Lyall’s Round 10 Preview vs Sutherland

Round 10 Preview v Sutherland

This is a split format round with 1st Grade playing a Saturday/ Sunday match while the lower grades play Limited Overs games on Saturday only. And let’s hope we have a bit more luck this round than last especially with the toss. We lost ALL 5 TOSSES last weekend for the second time this season. The previous occasion was in round 4 v University of NSW. We won just one game then and we replicated that outcome last week.  And to add to our run of bad luck with the toss of the coin (and the matches), we lost it against Fairfield in the PGs on Sunday and the A W Green Shield clashes with Manly and Mosman this week. That’s eight lost tosses in a row! Not good form for an Anzac Day Two-up School! We may have to get some expert from The Star Casino to give us a leg-up with the toss or somehow manufacture a two-headed coin!

Despite the disaster against Hawkesbury, we held our 6th position in the Club Championship but after losses in the Sunday PG match and two Green Shield games this week we have slumped to 10th 53 points out of 6th and a whopping 302 from1st placed Parramatta. This weekend’s opponent Sutherland is 14th but they always go well against us although we have a narrow win margin of 32 to 31 with 6 draws across the grades over the years. 

1st GRADE is at Glenn McGrath Oval, Caringbah: Two losses on the trot have made our boys hungry. We are now out of the top 6 in 8th place yet on points are only 6 from third and 11 from second which is Sutherland. The Sharks are going well this season and we’ll be up against a couple of former Randy Petes in Jarryd Biviano and Jake Wilson.  We have won 7 of the last 10 clashes but overall the record is 11 wins to their 8. One of the interesting aspects of this match is that Adam Semple needs just 7 runs to make 5,000 in 1st Grade and join a very select group in the history of NSW Premier Cricket to have reached that number while taking 250 wickets. Adam currently has 4,994 runs and 267 wickets. A brilliant career—and it’s far from over! Dan Sams (Sydney Sixers) and Jason Sangha (under 19s) are out this week while Soumil Chhibber returns. Matt Everett retains his place after a brilliant debut last weekend.

2nd GRADE is at Petersham: Our boys return to the scene of last weekend’s disaster when they lost 4 wickets in 5 balls in the one over! A freakish occurrence and one we can do without this Saturday. We are 12th just two wins out of the top 6 so there’s plenty to play for this weekend. Sutherland are in last place and have not gained a point as yet. A very unusual situation and the last thing we want is for a Shark to jump up and bite us come Saturday. They hold an historic advantage winning 6 to our 4 but we have won the past 2 seasons. Big chance for a hat-trick! Jack Lyle comes into the side after his sensational 91* in 3s.

3rd GRADE plays at Sutherland Oval: With 5 wins and a draw the past 6 games, we are entitled to the 4th position we hold—just 7 points from second placed Mosman. The Sharks are amazingly in the same spot as their 2s—20th on 8 points. And like 2s, we have won the past two clashes so a trifecta is essential if we are to remain the force we have become in this grade this season. Over the years they have won 6 to our 3. We have a very strong side in this week.

4th GRADE is at Coogee:  A real blow to lose by one run last weekend at Coogee and drop to 8th on the points ladder. But the good news is that on 31 points we are just 2 points from 4th and 7 from 3rd in a close contest. The Sharks are right behind us on 30 points and will be eager to get past. We have lost to them the past 3 years after winning the previous 3. If that’s anything to go by, it’s our turn! There has been talk that 4s struggle at Coogee. A check of results over the past 4 seasons plus this one so far reveals Coogee has not been a happy hunting ground for our 4th Grade boys. Since the start of 2013 up to last Saturday we have played there 17 times for 2 wins (last season), 2 draws (one this season) and unfortunately, 13 losses. Two of those losses have been to Sutherland. But the Coogee hoodoo is about to be overcome. It starts this Saturday!

5th GRADE plays at Tonkin Oval, Cronulla: Could this be the venue of the side’s breakthrough win?  The boys were stiff last week with the last two at the wicket putting on 12 to beat us by one run! Sutherland are 8th on 31 points and we are 20th on 2. It will be a big ask but over the years we have beaten them 8 times to 3. A very young but capable team has been named for this week.

Metropolitan Cup from Jeremy Jastrzab: Both Metro teams got off to a slow start after Christmas, with the pudding and turkey taking a little longer to burn off than expected. The Golds will have sweated most of it off as temperatures at Whalan last week eclipsed 40 degrees, but will get to enjoy more familiar and comfortable climes back at Kensington this week. Their lovely and pleasant opponents from the North Shore, Gordon, are running second and have only lost one game this season. The Golds are getting a few holidayers back to bolster their ranks and Kensington is still proving to be more traditional in its run scoring options. After getting respite from the oppressive conditions last week, the Green team have no escape from the beauty and tranquillity of Whalan No. 2, as they head back out for another western encounter with the 10th placed Blacktown. At least the forecast temperatures are nowhere near as high as they were last weekend, and the match will now be played on Sunday due to a double booking (though Whalan is big enough to fit both games on it).

Lyall Gardner