Round 4 Preview v UNSW

Preview Round 4: Remembering “Tibby” Cotter

The 100th anniversary of NSW and Australian fast bowler Albert `Tibby’ Cotter’s death in World War I will be commemorated with round 4 of McDonald’s NSW Premier Cricket named in his honour.

Cotter was killed on October 31, 1917, while acting as a mounted stretcher-bearer at the third Battle of Gaza and was buried near Beersheba, which is now in southern Israel. He is one of three NSW cricketers who died during WWI, all in 1917. Norm Callaway, who scored 207 in his only innings for NSW, was killed on 3 May, and Gother Clarke, who played seven first-class matches between 1899 and 1902 as a leg-spinner, died on 12 October. Clarke enlisted as a doctor at the age of 41.

Cricket NSW CEO Andrew Jones paid tribute to the players who made the ultimate sacrifice.

 “NSW is a cricket family. Norm Callaway, Gother Clarke and Tibby Cotter are a special part of that family,” Mr Jones said.

 “Tibby Cotter made a great impact as player during Australia’s earliest years as a federation so it is fitting that we honour his contribution on and off the field with a round of Premier Cricket.

 “A short man with a slinging action which has been compared to Jeff Thomson, Cotter generated great pace and had a reputation for shattering stumps.

 “Like Thomson, Cotter was known for his pace rather than his accuracy, once hitting WG Grace on the body with a full toss.

 “He played 21 Tests between 1904 and 1912, claiming 89 wickets at an average of 28.64. In Sheffield Shield cricket he took 123 wickets at 23.45.

 “Like all of the finest cricketers who have represented NSW and Australia, Tibby Cotter played club cricket for the since merged Glebe Cricket Club, where he once claimed four wickets in four balls.

 “For well over a century club cricket has been the foundation which has made NSW the most successful first class cricket team in the world. Tibby Cotter, Norm Callaway and Gother Clarke were all an important part of that foundation.”

From the Randy Petes History books:  “The famous “bowl-off” between “Tibby” Cotter and Jack Scott.

In 1909-10 Petersham was out for just 115 after being sent in at Petersham Oval with Glebe and Australian Test bowler “Tibby” Cotter taking 4-13. The match had been billed as a “bowl-off” between Cotter and Petersham’s Jack Scott to decide the fastest bowler in Sydney.  Scott responded to the Cotter onslaught with one of his own having Glebe out for a measly 42 bowling three batsmen in the one over to reduce the score from 4-34 to 7-34. Ironically, Scott’s figures of 4-13 matched Cotter’s although the general view was that Jack was the quicker with the new ball.

Meanwhile, in 2017: Round 4 v Uni. of NSW & T20 Comp rounds 1 & 2

Two wins, two losses and a draw was not the outcome we hoped for against Fairfield-Liverpool last round but with a few draws in other games we didn’t do much damage. We dropped from 3rd to 5th in the Club Championship but remain only 43 points from the leader Sydney. A chance to make amends here as we have a sound record against University.  In the 77 matches we have played them across the grades we have won 48 to their 28 with just one match drawn. University however, holds a special place in our history as they were the first club we played as Randwick Petersham when we started as a merged club in 2002. And they belted us 4 to 1 with only 2nd Grade victorious! They are having a much-improved season and are just 15 points behind us in the Club Championship in sixth place. This round its two-day cricket over the next two Saturdays.

1st GRADE is at Alan Davidson Oval, St Peters: A season threatening injury to Soumil Chhibber early in the match and 20mls of rain the day before we batted created a few insurmountable hurdles against Fairfield-Liverpool last week. We have 2 wins to sit in 9th place on the ladder while Uni. had their first success last week to be in 14th spot. They defeated Parramatta after knocking up 351 with their opener James Henry making 153. We have won 13 to their 6 over the years although they won by 6 wickets against us at Coogee last season after we were sent in. On the plus side, our record single innings winning margin was against Uni. when we won by 276 runs in a semi-final 5 years ago.

And congratulations to Adam Semple who brought up the big double on the week-end passing 5,000 runs for the club while he took his 250th wicket in round 1. Daniel Sams needs just 6 wickets for 200 (but is out this week playing in NZ) while brother Anthony is just 146 runs short of 4,000 in 1st Grade. Josh Bohannon comes into the side after a great double in 2s last round.

2nd GRADE is at Coogee: This may be the match of the round as Uni. are undefeated with 3 wins to our 2. We are 10th and they are 4th on a compact points ladder. An outstanding 8 wickets win last round has our boys on a roll and ready to go this weekend. It’s a close record historically with a narrow win margin to them of 8 to our 7. It’s 4 all the past 8. We won easily last season by 7 wickets after Irishman Andrew Balbirnie made 121. Skipper Tom Holland plays his 120th game and needs 78 runs for 2,500 for the club. Jack James is back while Mac Jenkins returns after a successful Under 17 National Cricket Championship.

3rd GRADE plays at David Phillips South: We have 8 wins to Uni.’s 6 over the years and will need to improve to expand that record after two disasters the past two matches. The good thing about that record against Uni. is that we have won the past 3. We won last year at Petersham after Jack James hit 105. Both teams won the first round this season and lost the past two so this will be an even match.  Jack Lyle needs 85 for 1,000 runs for the club.

4th GRADE is at Petersham Oval: Last week’s win was only the second time in our 17 seasons 4ths have won the first three matches. But a new record beckons as the side has NEVER won the first four!  The closest we came was 3 wins and a tie in 2007-08. After a near record margin win by 216 runs last week the boys give every indication they can set a new mark as they are on fire.  And congrats to Rod Stafford who had a lot to do with last week’s big win hitting his first century in 21 seasons! 103* off 75 balls with 9 sixes with the last 62 coming in 20 balls was a special innings. Uni. of NSW have had just the one win this season and are in 10th place. Over the years we have won 8 to Uni.’s 6. We have won 5 of the past 6 although our loss was 2 seasons ago when Uni. won outright when we made just 71 and 38. Skipper David Bourke will play his 250th game for the club when he leads his charges on to the field on Saturday in third place on the ladder just one point from the leader Sydney. It will also be his 335th in NSW Premier Cricket. He also needs just 31 runs to reach 3,500 in 4th Grade. Recent retiree James Tyson returns to the fold while young gun Peter Andonopoulous makes his 4th Grade debut after a ton in 5s on debut. 

5th Grade plays at David Phillips North: We have a fantastic record against Uni. winning 12 to their 2 out of our 14 clashes over the years. Their two wins came in 2001-02 and 2012-13. That record should give our premiership defending team some encouragement after an extremely slow start to the season. We didn’t get to bat last game after Friday’s rain put Saturday’s match out of business so the boys will be itching to get at them this round. Uni. have won the first 2 matches to be in 4th place while we are 18th with a single point for last week’s draw. Mark Wall takes over the captaincy from the injured Adam Lee.

Metropolitan Cup from Jeremy Jastrzab: While all that glitters may not be Gold, what has been Green will become Gold this weekend… availabilities mean that club CEO John Stewart will be taking over the Green team for the next two Saturdays, while Alexis will take his golden form opening the batting into the Gold team over the next two Sundays. That means a solid month against old mate, Jay Patel, with Mosman schlepping back to across the bridge to Kensington for another two weeks. The mail is that Spartan owner Kunal Sharma won’t be getting promoted to 5th Grade, despite a scintillating 166 with 14 sixers last Saturday.  Getting him early will be key to securing our first win of the season. The Gold team heads to David Phillips South and takes on UNSW Gold. There don’t seem to be any former Randwick Petersham players with a penchant for clearing the back net of the baseball diamond in that side, and they’re coming off a pair of losses, so both Golds will be looking to relegate the other to silver!

NEXT SUNDAY 29 October is LADIES, LEGENDS and VOLUNTEERS DAY at Coogee Oval.

It’s our first BIG DAY for a get-together and you will get to see TWO great Twenty20 matches. The first is against Sutherland at 10 am while we play Newcastle at 2.30 pm. The Newcastle game is of great interest as the Novocastrian’s have named our champion fast bowler of a few years ago, Burt Cockley in their line-up. And the Zone chairman of selectors is Greg Arms a former Randwick player!  Looking forward to seeing them both at the match. Nathan Price returns to Randwick Petersham for both matches.

COME DOWN AND JOIN IN THE FUN!  IT WILL BE A GREAT CATCH-UP DAY AND GREAT CRICKET!

Go the Randy Petes!!

Lyall Gardner