1st Grade 50-Over Semi-Final v Hawkesbury

It was an unprecedented week in the history of NSW Premier Cricket with all five Grades being abandoned due to the heat wave experienced in Sydney. There had never been a cancellation of matches because of heat, ever, going way back to when Sydney Grade Cricket started in 1893. While we were all primed and ready for some big matches with Sydney University, that rivalry had to be put on ice for another week. Sydney Uni are up to 4th in the Club Championship, less than 50 points off the outright lead, so it will be a great test for all five Grades when we eventually kick off the 50-over matches next Saturday. The focus instead turned to our 50-Over Semi-Final in the Limited Overs competition against Hawkesbury on Sunday. With both teams well rested and coming off big victories in the quarters, a place in the Grand Final was at stake. Read below to find out how things panned out and who of our players starred on the day.

It was an unprecedented week in the history of NSW Premier Cricket with all five Grades being abandoned due to the heat wave experienced in Sydney. There had never been a cancellation of matches because of heat, ever, going way back to when Sydney Grade Cricket started in 1893. While we were all primed and ready for some big matches with Sydney University, that rivalry had to be put on ice for another week. Sydney Uni are up to 4th in the Club Championship, less than 50 points off the outright lead, so it will be a great test for all five Grades when we eventually kick off the 50-over matches next Saturday. The focus instead turned to our 50-Over Semi-Final in the Limited Overs competition against Hawkesbury on Sunday. With both teams well rested and coming off big victories in the quarters, a place in the Grand Final was at stake. Read below to find out how things panned out and who of our players starred on the day.

1st Grade Limited Overs Semi Final – Randwick Petersham (1st) v Hawkesbury (6th) @ Coogee Oval

Team – A.Sams (+), Kemp(c), Scicluna, Sangha, Psarakis, D.Sams, Semple, Eaton, Critchley, Neser, West

Result – Randwick-Petersham 9/247 – 50 Overs (A. Sams 104, Kemp 57, Psarakis 45) Defeated by Hawkesbury 4/251 – 49 Overs (D.Sams 2/57-10, Psarakis 1/30-10, Semple 1/43-9)

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First Grade had a massive weekend with a showdown against Hawkesbury in the 50-Over Semi-Final at Coogee Oval on Sunday. With both sides on an even keel, and fresh after the abandonment of Saturday’s games, the teams were ready to give it all for a place in the Grand Final. We had the extra incentive of knowing a win would ensure we would host the Final. The team remained unchanged except for Sean Eaton coming in for Nathan Price, with Price taking part in the National Indigenous Carnival in Alice Springs this week. The Hawks were missing gun spinning all rounder Ajrun Nair, however have had a strong season in all forms of the game. Having won 6 games and lost 4, the Hawks are a strong side also still in the mix for the 2-day finals.

This was one of those games that sadly got away from us, as Hawkesbury caused somewhat of an upset, winning by 6 wickets and advancing to the Grand Final. While we must give credit to our opponents, we didn’t play our best game, and we let a great position slip with the bat before spilling some catches in the field just as we threatened to get back into the contest. Our score of 9/247 was by no means a bad score, however from a position of 0/123 it could have been a whole lot better. With the bat, the Hawks’ top order rode their luck at times, but did a really good job in blunting our attack, eventually passing us 4 wickets down, with just 1 over to spare.

Star performers on the day were again our prolific opening pair of Anthony Sams (104) and Alex Kemp (57) who got us off to a brilliant start with another century opening partnership. Kemp looked in imperious form, belting a number of drives on his way to an excellent half century before he was dismissed. Sams compiled yet another brilliant century and looked in complete control of his innings throughout. Sams continued his love affair with Coogee Oval, belting his third century of the season, and reaching an amazing milestone of 1000 runs with still six weeks of the season to go. Only Nathan Price and Usman Khawaja have managed 1000-run seasons for the Randy Petes, so it is a great credit to Anthony and his quality and training ethic that he has been able to produce such outstanding results. James Psarakis (45) played a typically smart and reliable innings in the last 15 overs to stop us completely collapsing and elevating us to a competitive score of 9/247.

On a baking flat Coogee wicket we needed early breakthroughs against a strong Hawks’ top order, however they eluded us and the game started to slip away. James Psarakis (1/30-10) completed an outstanding all-round game by bowling extremely tightly and dragging us back into the game with his flat and canny off spinners. When Daniels Sams (2/57-10) and Adam Semple (1/43-9) struck a few late blows, we gave ourselves an outside chance, however it was not to be. Despite the loss, it was an outstanding season in 50-over cricket for First Grade, with this unfortunately being our first loss after five straight victories. The boys will be looking to bounce back next week with a big game against arch rivals Sydney University at Coogee Oval as we look to stay in the Top 6 in the Belvedere Cup.