Round 7 Day 2 v Gordon, KST20 QF + Metro
MATCH REPORTS
1st to 5th Grades – Round 7 v Gordon (Day 2)
1st Grade T20 – St George v Randwick Petersham @ Hurstville Oval
Metropolitan Cup vs Georges River & Blacktown
The Randy Petes headed into Day 2 of Round 7 against Gordon as the Club looked to finish the year on a high, with just two rounds remaining before the Christmas break. We were still in a really strong position in the Club Championship, sitting in fourth place on 463 points, with Sydney University a clear first on 648. Our opponents, Gordon, were tenth on 383 points, having experienced mixed fortunes across the Grades. Their lower grades were looking particularly strong, sitting in 3rd, 7th and 7th respectively from Third to Fifth Grade. It was also the crucial final round for First Grade in the T20 competition as we took on St George looking to cement a spot in the semi-final, plus there was all the action from Metropolitan Cup in another jam packed weekend of cricket.
BOOK NOW!!! The RPC Golf Day debuts at the newly configured Strathfield Golf Club
1st Grade – Gordon v Randwick Petersham @ Chatswood Oval
Team – Warner, Everett A. Sams (c+), Bell-Drummond, Ayre, Eaton, Semple, Ralston, Hemphrey, D. Singh
Result – Gordon 10/154 – 43.2 Overs (Ayre 4/50.14.2, Semple 3/27/13, D. Singh 2/34-9) and 10/158 – 45.3 Overs (Semple 2/27-12, Hemphrey 2/34-9, Bell-Drummond 2/12-5, Ayre 2/10-2.3 Overs) v Randwick Petersham 7/331 Declared – 71 Overs (Bell-Drummond 88, Warner 73, D. Singh 62 n/o, Ayre 51n/o)
http://www.premier.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?locx=MATCH&matchID=2926101
First Grade arrived back at Chatswood Oval with the bit between their teeth looking to secure an outright victory, having already lead by 95 on the first innings after Day 1. The plan would to be to try and secure some more quick runs in the morning, before putting the Stags under pressure again with the bat in the afternoon sessions.
In what was a completely dominant two days, the Randy Petes surged to a comfortable outright points victory, winning by an innings and 19 runs. The boys dominated all sessions of play, having put on another quick-fire 86 runs without the loss of a wicket in the morning sessions, before declaring and rolling Gordon again for just 158 in the second innings.
With the bat Riley Ayre (51n/o) continued his outstanding form, playing a mature innings, whist Daya Singh (62n/o) showed his form and potential with the bat with his highest score of the season. Singh’s 62 came from just 69 balls and the unbroken 92-run partnership enabled us to enter the field with all the momentum against a Gordon side with nothing to play for except trying to stave off outright defeat.
It was another excellent team bowling performance as we put the foot on the throat early, with the Stags struggling at 2/13 and 5/65 as we never released the pressure, eventually bowling them out with an hour to spare. The wickets were shared around with seamers Adam Semple (2/27-12) and Jamie Hemphrey (2/34-9) removing four of Gordon’s top five batsmen. Hemphrey has been in great form in 2’s and it’s great to see him take the opportunity in First Grade.
Spinners Daniel Bell-Drummond (2/12-5) and Riley Ayre (2/10-2.3) had no problems mopping up the Stags’ middle and lower order as both players continued their outstanding form. This is a wide open first grade competition this year, with our side up to third position on 30 points courtesy of 10 points here. Surprise leaders of the competition, UNSW, are having an outstanding season with the Bees just two points ahead of us. Next weekend it’s a huge challenge against last year’s premiers Parramatta at Petersham Oval, with Parramatta sitting in sixth place.
1st Grade T20 Quarter Final – St. George v Randwick Petersham @ Hurstville Oval
Team – Warner, Bell-Drummond, A. Sams (c+), D. Sams, Eaton, Ayre, Semple, D. Singh, Chhibber, Jenkins, Ralston
Result – St. George 7/139 2) Overs (Ralston 3/17-4) Defeated Randwick Petersham 8/133 – 20 Overs (Warner 62)
http://www.premier.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?locx=MATCH&matchID=2922266
Sunday afternoon brought a huge clash at Hurstville Oval as we took on Saints in a T20 Quarter Final with the loser eliminated from the competition. Having won 3 of our 4 regular season T20s, and having won three T20 competitions in the past, we had a proud record to defend against a side who had won all four games in this format this season and were buoyed on by a big crowd on their home field.
Unfortunately, the Randy Petes were eliminated from the T20 competition after going down by 7 runs to St. George. Previously undefeated in this competition, the hosts could only manage 7/139, however it proved enough with a great bowling performance limiting Randwick Petersham to 8/133 from their 20 overs.
David Warner (62) once again top scored with a very controlled innings of 62 from 60 balls in a low scoring game. Warner was just starting to take control of the game when he was out to a sensational catch, which swung things back in Saints’ favour. Plenty of players got a start, but were unable to get on top against a Saints’ side that bowled and fielded really well.
With the ball it was an outstanding performance from young tearaway Jason Ralston (3/17-4). Ralston removed both opens Bartier and Stapleton who are Saints best batsman at a time when they both looked set. Ralston managed to take a 3rd scalp late and go only go for 17 runs was a remarkable effort by a young quick on the rise.
So a fourth T20 title is now out of the question, but it was still a good effort to make the quarter finals and we wish the four remaining teams all the best in the semi-finals of the competition.
Another impressive knock from David Warner in the T20 QF loss
2nd Grade – Randwick Petersham v Gordon @ Petersham Oval
Team – Mahony-Brack, Tector, Matt Calder, Hunter, Lyle, Holland, Mitch Calder (c+), Ram, Wood, Mckenzie, Jenkins
Result – Randwick Petersham 10/175 – 53 Overs (Matt Calder 52, Ram 43n/o) and 9/143 – 51 Overs (Hunter 40, Mahony-Brack 32, Holland 32n/o) Defeated by Gordon 10/276 – 82.3 Overs – (Wood 3/47, Loth 2/39, Hunter 2/13)
http://www.premier.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?locx=MATCH&matchID=2927995
Second Grade had their backs up against the wall for one of the few times this year with Gordon just 38 runs behind on the first innings and 8 wickets in hand. Mitch Calders’ boys needed to show fight with work to do to avoid an outright defeat on Day 2 at Petersham Oval.
Whilst Gordon secured a comfortable first innings victory, the boys managed to narrowly avoid an outright defeat after Gordon had amassed a 101-run lead on the first innings. We looked in deep trouble 9 wickets down, with still more than 10 overs remaining, but courageous skipper Mitch Calder came out to bat with a broken thumb to support Tom Holland (32n/o) which saw us pass the Gordon total and frustrate the visitors who looked set to take 10 points.
It was an improved performance with the ball and in the field on Day 2 as we took the remaining 8 Gordon wickets for 137 runs. Spinner Jason Wood (3/47) got a good spell under his belt and bowled with great control, being rewarded with three wickets. Seamer Doug Loth (2/39) hit a good length at a ground he loves bowling on, whilst Dylan Hunter (2/13) chipped in with 2 wickets with his handy left arm orthodox spinners.
Whilst we struggled a bit again in the second innings, we had enough contributors to get by with opener James Mahony Brack (32) getting the side off to a solid start. Mahony-Brack has been one of the most consistent openers in the Club in terms of scoring 30s and 40s most weeks with his attacking nature. Dylan Hunter (40) capped off a good all round day, personally striking the ball well on his way to 40, and like Mahony-Bracks Dylan has made plenty of solid scores this year. Tom Holland showed all his experience to negotiate a really tense final session, as the Stags pressed everything for outright victory with wickets tumbling around Holland.
Despite the loss, the side is still in an excellent position in third spot on 34 points after 7 rounds. We are only 7 points behind leaders Sydney Uni on 41 points, but crucially 14 points ahead of seventh placed Penrith, meaning a few more victories should see us return to the Second Grade finals for the first time in a number of years. Next weekend, it’s a huge clash taking on fourth placed Parramatta at Old Kings Oval, with both sides well entrenched in the Top 6.
3rd Grade – Gordon v Randwick Petersham @ Blacktown Number 2 Oval
Team – Montedoro, Powell, Burton, Radford, B.Stares (c) De Silva, Eldridge, Murdita, Graham, Dellar, Stirling
Result – Gordon 10/142 – 53.2 Overs (Montedoro 4/47-18, Radford 2/23-14, Dellar 2/17-6.2) and 4/111 Defeated by Randwick Petersham 10/167 – 56.4 Overs (Burton 33, Powell 32)
Third Grade faced a nervous first session of Day 2 against Gordon, requiring another 44 runs for victory with still five wickets in hand. The boys resumed on 5/99 at Blacktown International Sports Park in chase of 143 for victory, as we looked to make it 4 wins from 7 games in 2018/19.
In what was a tetchy and competitive game, we managed to scramble our way over the line in the morning finishing all out for 167, despite more than a few nervous moments. The boys managed to scramble over the line eight down, after a solid push from the Stags in the morning, with a few early wickets putting the game up for grabs. Dellar and Standing kept them frustrated in the field for another half an hour as we eeked out a lead of 20. Rav De Silva (23) also made an important contribution as wickets started to fall around him in the first session.
Scott Stirling took 3 wickets in the second innings and Alex Dellar took one, as we had Gordon on the ropes early at 4/46 and looking at pushing for an unlikely claim for outright points. However from there on in the Stags steadied and the game petered out a bit at 4/111 with both sides happy to draw an early stumps, with the Randy Petes claiming a second victory in a row as we get the momentum going before Christmas.
Captain Stares wasn’t thrilled with the way the team batted, but said he was happy with another win and looking to improve next week. That gives us 4 wins from 7 games, to be sitting on 7th spot, equal with 6th placed Parramatta on 24 Points. That makes for a huge game next weekend when we go to Coogee to take on Parra with a spot in the Top 6 at Christmas up for grabs.
4th Grade – Randwick Petersham v Gordon @ Coogee Oval
Team – Jedwood, Lopes, Crawford, King, Sachs, Ahmed (c+), Sultan, Kashyap, Coombs, Boyns, L O’Loughlin
Result – Gordon 10/275 – 74.2 Overs (Kashyap 6 wickets, LJ 3 wickets) Defeated Randwick Petersham 10/251-82.1 Overs (Lopes 102, Crawford 46, King 37, Sachs 31)
Fourth Grade had a big task in front of them as they went in search of back-to-back victories, as they set off in chase of the Stags’ 275 at Coogee Oval, having already lost a late wicket on Day 1. Rocky Ahmed in his second game in charge wanted his side to take the game deep and try and tire the Stags’ attack.
The side put up a great effort with the bat, however fell narrowly short of the victory target, going down by 24 runs in the final over of the day. At 1/153 and 3/224 our Top 5 had done a sensational job to position the team for a victory, however it was not to be as a strong Gordon side took the final 7 wickets for just 28 runs to snatch victory in the dying embers of the day.
Overnight not-out batsman Lopes (102) and Crawford (46) played responsibly early to weather some good bowling early to survive the first hour. It was then the pair started to really flourish as they posted a 100-run partnership which have been few and far between in Fourth Grade this season. Lopes displayed his full array of shots after the first hour with his fast hands dominating square of the wicket, through the off side. Lopes also managed to launch a couple of towering sixes down the ground troubling people in the Pro Dive Gym at Coogee!
Lopes went on to be the star of the day with his first century for the Club and is one of the real in-form players at the Club this season, after working really hard on his game in the off season. Lopes punished the bowlers once he got in, and upped the tempo, threatening to take the game away from Gordon before he was dismissed shortly after his century. King (37) and Sach (31) both looked in really good touch and looked to be carrying the side to victory until they were dismissed, which sparked a change in momentum of the game. With kids like Lopes and Sach emerging these are certainly two players who can push for higher grade honours in future years!
While the side remains on two victories, there have been real strides made in the past couple of games having pushed a really strong Gordon side all the way here after a really tough start to the season. We now sit in 16th place, but still only 13 points behind 6th placed St George. Next weekend it is another tough challenge against 3rd placed Parramatta at Merrylands Ovals in the last game before the Christmas break.
Centurion Luca Lopes
5th Grade – Gordon v Randwick Petersham @ Beauchamp Oval
Team – Segal, Ganash, Sapariya, Iosififidis, Heaton (+c), Singh, Apostalakis, Hutchinson, Gibson, Lee, Tsalikidis,
Result – Gordon 8 (dec)/300 – 73 Overs (Tsalikidis 4 wickets, Apostolakis 2 wickets) Drew with Randwick Petersham 8/220 – 88 Overs (Heaton 66n/o, Segal 46, C.Singh 21)
Fifth Grade had a mountain to climb in their match against Gordon at Killara Oval after the hosts racked up 300 on Day 1 before declaring late in the day. Resuming at 1/8 we would need to show plenty of patience, discipline and skill to surpass their total or stave off a defeat.
It was a great day for batting with a cloudless sky and warm temperatures across Sydney. The wicket looked similar to last week once again, and it looked like it would suit the spinners more than the fast bowlers.
Chasing 300 was not going to be easy and Captain Heaton’s advice to all in the team was that all batters were to dig deep and value their wicket. At tea we would assess the situation and go for the target after that as we had good depth to the batting line-up.
Peter Iosifidis (14) and Josh Segal (46) came together after the loss of the first wicket and put on a valuable partnership of 64. Josh was the aggressor and was looking a million dollars. But just when he looked well set to post a big personal score, he was run out to a harsh decision.
Inspirational Captain Heaton (66 not out) then went to work with Chris Singh (21) as they came together and put on a partnership of 37 runs. Chris Singh, in his first game after three years, looked in sublime touch, and was the aggressor with 3 fours and 1 six. With the score at 4/126, and Gordon on the back foot, the 300 target looked possible. However, it was not be as Singh was out to a ball that was really short and hit him on the body and trickled on to the stumps. At tea at 5/127 and 40 odd overs to still be bowled, the advice was to build partnerships and put away the bad balls.
With Randy Petes 7/162 it was time to guts it out and ensure we did not lose the game. Heaton showed his typical mix of concentration, punishing the loose ball as he continued to dig in. Heaton found solace in Jack Gibson (19) who batted with determination and put on a fighting 52-run partnership, which included the new ball being taken by Gordon who were throwing everything at us. This valuable partnership ensured Randy Petes drew the game.
Many thanks to Chris Singh on making an appearance for this game and providing valuable advice to the young bowlers. Big big thanks to Belinda Gibson for once again helping with the scoring this week. It’s o much easier when the scorebook is tidy and all the extras, runs and overs are tallied beautifully.
Fifth Grade has shown plenty of character this year, and the gutsy draw gives us one point for the game, with the side now sitting in tenth spot on 19 points, 11 points behind sixth placed Mosman. We will be looking to round up the first half of the season on a positive note next weekend as we take on 17th placed Parramatta at Kensington Oval.
Metropolitan Cup – Randwick Petersham Gold v Blacktown @ Kensington
Team – Stewart (C), Mahajan, Grogan, Wanzare, McNamara, W Deller (+), Dharman, Khoo, Bugti, Robertson, M O’Loughlin, C De Silva
Result – Blacktown 138 – 50.2 Overs (M O’Loughlin 6-38, V Mahajan 4-24) defeated by Randwick Petersham Gold 5-140 – 56.4 Overs (E Grogan 29, Y Wanzare 29)
http://www.smcc.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2963716&entityID=2318
The Round 8 match was adjusted to 120 overs as Blacktown were unable to field a team Day 1. Both captains agreed to split the overs 60/60 with Blacktown winning the toss and taking first use of a green Kenso wicket. Two chances were missed within the first 2 overs as Mitch O’Loughlin and Anis Bugti found the edge of each opener. One proved costly, the other not so much. The first wicket fell at 16 a perfect leg cutter from Mitch which he reproduced the next over to reduce Blacktown to 2/19 in 6 overs. Blanchard (39) and the 14 year old opener Malik (64) resurrected the innings before the latter was caught sharply at short cover off the spin of Mahajan (4-24). The rest of the Warriors limped to 138 all out as O’Loughlin (6-38) cleaned up the tail. Credit to O’Loughlin whose pace and line combined with Mahajan’s tight bowling strangled the Warriors tail.
The chase began solidly as Mahajan (21) and Grogan (29) combined for an opening stand of 50. Stewart made 11 pushing the score to 70 with Wanzare 29 and Deller 14. Vijay Dharman 13* and Reid McNamara combined to reduce the deficit of 29 runs to hand Gold victory with 5 wickets in hand. A strong performance leaving Gold sitting in 5th position with one round to play before Christmas.
Metropolitan Cup – Randwick Petersham Green v Georges River Sharks @ Snape Park
Team – Jastrzab (C+), Rushton, Grills, Besgrove, Hussain, Mohan, Richardson, Partol, Awati, Sherriff, Brennan, Thomas
Result – Randwick Petersham Green 124 – 57.5 Overs (E Partol 29*, R Awati 22) defeated Georges River Sharks 99 – 56.1 Overs (A Hussain 6-35, E Partol 2-17)
http://www.smcc.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2963712&entityID=2318
Having seen the wicket being prepared across the week, knowing how the western deck plays at Snape and illness and traffic delaying two fielders (to which the opposition captain facetiously remarked that he’s happy for us to play with 10) all players knew an attritional day was at hand. Settling in from the southern end and happy to go into the wind, Akther Hussain settled in for the long haul while the quicks operated in bursts with the wind. Huss knocked over the obdurate left-hander early to give the Greens the early momentum, while Corey Sherriff toiled with no reward. Huss then took out the remaining opener with help from and keystone cops catch from the keeper, a wild slog from the Georges River number 5 gave him a fourth wicket and Ben Thomas ripped out the number 6’s off peg to leave the Sharks reeling at 6-44.
The Sharks number 7 realised that he wasn’t going to get anywhere grinding it out, so successfully chanced his arm to drinks in a worrisome 35 run stand. But not long after drinks, Ekkam Partol backed up last week’s heroics by taking out the cowboy 7, courtesy of a smart catch from Bala Mohan at mid-on. Another grinding partnership was brought to a halt by Rohan Awati, who’s previous over of ripping leggies convinced the batter to leave a straight one in the next over, while Huss picked up his 5th when the umpire spotted a faint edge to the keeper. The Georges River captain bravely came out with a busted shoulder and tried to bat with one arm with 30 runs still to get. In the end, he tapped to short cover to give Huss stellar figures of 6-35 and at 25 run victory for the resurgent Greens.
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