Round 15 v Penrith + Metro

Feature Image: David Warner on his way to yet another century!

MATCH REPORTS (by Eddie Otto)

1st to 5th Grades – Round 15 v Penrith (One-Day Matches) 

Metropolitan Cup v Sydney Uni & Balmain-Souths

The Randy Petes headed into the final round of the regular season looking to finish 2018/19 on a high. Whilst the season had started out strongly, and we were in the Top 5 in the Club Championship for the majority of the time pre-Christmas, we have had a tougher run post-Christmas and slipped to 14^th, with only Second Grade in contention for the finals. It was a huge game for 2’s out at Penrith with a winner take all game. Other teams were playing for pride, while Metro Cup Gold had to wait on final round results to see if they had made the finals, with Green out of the mix.

1st Grade – Randwick Petersham v Penrith @ Coogee Oval  

Team – Warner, Eaton, Sangha, A.Sams, Chhibber, Ayre,  D. Singh, Semple, Hunter, Everett, Ralston

Result – Penrith 5/313 – 50 Overs Defated Randwick Petersham 8/219 – 29 Overs – Warner 110, Eaton 38, Sangha 33

http://www.premier.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?locx=MATCH&matchID=2926695

First Grade were looking to finish the season on a high as they took on final’s bound Penrith who were in second place. Sitting in 17th place after a frustrating run of close losses and draws since Christmas, the boys welcomed back international David Warner who was in sparkling touch for the Randy Petes before Christmas.

Sadly we finished the season with another heartbreaking loss, going down by one run on the Duckworth-Lewis system, in a rain affected match at Coogee Oval. Despite a brilliant 110 not out from 77 balls from the returning David Warner, we fell just short, finishing on 8/219 from their 29 overs, after Penrith racked up 5/313 from their 50 overs. Warner shared a 98-run opening partnership with Shaun Eaton (39) who played positively while also playing the anchor role nicely. NSW batsman Jason Sangha (33) was in no mood to muck around, scoring 33 runs from just 15 balls, and was looking in imperious touch as the score rattled along to 1/183 as we went well ahead on Duckworth-Lewis. However, after returning from a long rain break, we lost regular wickets and were to fall agonisingly short of the target as darkness neared at Coogee Oval.

Warner was sensational in returning from an elbow injury, hitting 7 sixes and 4 fours, to endanger all beach goers at Coogee Oval with some massive blows, ahead of his anticipated return to the Australian ODI side for the World Cup in England in May. Warner performed outstandingly for us this season, scoring 909 runs in all competitions, in 14 games that included five T20 games. We wish him well in his Australian comeback and and am sure to see him back in the Green and Gold very shortly.

So this season was one of near misses and frustration, and ultimately a very disappointing 18th placed finish, perhaps not reflective of how close we were in several games. Not winning a game post-Christmas was surprising and disappointing, with this game, along with the Northern Districts and Easts games, as points that slipped away. Next year the side will be looking to regroup with plenty of talent, and some good young players coming through from Second Grade sure to break through to give us an even more potent squad.

David Warner celebrating his century!

 

Jason Sangha hitting out

 

Sam Williams – Randwick Petersham Cricket’s No. 1 Supporter

A wonderful memento from young Sam Williams from Ballarat who made his second trip to Sydney with his parents (following his first trip in November for the one dayer v Sutherland).

In appreciation to David Warner and Randwick Petersham Cricket Club, Sam presented two hand-turned cricket balls during the rain delay. He was overcome with emotion and his parents expressed how inspirational his initial visit had been and its impact on his own cricket feats. The night before flying to Sydney, Sam scored 26* and is a regular member of the u15s having only turned 10 a couple of months ago!!

Sammy’s support this season has been greatly appreciated by the entire club and to top it off he saw his mate David score a wonderful ton. It’s Sam’s ambition to play for Randwick Petersham when he is older and don’t be surprised if you see him at Coogee Oval in the near future.

#trustrespecthumility #spiritofcricket

 

2nd Grade – Penrith v Randwick Petersham @ Howell Oval 

Team – Mahony-Brack, Powell, Burton, Lyle, Matt Calder, De Silva, Radford, Wood Jenkins, Hemphrey, McKenzie

Result – Penrith 10/214 – 50 Overs (Hemphrey 3/49-9) Defeated Randwick Petersham 10/172 – 46 overs (De Silva 36, Calder 29) 

http://www.premier.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?locx=MATCH&matchID=2928077

It was finals come early for Second Grade with a do-or-die match at Howell Oval against Penrith. With our boys sitting in 6th on 48 points, and the Panthers 4 points behind on 44, the winner would advance to the finals and the loser would be out. The boys had the losses of Mitch Calder and Tom Holland to overcome, both unavailable, but got two bowlers back from First Grade in Tom Mckenzie and Jacob Wood. Jaimie Hemphrey was also included in a really strong bowling attack, with youngster Dylan Powell back up from Third Grade.

Unfortunately, it was not to be as the boys went down bravely, losing their do-or-die clash by 42 runs, when a victory would have secured the final spot in the Top 6. Penrith defended their score of 214, bowling out the Randy Petes for 172 in the 46th over.

Having lost the loss, the Panthers had no hesitation in batting first and getting runs on the board in a high pressure game. There was a bit of cloud cover around early and we managed to pick up two wickets early before reducing Penrith to 4/66. Jaimie Hemphrey (3/49-9) took the third and fourth wickets, before Penrith started to build partnerships through the middle order. Mahony-Brack and Jenkins both did a great job keeping things tight, while Jacob Wood took two excellent catches – one full length diving behind at square leg and a high swirling effort at deep mid-wicket – as we kept the Panthers to a gettable score.

The run chase became a frustrating one, with some quality bowling from the hosts and untimely wickets constantly breaking up our momentum. Powell, Mahony-Bracks and Burton all made starts without going on with it.  De Silva (36) and Calder (29) both kept us in the hunt with fighting middle order innings hewer their dismissals saw the run rate climb further as the home side stayed on top.

Despite the immense disappointment of the loss and missing out on the finals, it was a great effort by Second Grade this season. We lost Harry Tector and Jack James at Christmas, and still did a great job maintaining a final push towards the end of the season. Mitch Calder did a great job when available as captain harnessing young group and forging a good spirit amoung the side. The side is the best performed in the Club, and have a nucleus of really good young players that should be pushing First Grade next season as they stay together. Second Grade finished on 52 points, with 8 victories and 7 losses, to miss the finals by just two points.

Jamie Hemphrey took 3 wickets

3rd Grade – Northern Districts v Randwick Petersham @ Asquith Oval  

Team – B. Stares(c), Graham, Eldridge, Ahmed, Lopes, Mullins, Sachs, Fox, Dellar, M. O’Loughlin, Loth 

Result – Randwick Petersham 10/172 – 49.2 Overs (Ahmed 70, Sach 20) Drew with Penrith 1/17 – 5.3 Overs 

http://www.premier.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?locx=MATCH&matchID=2931351

Third Grade ventured to Kensington Oval for the first time this season, with Petersham Oval facilities under construction and being upgraded for next season. Ben Stares’ boys were looking to finish the season on a high, as they took on 9th placed Penrith. Doug Loth boosted the bowling line up, with the side otherwise having a familiar look to it to recent weeks.

The season ended a few hours earlier than expected, as constant rain just after lunch meant the game was called a draw after we posted 172 before the Panthers started at 1/17 in the sixth over. With Penrith keeping an eye on around the grounds scores, they saw Parramatta had lost and they were in the finals and happy to call an early stumps, after very heavy rain meant it would have taken a few hours mopping up to potentially get a reduced overs game going if the rain stopped.

Captain Stares said it was very difficult early, with the ball nipping around. Rocky Ahmed (70) played an exceptional innings in the conditions. Always a gutsy and sensible player, Rocky not only withstood the early onslaught, but played some exceptional attacking shots, including a big six over cover. Rocky was well supported by youngster Rueben Sachs (20) with the grass at Kensington long and hard to hit boundaries leading into footy season.

Rain came, and Captain Stares reported our season ended after Mitch got hit for one of the biggest straight drive sixes ever seen – “kinda summed up our season”. Captain Stares wanted to send out a big thanks you to the big man Richard McCord for another big season scoring, and to Paul O’Loughlin for his work on game days and at training which is much appreciated and doesn’t go unnoticed. Also well done to ben himself for captaining the side throughout the season again providing a steady head with plenty of changes throughout the year.

The boys finished the season in 16th spot with 5 wins, 1 draw and 8 losses, and will be looking forward to resting up over the off-season and going again next year.

4th Grade – Penrith v Randwick Petersham @ Bill Ball Oval 

Team – Crawford, Rushton, Sapariya, Sultan, Saady (c), Hussain, Redwood, Hutchinson, Kashyap, Boyns, Imroze

Result – Randwick Petersham 9/138 – 50 Overs – (Sapariya 32, Sultan 23, Rushton 20) Defeated by Penrith 4/139 – 32 Overs – (Imroze 2/17-7) 

http://www.premier.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?locx=MATCH&matchID=2936249

Fourth Grade were gunning for back-to-back victories to finish season 2018/19 out at Cook Park as we took on the Panthers. Penrith would be playing for a finals spot in 7th place, whilst Nick Saady’s men would be looking to spoil the party, with our side now in 15th place on 33 points, but looking to finish the season on a high.

Despite a competitive performance, it wasn’t to be on the final day of the season, with Penrith winning by 6 wickets after a run chase of our score of 9/138 from our 50 overs. The wicket was sticky with the Panthers coming out fairly hard and aggressive in search of early wickets. With the bat, the top order players all made good starts on an overcast morning, with Chintan Sapariya (32) continuing his good form by top scoring. Sutton (23) and Rushton (20) built a platform, however were out just when they had established themselves at the crease. At 2/86 we were building nicely, however we lost our final 8 wickets for just 52 runs.

With the ball a couple of early wickets gave us hope, as the Panthers slumped to 2/27, however a 49-run third wicket partnership was the death knell for our chances. Imroze (2/17-7) is a crafty spinner and once again picked up a couple of wickets whilst going at less than 3 runs per over, to briefly give us some hope, before another unbroken 47-run fifth wicket partnership ended the game.

Captain Saady wanted to send a shout out to his team especially Sam Boyns who showed great commitment and leadership throughout the season as a senior players. He said it was promising to see young players developing throughout the year who can get better with experience.

The boys ended up finishing in 15th place with 5 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw, in what was a rebuilding year after the retirements of David Bourke and Rod Stafford.

5th Grade – Randwick Petersham v Penrith @ Snape Park

Team – Segal, Lee, N.Stares, Iosifidis, Connolly, C.Singh, Heaton (c), Apostolakis, Connolly, Stirling, L. O’Loughlin, Bugti

Result – Randwick Petersham 10/95 – 38.5 Overs (Connolly 37) Defeated by Penrith 2/97 24.3 Overs (Bugti 2/13-4.1)  

http://www.premier.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?locx=MATCH&matchID=2940543

Fifth Grade ended their 2018/19 campaign with a rare game at our training headquarters Snape Park. They would play against a Penrith team who were placed 7^th, and Captain Heaton said we really have to lift our game to stay in the top half of the ladder and finish the season on a good note. A few great Clubmen would be helping out 5th grade here with Nathan Stares, Chris Singh  and Scott Stirling all in the line up.

It was a tough day out at Snape with Penrith winning comfortably by 8 wickets in chase of our score of 95 all out from 39 overs. There were not too many highlights on the day, but one of them was the really gutsy innings from Ryan Connolly (38). Connolly was a popular member of one of our successful AWGS teams that made the semi-final three years ago and values his wicket, and held things together here as wickets fell around him.

With the ball Bugti (2/13-4.1) was the only wicket taker as we fought hard but struggled to make a breakthrough as the Panthers passed our score in the 25th over.

Captain Heaton wanted to pay a big tribute to Scott Stirling, playing his last match before retiring, was given the honour to lead the side out on to the field. Scott over the past two years has been a great asset for the Club, a very popular player among the younger boys and he will be missed greatly. These are the sorts of people it would be great to see stay invoked with the club in some capacity. Fabian thanked all the players for their contributions during the season and was looking forward to many of them returning next year. Special thanks to Chris Singh, Nathan Stares and Scott Stirling for helping the team out in this game.

Despite the loss it was a season of much progress for the Fifth Grade side which won just one game the previous year. I wanted to send a special thanks to Fabian Heaton for doing a sensational job in what is a very tough task in captaining 5th grade. Fabian is such a positive person and is an inspiration as Captain, always encouraging young players and willing the players on. We finished the season in 13th place with 5 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses, and look forward to continuing to make progress next year.

Everyone at RPCC wish Scott Stirling all the best in retirement.

Metropolitan Cup – Randwick Petersham Green v Sydney University @ St Pauls Oval 

Team – Jastrzab (C+), Lau, Awati, Stewart, Leeson, Dharman, McNamara, W Deller, Patterson, Brennan, Khoo, C De Silva

Result – Sydney University 77 – 30.2 Overs (W Deller 3-5, R McNamara 2-7, C Leeson 2-18) defeated Randwick Petersham Green 68 – 33.3 Overs (P Patterson 24)

http://www.smcc.nsw.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/match.aspx?matchID=2963772&entityID=2318

After finding out that we won’t be in the Metropolitan Cup finals this season, partially because Eastern Suburbs didn’t want to go to Blacktown for their last round match, the Green team were playing for pride in their last round match. For a little while it looked like they wouldn’t be playing for anything at all, as they showed up to an uncovered pitch following Saturday’s showers. Thankfully, the match was only delayed by 40 minutes thanks to the sunshine and diligent work form the ground staff. Green won the toss and inserted the students in on a still humid pitch. After being edged for 6 over 35m boundary first ball, Charith De Silva picked up from last week’s heroics, hooping the ball around corners. But it was Jack Brennan with the break through thanks to a smart catch from Josh Lau.

Run scoring was tough, particularly as Chaz attacked unplayable areas, until the pressure finally told and the uni opener BBQ’d himself underestimating Will Deller and his ‘keeper’s arm’, which found middle stump cannoning out of the ground long before his dive. Chaz got a well deserved wicket as John Stewart was given catching warm-ups at short cover. From there, Carly Leeson and Reid McNamara tightened the screws – Carly giving nothing with crafty and accurate off-spin while Reid displayed excellent control of in and out-swing – which had one batsman leaving a ball that violently swung back in for the plumbest of LBWs. Having kept wicket most of the season, Will Deller came on for only his second bowl of the season and showed impressive pace for a wicket keeper and made excellent use of the pitch by attacking the stumps. 4 overs, 2 midwicket catches and an LBW later and he held impressive figures of 3-5. Carly then deservedly finished off the innings with a pair of wickets thanks to the bossman’s agile thinking and safe catching.

While the target of 78 didn’t seem like a lot, the wicket was still well in favour of the bowlers and the field was very slow. While the Green’s raced to 10 early, a triple strike to some misjudged running and contentious LBWs put them on the back foot. John Stewart battled bravely to double figures, but the Sydney Uni bowlers showed why they were the leading team by relentlessly attacking the stumps. The latest Irishman to play for the Randy Petes – Phil Patterson – bravely fought to keep the Greens in the game but alas was the last man out at 68. While it was disappointing to end the season on a loss, there were plenty of positives to take from one of the team’s better bowling and fielding performances.

A special thanks to Michael Wood for helping with the warm-up, and to Jason Sangha for a cameo appearance on the scorebook.

RPC Metro Green entering the field for the last time in 2018/19

Wicket-keeper Jeremy Jastrzab appeals!

Metropolitan Cup – Randwick Petersham Gold v Balmain South Sydney @ Alan Davidson Oval 

Result – Randwick Petersham Gold defeated Balmain South Sydney (forfeit)

Gold finished the season on a whimper, following a wash out and forfeit. While that gave them maximum points for the round, it wasn’t enough to scrape them into finals contention, thanks to Blacktown winning against Easts on a forfeit as well. They finished 7th on the ladder, equal with 6th place on 55 points but behind by an excruciating 0.02 points on quotient.