ladder before Christmas. There were a few surprises on Day 1 against UNSW with First Grade already conceding first innings points, whilst our Second Graders have already claimed first innings honours. The lower Grades all look evenly matched heading into Day 2, with Third and Fourth Grades desperate to get back in the winners circle, while Fifth Grade look to continue their winning run. Read below for who starred against our local rivals and the latest First Grade debutant for the Club.

1st Grade – Randwick Petersham (7th) v UNSW (15th) @ Coogee Oval
Team – A.Sams (+), Scicluna, Price (c), D.Sams, Psarakis, Critchley, Hassan, Eaton, Semple, West, Neser

Result – Randwick Petersham 10/123 – 47.5 Overs (Critchley 37) and 0/34 – 11 Overs (A.Sams 25 n/o) v UNSW 4/124 (dec) – 33 Overs (D.Sams 1/30-10, Semple 1/31-8)

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First Grade returned to Coogee Oval for the first time since Round 1, looking to rebound from a narrow defeat against Sydney in Round 6. The side was forced into a couple of changes with captain Alex Kemp a late withdrawal with a rib injury, while Soumil Chhibber was ruled out with back soreness. Making his First Grade debut was Suffan Hassan who was rewarded for some excellent Second Grade scores this year. Suffan has been a regular and consistent 2nd Grader for a number of years with the bat, and it was great to see another young player get an opportunity. Strike fast bowler Greg West was also fit to return after an ankle injury saw him miss the last two 2-day fixtures. Nathan Price took over skippering duties from Alex Kemp.

M Critchley

For a side that has been very consistent this year, Saturday was a rare bad day for First Grade as they were rolled for 123 before University promptly passed our score and declared. Seeking a couple of 2nd innings wickets late on the day, UNSW have invited us back into the game, a courageous move given our side is very unlikely to have another day like Saturday. We ended Day 1 already 33 runs in front and with every intention of reversing the result and claiming outright points next week.

UNSW won the toss and made use of a fresh wicket with young pace tyro Declan White claiming 6 wickets. On our side, we had a number of guys get starts, however only Matt Critchley (37) was able to build upon that start. Promoted from Number 10 to Number 6, Critchley showed in glimpses why he already has a First Class century for Derbyshire. Debutant Suffan Hassan did a great job to be 14 n/o and keep his wicket intact as wickets tumbled around him.

With the ball Daniel Sams, Adam Semple, Francois Neser and Matt Critchley all claimed one wicket, however no one managed to replicate the damage done by White for UNSW. With University declaring one run past our score, it has set up a real contest next week when I think our boys will hit back hard and make a big push for outright points.

1st Grade T20 Round 4 – Randwick Petersham (2 wins, 1 Loss) v Gordon (0 wins 3 losses) @ Chatswood Oval

Team – Price (c), Semple, A.Sams, D. Sams, Psarakis, Critchely, Scicluna, Eaton, Chibber, Neser, West

Result – Randwick Petersham 9/165 – 20 Overs (Price 57, Eaton 24n/o, Psarakis 24) Defeated Gordon 9/162 – 20 Overs (D.Sams 3/25-4, Chibber 2/30-4)

With a quarter finals spot potentially up for grabs, our reigning champion T20 side headed to Chatswood Oval for a showdown with Gordon. The Stags have experienced an outstanding start to the Belvedere Cup, sitting equal top of the table with Northern Districts. However, their T20 form has not been flash having yet to register a win from three starts in the competition, meaning they were playing for pride. We required a victory to try and secure a Top 4 spot in the Sydney Sixes conference, having had 2 wins a 1 loss to date.

N Price

In a thrilling game the boys managed to claim a 3 run run victory after looking dead in the water several times. However in a true indication on how our luck is running this year we missed the Top 4 by an extremely fine margin behind both Newcastle and St George on percentages. This despite winning 3 of our 4 Preliminary games. So sadly there will be no title defence this season despite another excellent T20 campaign.

Stand in captain Nathan Price (57) belted seven 4’s and three 6’s on his way to 57 from 35 balls to set up our innings. James Psarakis (24) held the innings together in the middle overs, before Sean Eaton (24n/o) bludgeoned some lusty blows to propel us to a highly competitive 9/165 from our 20 overs.

In reply Gordon looked to be in cruise control at 1/70 before we stuck back with a run of wickets. Soumil Chibber (2-30-4) showed his outstanding variations for us to regain control in the middle overs. Some fantastic fantastic death bowling from Daniel Sams (3/25-4) ensured we restricted Gordon to under 6 an over for the final 2 overs to ensure a tight and tense 3 run victory. Despite a great all round team performance the win was soured somewhat by the news that we had missed the finals by the narrowest of margins.

J Scicluna

2nd Grade – UNSW (2nd) v Randwick Petersham (17th) @ David Phillips Oval

Team – Everett (+), Moran, Balbirnie, Holland (c), Ram, Sharma, Stares, Hart, Burton, McKenzie, Tyson

Result – UNSW 10/157 – 42.2 Overs (Tyson 3/28-16.2, Ram 3/61-15, Burton 2/26-6) v Randwick Petersham 3/186 – 51 Overs (Balbirnie 85 n/o, Moran 49, Ram 20 n/o)

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Second Grade headed to David Phillips Oval with the Village Green out of action for two years and the Bees temporary higher Grade home, Alan Davidson Oval, only being hired out for First Grade matches this season. We welcomed back Max Moran fresh from his exams, while Scott Sharma was rewarded for his amazing Third Grade performance against Sydney with a promotion to Second Grade.

Fired up after a disappointing Day 2 against Sydney, Second Grade produced easily their best day of the season by pummelling the second ranked team in the competition. UNSW contested the final last year and, sitting in second spot this year, have an experienced team with plenty of players that have played First Grade. After losing the toss, we put in a complete bowling performance by rolling the Bees for 157, before replying with a dominant 3/186.

After Tom McKenzie unfortunately tore his hamstring with the fourth ball of the match, we found ourselves a bowler down and a fielder down. Special mention to Rehaan Nawaz, Sam Boyns, and Gavin Fox who all did a great and selfless job filling in as sub fielders. Everyone lifted, and James Tyson (3/28-16) and Kushal Ram (3/61-15) ripped the heart out of a strong UNSW batting line up. Ashley Burton (2/26-6) continued his ability to chip in with wickets wherever he is picked.

With the bat, it was excellent to see Max Moran (49) return to form with a confident and stylish innings. Max had experienced a slow start to the season, however his excellent form in PG’s last season and Second Grade returned here, and hopefully he can build some momentum for the remainder of the season. Andrew Balbirnie (85n/o) showed his class here by pulverising a strong UNSW attack to all parts of the ground. Balbirnie has been on the cusp of a big score this year and delivered here, looking well on his way to a century after notching up 13 boundaries.

Balbirnie and inform all-rounder Kushal Ram (20n/o) will resume on Day 2. Having already claimed the 6 points, some more quick runs will set up a real opportunity to claim what would be a massive outright victory that would put us back in the playoff hunt, having experienced a slow start to the season with plenty of new players settling in at the club.

3rd Grade – Randwick Petersham (16th) v UNSW (9th) @ Petersham Oval

Team – Ahmed, Schubert (+), James, Lyle, McLoughlin, Mitchell, Calder, Stafford (c), Graham, Loth, Tsalikidis

Result – Randwick Petersham 10/250 – 79.5 Overs (James 105n/o, Ahmed 40, Calder 39, McLoughlin 34) v UNSW 0/9 – 4.5 Overs

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Third Grade were back at Petersham Oval for the first time since Round 1 to take on UNSW. It might have been a case of home comforts for Stafford’s men, having not had a victory since Round 1, with a number of very close losses against strong sides and a tie against Penrith. Jack James was back in the line up after his commitments with Shore were finished for the year. David Mitchell was elevated to Third Grade after a classy half century in Fourth Grade the previous week.

On a flat wicket, the skipper won a good toss and we managed to rack up a highly competitive 250 with one of our most promising young stars having a breakthrough innings. There were a number of contributors from the batsmen on the day with Ahmed (40), Calder (39) and McLoughlin (34) building a great platform to bat around. The score could have been a lot closer to 300 if one of those boys had made the most of their great starts and gone on and made a big half century.

However, the undoubted star of the day was youngster Jack James who was promoted to Number 3 in the batting order. James took the extra responsibility on his shoulders by the scruff of the neck, making a stunning unbeaten century, his first hundred for the Club. Jack has been a player of high talent for our AWGS team for the last two seasons, being our Vice Captain and leading run scorer last year. He Captains the First 11 at Shore High School and, because of school commitments, has had limited Grade opportunities over the last two years. However, here he showed he is undoubtedly a First Grade player of the future by holding the innings together.

Special mention to Number 11, Kyri Tsalikidis, for hanging in there and allowing James to bring up his century. Jack did an outstanding job of farming the strike, displaying a maturity beyond his years. With runs on the board and with this side desperate to banish the memories of many near misses this season, I think 250 will prove a hard chase for UNSW as we go in search of our second victory of the season next week.

4th Grade – UNSW (18th) v Randwick Petersham (16th) @ David Phillips Oval

Team – Eldridge, King, Murdita, Powell (+) Gracias Flor, Bourke (c), Standing, Budwee, Boyns, Jenkins, Fowler

Result – UNSW 10/259 – 78.5 Overs (Boyns 3/39-12.5, Budwee 2/52-16, Fowler 2/60-13) v Randwick Petersham

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Fourth Grade returned to one of their happy hunting grounds, David Phillips Oval, to take on 18th placed UNSW. With both sides down the ladder after consecutive losses, it was a crucial game for both teams looking to stay in touch with the Top 6 heading into Christmas. Both Jackson Eldridge and Jack Standing were rewarded for outstanding Round 6 performances in Fifth Grade, with a promotion to Fourth Grade for this game. Left arm orthodox spinner, Mac Jenkins, was back in the side with his First Eleven commitments with Waverley College finished for the year.

After losing the toss and being asked to field, it turned into an attritional day’s work as our bowlers grinded away, to eventually dismiss UNSW for 259 in the final over of the day. It was a good fightback for the boys after UNSW had looked well placed to score over 300 as they powered their way to 2/140 at the tea break.

Sam Boyns (3/39-12.5) continued his fine season by taking 3 wickets, including two that were clean bowled. After having to play Metropolitan Cup last season due to the Club already having filled their three import spots, Boyns is now showing his true talents as he stars for Fifth Grade and now Fourth Grade. Both Gabriel Budwee (2/52-16) and Cam Fowler (2/60-13) chipped in with a couple of wickets, with solid spells of bowling. It was also good to see young AWGS left arm spinner Mac Jenkins (1/50-19) tie down one end, bowling with impressive control and variation.

Next week sees a great opportunity for one of our batsmen to step up and make a century and get the season back on track. With Eldridge and Standing both coming off 70’s in Fifth Grade, we have some in-form players to inject into the mix and, on a small ground and quick outfield, if we bat out the day, we should be able to claim all 6 points and grab our third win of the season.

5th Grade – Randwick Petersham (5th) V UNSW (13th) @ Kensington Oval

Team – Ruston, De Silva, Mullins, House (+), Montedoro, Hilder, Sidney, Singh (c), Jones, Waugh, O’Loughlin

Result – Randwick Petersham 10/164 – 57 Overs (Hilder 39, Singh 21) v UNSW 3/38 – 21 Overs (Singh 2/15-11, Waugh 1/9-6)

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Flying 5’s headed back to Kensington Oval, where they are already a perfect three wins from three matches, to take on 13th placed UNSW. The side had a number of changes this week, including the return of Mitch Jones. Jones was a popular member of Third and Fourth Grades for a number of years, and the accurate left arm spinner would have been a welcome addition to Fifth Grade at this juncture of the season. It was also fantastic to see consistent AWGS fast bowler Mitchell O’Loughlin finally rewarded for a number of strong AWGS and Metropolitan Cup performances with a start in 5’s.

The tempo of Fifth Grade games for Singhy’s men this year has been extremely fast, with more than 10 wickets falling on a number of occasions, and it was no different here. Thirteen wickets fell at Kensington with the match pretty evenly poised, with UNSW 3/38 in reply to our 164. With the Skipper claiming a couple of late breakthrough wickets to perhaps give us the momentum heading into Day 2 against our local rivals.

With the bat, it was another sub-par performance overall. However we managed to post a competitive score thanks to a middle and lower order revival. Matthew Hilder (39) again scored runs, showing all his experience, whilst Singh (21) continued his decent batting form as we scratched our way over 150, after recovering from 7/80. Mitch Jones made the most of his return with a gutsy red ink to help us to continue to frustrate the UNSW bowlers down the order.

With three late wickets, we have a real opportunity to get a fifth win from seven games, and a third straight victory if we can take the remaining 7 wickets for under the 126 runs still required by UNSW. With the wicket a little up and down at Kensington, disciplined bowling and good fielding will be the key to another 6 points.

Clovelly Community Bank Branch Bendigo Bank RPC Green (10th) @ Marrickville Park

Gold Team: Dean, Bhavsar, Crawford, Saini, Jastrzab, McDonough, Fox, Lee, Stewart, L O’Loughlin, Connolly, Khoo

Green Team: Papathansiou, Batra, Sapariya, M Wall, Marsden, Andonopoulos, Mohan, Coovre, Kashyap, R Wall, Murphy, C De Silva

Result: Randwick Petersham Gold 297 (Crawford 113, Saini 89, Marsden 4/43) v Randwick Petersham Green 0/44 (Batra 27*)

http://www.smcc.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2458917 

The Randwick Petersham Metropolitan Cup sides descended on Marrickville Park – where development was going strong and the air-conditioned demountables proved to be some of the most comfortable dressing rooms in Sydney – for the first of two derbies this season. The day belonged to ‘Bigger than average’ Neale ‘Cindy’ Crawford, who after 1363 runs and seven season in the Metro squad (along with 507 grade runs), brought up his first century for the club. Aided by a friendlier than average Marrickville deck, quicker than average outfield, power-packed drives and a few dashings of luck along the way, Neale piled on 113 as the cornerstone of Gold’s competitive total of 297.

Vishwas Saini (89) joined Neale at a slightly precarious 2/16 and made the early running with a well-cooked innings that started off watchful, before unleashing a series of clean hits across a wide arc in front of the wicket. The pair made it to 2/162 at tea, and continued to pile on runs to the tune of 159, before the returning Jordan Marsden (4/43) cut a swathe through the Gold middle order, taking 4 wickets on the trot with clever use of the movement on offer to drag the Greens back into contention. Neale and Adam Lee (24) got the innings back on track before Neale finally holed out to deep mid-on to give Peter Andonopoulos (2/23) his first wicket for the club. Ryan Connolly (12*) pushed the Golds to a final score of 297.

A fiery final phase of the day saw Green move to 44 without loss, with Rohan Batra (27*) and Apollo Papathanasiou (13*) surviving a stern examination from the returning Hayden Fox and Gold bowlers. A great contest is on the cards next week, with 254 runs needed for Green and 10 wickets needed for Gold.

Jeremy Jastrzab