From The Pavilion – Round 8 vs Bankstown, + Metro

Match Reports 

1^st to 5^th Grade – Round 8 – 50 Over 1 Day Matches v Bankstown  

Metropolitan Cup – Round 8 v Mosman

It was the final round before the Christmas break as the Randy Petes took on Bankstown across the top five Grades. The Club is doing outstanding well so far this season, sitting in 5^th on the Club Championship table, despite a huge turnover of players in terms of team changes, injuries and unavailability. Bankstown have fallen on hard times a bit this year, with some of their best First Grader players leaving the Club, and are sitting 17^th in the Club Championship. However, they are a proud club with a history of success, so we were ready for a real battle this week with 1s, 2s and 3s looking to back up last week’s impressive victories against Manly. Metropolitan Cup were also in action against Mosman across the weekend. See who starred in Randy Petes’ colours before a well earned Christmas break. 

 

1^st Grade – Randwick Petersham v Bankstown @ Petersham Oval 

Team – A. Sams (c+), Eaton, Hughes, Chhibber, Bohannon, D. Sams, Ayre, Semple, Neser, Ram, Warren

Result – Randwick Petersham 10/96 – 29.5 Overs (Neser 29, Ayre 27, Hughes 19) Defeated by Bankstown 2/97-17.1 Overs 

http://www.premier.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?locx=MATCH&matchID=2623973

First Grade were flying high in equal 2^nd position as we returned to home comforts at Petersham Oval to take on Bankstown. Bankstown were lurking dangerously in 9^th place, having won a Belvedere Cup and 50-Over Title in the last couple of years, and the Bulldogs were always tough opposition. Anthony Sams would captain us against his old side and would lead an unchanged team into action after an impressive victory on the road last week. 

First Grade have been a pillar of excellence and consistency this season. However, quite simply, Saturday was not their day. An 8-wicket loss and a rare home defeat can happen to all teams from all Grades once or twice a season when nothing goes right from the get go. Against a Bankstown bowling attack capable of ripping through a side, we were bundled out for 96 before the Bulldogs reached the target with a minimum of fuss for the loss of just 2 wickets in the 18^th over. 

Whilst there were not too many individual highlights on the day, both Riley Ayre (27) and Francois Neser (29) showed some fight and quality in the middle and lower order to get us up towards a score of 100. Earlier in the day, only Jason Hughes (19) was able to survive the early onslaught as Nathan McAndrew cut through our top 4 with an outstanding spell of fast bowling. 

When opening bowlers Daniel Sams (1/8-4) and Adam Semple (1/21-6) picked up early wickets to have the Bulldogs at 2/9, hopes were raised of a miracle comeback. However, their Number 4 batsman Ridley rode his luck to score a half century at better than a run a ball, as Bankstown earned a bonus point victory. 

Overall the boys have enjoyed an excellent first half of the season, with 5 victories and 1 draw from 8 games, to have us sitting in equal 4^th spot on 21 points, just 7 points off competition leaders Campbelltown. We now get a well-earned three weeks off before a rude shock awaits on 6 January, as we make the dreaded trip to Owen Earle Oval to take on 18^th placed Hawkesbury. 

An amazing T20 Big Bash debut last night by Randwick Petersham all-rounder Daniel Sams!!!

4/14 off 4 including huge scalps Shane Watson and Jos Buttler

Well done Samsy – RPC is very proud right now!

2^nd Grade – Bankstown v Randwick Petersham @ Bankstown Oal 

Team – Everett, Tector, James, Calder, Holland (c), Edwards, De Silva, Hemphrey, Mahony-Brack, Standing, Jenkins 

Result – Bankstown 10/175 – 49.3 Overs (Hemphrey 3/22-9.3, Edwards 3/39-10, Mahony-Brack 2/25-10, Jenkins 1/37-10) Defeated by Randwick Petersham 4/176 – 44.2 overs (Everett 71, James 36, Calder 20n/o) 

http://www.premier.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?locx=MATCH&matchID=2627753

Second Grade hit the road looking to make it back-to-back victories as they clashed with Bankstown at the pristine looking Bankstown Oval. After a crushing victory over Manly last week, the boys were just 11 points out of 6^th spot and were desperate to account for 17^th placed Blacktown to keep the momentum going into Christmas. Whilst this is an extremely young and exciting side, we added a touch of experience and quality this week with Jamie Hemphrey back in the side after missing the last few rounds. 

On another great day for Tom Holland’s men, they made it convincing back-to-back victories with a 6-wicket triumph at a Bankstown Oval ground where it’s never easy to come away with the 6 points. The boys dominated the clash from the outset, bowling out the home side for a moderate score of 175, before cruising to the total for the loss of 4 wickets with over 3 overs to spare. 

The run chase was once again dominated by Matt Everett (71) who is in outstanding form over the past three rounds. Everett has become a run machine in Second Grade, with a century and two half centuries over his past three innings. Everett has 279 runs in his past three innings at an average of 139.5 as he shows his class and quality as an opening batsman in different conditions against different types of bowling attacks. Everett was well supported by opening partner Jack Tector (19) as the boys put on 44 for the first wicket, before Number 3 Jack James (36) stepped up to put on 72 with Everett. James scored freely with his 36 coming from just 41 balls with six boundaries. Matt Calder (20n/o) finished the job with a minimum of fuss, scoring at a run a ball to complete a great road victory. 

Earlier in the day, all our bowlers had done a magnificent job in another well spread out team effort. Pace spearhead Jamie Hemphrey (3/22-9.5) returned with a bang, picking up an early wicket, as the hosts slumped to 3/36. Also picking up two early wickets was young all-rounder James Mahony-Brack (2-25-10) who bowled an outstanding spell conceding less than 3 runs per over by nibbling the ball off the seam and hitting good lengths. Bankstown fought back to 3/122 before we picked up our final 7 wickets for just 53 runs as our spinners strangled the Bulldogs. Michael Edwards (3/39-10) has been a quality mid-season purchase and he was as reliable as ever here, bowling tightly and picking up 3 wickets as he kept chipping away at the Bulldogs’ middle order. He was well supported by fellow orthodox spinner Mac Jenkins (1/37-10) as our spin twins tightened the screws for 20 overs between them. 

The boys now have a highly respectable 4 wins and a draw through the first eight games of the season, to be sitting in 10^th place just 6 points out of the Top 6. With an average age of just 20 years, this is a young team on the rise with a huge upside heading into the second half of the season. The boys resume on 6 January with a 50-Over match against the Hawks who are flying high in second spot. 

JC Travel Professionals MVP Award

3 – Matt Everett

2 – Michael Edwards

1 – Jamie Hemphrey

3^rd Grade – Randwick Petersham v Bankstown @ Coogee Oval 

Team – Stares (c), Eldridge, Burton, Hart, Montedoro, Graham, Mullins+, N. Stares, McKenzie, N. Singh, Flanagan

Result – Bankstown 9/241 – 50 Overs (Hart 3/58-9, N. Stares 2/49-10, Flanagan 1/27-9) Defeated by Randwick Petersham 9/242 – 50 Overs (Eldridge 75, Lyle 59, Mullins 33 n/o, Graham 20) 

http://www.premier.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?locx=MATCH&matchID=2628382

Third Grade are the hottest team in the Club at the moment, and had the opportunity to make it four wins from their last five games when they hosted Bankstown at Coogee Oval. With Ben Stares men into the Top 6 in 6^th place for the first time this season, it was important to defeat a 16^th placed Bankstown side that would provide stiff opposition, despite their moderate place on the table. The side has looked really strong on paper over the past couple of weeks with some class and experience returning, and with Tom McKenzie back in the side this week, the bowling line up of McKenzie, Singh and Flanagan looked particularly threatening. 

It was another thriller in the end, with Third Grade continuing their amazing sequence of close victories with a 1-wicket win on the final ball. Set 242 for victory, it came down to the final over with Mullins (33n/o) and Singh (4n/o) requiring 10 runs for victory. Mullins duly launched a ball towards the old Randwick Rugby Club to get everyone in the stands on their feet before a few scampered runs left one required from the last ball. Veteran Singh got enough bat on it for the boys to hustle through for the single and secure another famous victory. 

Mullins has become the ice man this year, remaining not out in three frantically close run chases. Sometimes you can’t gauge cricketers purely by numbers, but how many games of cricket they win you a year, and Kel has already played a large part in directly winning three borderline games for Thirds, showing he is worth his weight in gold. Coming together at 9/213 the situation looks lost, but Singh showed all his experience to hang in there for a 29-run unbroken partnership which got us the chocolates. 

Earlier in the run chase opening batsman Eldridge (75) and Number 4 Lyle (59) had put us in a position of real strength at 2/151, after a dominant 128-run partnership. It was Eldridge’s highest score of the season and gave him 279 runs in Third Grade this year, and he is becoming the team’s rock at the top of the order. Lyle played a typically classy innings full of nice drives and good use of the feet. All-rounder Corey Graham (20) also made a handy contribution with a run a ball 20, as the run rate started to get towards 6 per over. 

Earlier in the day the boys had toiled away on a belter of a Coogee Oval wicket, although the outfield was much slower than usual. Captain Stares described the departing Flanagan (1/27-9) as probably our best bowler of the day. It was great to see a huge number of players at Coogee Bay to say goodbye to Padraic, a popular player who has contributed so much to 3^rd and 4^th Grades this season. Spin twins Joe Hart (3/57-9) and Nathan Stares (2/49-10) picked up five wickets between them as they spun a web through the Bulldogs’ middle order. Eldridge took a blinder of a catch in the gully, whilst Lyle took an outfield catch reminiscent of John Dyson all those years ago. 

Captain Stares was delighted with the character of his team once again, and was even more delighted with the lock in, pizza and circuit that followed that night. The boys remain in 6^th spot on 31 points, after winning five and drawing one of their first 8 games this season. This side has great momentum at the moment, so hopefully we can keep our final’s push going when we resume in January. 

JC Travel Professionals MVP Award

3 – Kel Mullins

2 – Jackson Eldridge

1 – Jack Lyle 

4^th Grade – Bankstown v Randwick Petersham @ Jenson Park 

Team – Gracias Flor, Powell (+), Murdita, Montedoro, Radford, Bourke (c), Stafford, Kenzie, Fox, Budwee, Sterling

Result – Randwick Petersham 10/187-47.5 Overs (Montedoro 55 Murdita 43, Powell 28, Stafford 20) Defeated Bankstown 10/175 – 46.1 Overs (Kenzie 3/23-10, Radford 2/26-10, Fox 2/28-6, Budwee 2/46-9)

http://www.premier.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?locx=MATCH&matchID=2629180

Fourth Grade were hoping to get back into the winners circle after a draw and a loss when they travelled to Jenson Park to take on the Bulldogs. Fourth Grade were still sitting relatively pretty in 6^th spot, but needed a victory to ensure they kept their spot in that Top 6 heading into the Christmas break. With Bankstown nipping at our heels in 7^th place, this was all set for a crucial showdown against a tough opponent. The side was given a few significant boosts this week with Captain David Bourke back in the line-up, alongside young batsman Ben Montedoro and bowling all-rounder Gab Budwee. 

In an absorbing game of cricket, Bourkey’s boys were able to edge over the line by 11 runs for a crucial win in the context of their season. After sent in on a Jenson Park containing plenty of juice, we managed to scratch out a competitive 187, before defending the total like Tigers in the field. Captain Bourke took the crucial match winning catch off the bowling of Gab Budwee (2/46-9) with the Bulldogs left to rue the 3.5 overs they left in the tank. It was a tense finale to the game with Ben Montedoro (1/23-6.1) asked to take on the death bowling role, doing an outstanding job of holding his nerve and firing the ball in, making him hard to score from. 

I watched Bailey Kenzie (3/23-10) bowl on Thursday in the AWGS Round 1 game and he reminded me of Ashley Giles, sunnies on and just wheeling away with great variations in quicker balls and angles. I thought this kid would be near on impossible to get away and that sort of bowling is like gold in all formats, particularly limited overs cricket, and he was gold for his skipper here, picking up 3 wickets and remarkably going for less than 2.5 runs per over. Luke Radford (2/26-10) wasn’t fully wound up, however he used all his First Grade experience to bowl 10 tight overs in the middle as well as picking up a couple of crucial wickets. Hayden Fox (2/28-6) continued to chip in with key contributions in another team effort with the ball, without Rod Stafford who played as a batsman. 

With the bat it was great to see three of the top four make strong contributions, with Powell (28), Murdita (43) and Montedoro (55) all looking in good touch. Powell has made a lot of starts this year, getting the side into solid positions, and now needs to convert some of those mid-range scores if he is capitalise on his form. Murdita has hit his straps the last few weeks, pumping out five 4’s and a 6 on his way to 43. However the star of the innings was Montedoro scoring the only half-century of the game. Monte played patiently and now has 150 runs at an average of 50 in three innings in Fourth Grade. Captain Bourke praised the youngster, but also wanted me to include word-for-word three comments of how Monte managed to brighten up a hot and testing day at Jenson –

1. When hearing that First Grade were 6-30 odd, asked “Who are they playing this week?”
2. When retrieving a ball from out of the ground, after it had gone under the fence, proceeded to get the ball, ran back to the fence and then threw it into a massive gum tree that rebounded the ball back further out of the ground than it was before.
3. After batting for 7 overs, drinks were taken. When returning to the wicket, Monte stopped and got a ball out his pocket and threw it at the umpire to get it off the ground. He had this ball in his pocket from the start of his innings, but didn’t realize until after the drinks break.

Stafford (20) chipped in with a vital contribution as our innings fell away a bit towards the end. The victory steadied the ship after two straight losses at Coogee, with the side now in 4^th place on 31 points heading into the Christmas break in what has been a highly impressive first half of the season. 

JC Travel Professionals MVP Award

3 – Ben Montedoro

2 – Bailey Kenzie

1 – Luke Radford

5^th Grade – Randwick Petersham V Bankstown @ Kensington Oval 

Team – Hodges, House (c), Andonopoulous, Frith, Clark, Lopes, Sidney (+) Tsalikidis, M. O’Loughlin, Dellar, L.O’Loughlin 

Result – Bankstown 8/245 – 50 Overs (Dellar 5/28-10, L. O’Loughlin 2/49-10) Defeated Randwick Petersham 10/202 – 47 Overs (Sidney 68, Hodges 48, Lopes 25n/o) 

http://www.premier.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?locx=MATCH&matchID=2632490

Fifth Grade headed back to their home base at Kensington Oval this week to take on the Bulldogs. Bankstown were sitting in 9^th place compared to our boys in 19^th however our side looked as strong as any we had put on the park all year. Ed House was back to captain the side with Tom Frith and youngster Angus Clark boosting the middle order. Tsalikidis would provide a strike weapon with his leg spinners whilst Alex Dellar had performed really well when given the opportunity in higher grades. 

The boys put up a really strong performance, in the end going down by just 43 runs in one of our more competitive efforts of the season. Chasing 246 for victory was always going to be a tall order, however we managed to surpass 200 for the first time this season, eventually being bowled out with 3 overs remaining. 

There were some great contributions in the middle order in particular Damien Sidney (68) continuing his great form in 2017/18 with a smashing 68. Sidney knows only one way and that is to play his natural game, regardless of the situation, which is a strength in a batsman’s mindset. Sidney faced just 57 balls and clubbed four steepling sixers to go with his four 4s, in another Big Bash style of innings that threatened to get us over the line with the Bulldogs having no answer to his onslaught. Hodges (48) also continued his strong form as he combined with Sidney for our best partnership of the season. Luca Lopes (25/o) showed plenty of character again to remain not out and he will be looking to capitalise on his form as AWGS take to the field in Rounds 2 and 3 on Tuesday and Thursday. 

Earlier in the day youngster Alex Dellar (5/28-10) put in an outstanding display of seam bowling to take a 5-wicket haul. Dellar has been a player on the rise in the past couple of years and now has 16 wickets for the season in all competitions at an average of 21. His economy rate of 2.9 overall is crucial for a captain as not only is he a wicket threat, but he is constantly putting pressure on and tying up one end. O’Laughlin (2/49-10) continued to be a consistent commodity with the ball, bowling a tidy spell and picking up two key wickets. 

So whilst we didn’t get the win, there were lots of positive signs with a stronger line up put on the paddock and pushing a strong Bulldogs’ side all the way. With the Club getting a number of players back on the park, I expect 5s to continue to build after Christmas, and rack up a few victories before the year is out, in what has been a rebuilding year. 

JC Travel Professionals MVP Award

3 – Alex Deller

2 – Damian Sidney

1 – Luca Lopes

Metropolitan Cup – Randwick Petersham Gold v Mosman @ Snape Park

Team – Stewart (c), Siddall, N Crawford, T Crawford, Chaudhary, G Small, Kashyap, Trindall, J Hookey, Bowen, Jastrzab (+), Sherriff

Result – Randwick Petersham Gold 9/158 – 50 Overs (Siddall 40, N Crawford 26) defeated Mosman 89 – 39.4 Overs (Siddall 3/9, Kashyap 3/10) 

http://www.smcc.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2779109&entityID=2318

The Golds descended upon Snape Park to take on their favourite opponents, Mosman, with some playing against them for the third time this season. Greeted by a rather visually pleasing wicket and mown outfield, the old adage “fool me once, shame on you but fool me twice, shame on me!” as both recent and more distant history suggested that an attritional day was on hand. Big skip John Stewart took his toss winning streak to two, and chose to bat while the pitch was still had something resembling a flat surface. Stewie edged behind early, but Luis Siddall (40) was in ominous form and Neale Crawford (26) was coming off runs. Along with wides, the two push the score along steadily against the Mosman pace attack, with the score at 1/86 at the half way mark. Alas, Jay Patel’s wiliness doesn’t just apply to pushing the boundaries, but coming on with his hand grenades, he took the pace off the ball and allowed the pitch to do the work, as a number of Gold batsmen fell trying to force the pace. 1/87 became 7/109 and all of a sudden a defendable score was looking less likely.

But among the wreckage, the ‘Small’est member of the team stood tall. 12 year old Gus Small, at his first bat in men’s cricket, kept up an end with stout defence and good shot selection. Knowing that the other end was safe, hitters Jarrod Hookey and Fergus Bowen were able to help push the score to 9/159 by the innings close, with wides giving Luis a run for top score. Despite having seen the torpid nature of the pitch, the Mosman openers – the cowboy and the kid – still decide that the best course of steering the chase was by going back and across. Newcomer Fergus showed there’s life with the new ball and was desperately unlucky not to get a wicket in a fiery opening stanza. After a few skewed connections, the cowboy was rounded up by Sherriff Corey who lassoed a caught behind. As the cowboy rode out of town, he was subjected to one of the most dejecting scenes in cricket – being lambasted all the way back to the boundary by his own captain, Jay. The kid followed soon after, probably realising too late that playing back and across doesn’t help keep out a ‘Snape snake’ shooting for off-stump. Queue tumbleweeds and high noon music… this brought the ‘big bad villain’ to the crease – Kunal ‘Mr Spartan’ Sharma.

Smacking that glorious piece of willow into the ground and showing his intent, the highest scorer in the Metropolitan Cup meant business and had the weight of 166 runs at his last outing at Snape. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife, as both sides were well aware that the wicket of Sharma was key to result of the match. But the pitch was not on his side and these weren’t 14 year olds that he was up against. Raj Chaudhary and Tom Crawford bowled bravely and his scoring zones were cut off, leaving his jittery partner to push for the a suicidal run… only to have Pratulya Kashyap ping him from mid-off at the keeper’s end. But Sharma wasn’t deterred, as each of boundaries sounded so so bitter sweet… ‘so that’s what it’s like to have an immaculate piece of willow’ was the thought resonating around the ground. But Raj (2/16) was not to be intimidated, and a beautiful cutter was enough for Mr Spartan to miss the line and for the off stump to take a battering. 4/43 in the 20^th over and half the mountain was conquered. But as we know, one man can’t make a team and in next was Sharma Jr…

Initially displaying a much stronger penchant for defence than the old man, mini-Sharma flirted with the off stump for a bit before unfurling some audacious shots of his own. None more so than a contemptuous slog of Jason ‘Tricky’ Trindall, as David sent Goliath to the mid-wicket boundary. Goliath’s comeback ball simply did too much, but put the freewheeling youngster on the back foot. Not content with a pile of runs, Luis Siddall entered the attack and spun a web around the hapless tail, taking mini-Sharma out and the next batsmen with a pair of LBWs. And in his next over had their wicket keeper bowled around his legs, finishing with 3/9 and making the pitch look unplayable. Kashyap (3/10) joined the party late, but made quite the entrance, as the strong sea breeze allowed him to discover ‘drift’ and have the batsmen flailing like beached whales, as two batsmen lost their middle stumps over panic. After giving Gus Small a bowl at Jay, Kashyap finished off the innings by trapping the Mosman captain in-front (though DRS mightn’t be in his favour) to give the Golds their second win of the season, this by 69 runs with a bonus point to boot. The Mosman ledger ends this season at 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss a piece and the Christmas cake will taste a lot better going into the break now.

JC Travel Professionals MVP Award

3 – Luis Siddall

2 – Raj Chaudhary

1 – Pratulya Kashyap

Metropolitan Cup – Randwick Petersham Green v Sydney University @ St Paul’s Oval

Team – Coovre (c), Rushton, Geraghty, Mohan, Genner, Sapariya, W Deller, Melukote, Whalebone, Robertson, Miller, C De Silva

Result – Randwick Petersham Green 133 – 39.5 Overs (Sapariya 43, Geraghty 36, Robertson 25*) defeated by Sydney University 3/134 – 17.1 Overs

http://www.smcc.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2778536&entityID=2318

Sydney Uni won the toss and elected to bowl, on a greenish looking deck. The ball swung from the word go, and by the end of the second over both openers had been dismissed. Numbers four and five followed soon after, and the score was four for not many, in as many overs. Meanwhile the laconic Dane Geraghty stood tall, and was joined by number six, Chinton Sapariya, who was back with the Greens.

The pair put on a smart 60-run partnership, Geraghty methodically playing the ball on its merits, and Sapariya confidently working the ball around like a seasoned-campaigner. The former hit five fours in his knock, before bunting one in the air, ending a brave knock of 36. Sapariya carried-on with aplomb, putting some into the fence, and one over, but he was losing partners fast. Joel Robertson, who is improving every week with the bat, smashed two fours, and two sixes to give us some much needed runs. Meanwhile, Sapariya, (43) was out caught trying to up the ante, and the final wicket fell quickly, leaving Robertson not out on 25, and the Greens all out for 133.

In reply, the Green bowlers ran in hard, and tested the students’ top order, who sweated on anything loose. Robertson had opener one trapped in front, and Miller had the other caught, but numbers three and four only hit it harder and farther, play being held-up as many as three times looking for lost balls. Bala Mohan denied the big-hitting number three his half-century, getting him out caught, but the damage had been done, the students winning by seven wickets.

Alexis Coovre

JC Travel Professionals MVP Award

3 – Chintan Sapariya

2 – Dane Geraghty

1 – Joel Robertson