LJ’S RANDY PETES PREVIEW ROUND 8 VS MOSMAN & ROUND 7 VS BANKSTOWN + METRO
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Things aren’t going exactly how we would like on the field at the moment – but there is still time to turn things around in season 2020/21.
With some quality players back across the grades this weekend, 1s and 2s will look to take down Mosman in two-day games, while the lower grades will play Bankstown in one-day fixtures.
Lefrand Group 1st Grade vs Mosman @ Coogee Oval
A narrow defeat last weekend at the hands of the Bears, this clash is of high importance for 1s. They currently sit in 9th spot – but are just six points behind 5th, which is an indication of how close this competition is.
Last year against the Whales, we held on for a 13-run victory in our premiership season. That took our overall record to 14 wins, four draws and six losses against this weekend’s opponents.
When wins are hard to come by, you look to your experienced players to stand up – and that’s exactly what Adam Semple will do this game. It’s been a disrupted start to the season for the veteran, but there is no doubt he will be a big part of a potential victory with both bat and ball here.
Suttons City Rosebery 2nd Grade vs Mosman @ Allan Border Oval
Last week was a disappointing result for nd Grade, going down to the Bears in convincing fashion. This round they welcome back Mitchell O’Loughlin from injury, as well skipper Scott Sharma and Rehan Anjum.
In 17 clashes against Mosman, we have come away with 11 wins and a draw for a positive record. Unfortunately, recent history isn’t in our favour, having lost four of the past five encounters.
Adam Docos has had a rather lean year with the bat by his lofty standards, and as one of the more experienced players in the side this weekend, will need to lift. Runs from him at the top of the order will be crucial and Doc is the player to watch over the next fortnight with the bat and gloves.
Petersham RSL 3rd Grade vs Bankstown @ Kelso Park North
After a tie against Blacktown and a narrow loss to the Bears, 3rd Grade aren’t far away from their first win of the season. This weekend, they welcome back Jack Lyle, James Mahony-Brack, Kel Mullins, Mandar Mariguddi and Alex Deller. A host of changes will hopefully change their fortunes.
Over the years we’ve had a very strong record against Bankstown, recording 10 wins and a draw from 13 games. However, the only two wins for the Bulldogs have come in the past three clashes.
Akhter Hussain has started the 2020/21 season in brilliant form with the ball, and is proving handy as a lower-order bat as well. Hollywood has taken seven wickets in six games, and has scored 99 runs at an average of 33. He will be an important part of a breakthrough victory for 3s this weekend.
Mellick Wealth 4th Grade vs Bankstown @ Petersham Oval
The performances of 4s in recent weeks have been rather disappointing, but they are still the only lower grade RPC side to record a victory in Premier Cricket this season. They get some nice additions this weekend with Scott Stirling, Luca Lopes and Sean Rushton all selected for the Bankstown game.
Over the years, the record against this weekend’s opponents for the Randy Petes has been tremendous. In the 13 meetings between the two sides, we have won 12 of them – including a brilliant win against a finals outfit last season.
Bilal Abbasi made his return to grade cricket last weekend, and showed some really good signs. His bowling proved to be a major asset, and if he can knuckle down with the bat, a big score should await him at Petersham on Saturday.
Clovelly Community Bank 5th Grade vs Bansktown @ Grahame Thomas Oval
Still yet to record a win, 5s will be eager to down the Bulldogs this weekend. The big in for Fabian Heaton’s side this weekend is Alan ‘Taronga’ Xu, who has toiled away in Metro Cup and has been scoring runs at that level.
The Randy Petes have won 7 out of 13 games against Bankstown over the years, giving us a slight edge. In recent times however, our opponents have had the edge, winning three in a row before we redressed the ledger last season.
Max Robinson is the player to watch for 5th Grade this weekend. A talented young batsman, Max works hard each week at training and has been named captain for the upcoming Green Shield season. He has big potential, and a big score in grade can’t be too far away.
Metropolitan Cup: Titan Fitness Gold vs Sydney University Gold @ Snape Park
Metropolitan Cup: Cartwright Insurances Green vs Sydney University Blue @ Kensington Oval
It’s important to ensure that we accentuate the positives through out, and the Metro Cup Gold team has managed to score 5 wins from 6 starts this season – with the only loss coming from a batting aberration. Even though we were bowled out for 84 against Sydney University Blue, this score is sandwiched between 3 scores of 200+. With a bye coming up in the round 8, it would be ideal to take a sixth win going into Christmas and a minimum of 45 points. Standing in the way are Sydney University Gold, the second Metro Cup team put on the park from the University this year, and the students have been perennial banana skins for our sides over the years. While Charith De Silva has been taking wickets for fun, as per usual, Thanush Gowda has been quietly going about his business and playing instrumental roles in most of our wins this season. His control in the middle overs has allowed for us to defend our batting scores, has shown adaptability after being thrown in to open the bowling last game and has boundless energy in the field. He’ll be looking forwad to returning to the spin-friendly Snape Park after several weeks on the road.
The Green team are in a bit of a funk, but are by no means completely out of contention for this season. They will miss the batting exploits of the Doctor this weekend, but will make up for it with a promising crop of young players. While their Gold side is primarily made up of younger players, the Sydney University Blue team has a bit more fire power through out their order, with a few players having come down from Premier Cricket. But the Kensington pitch is a great leveller, and we have a new pair of spin twins ready to exploit the slow conditions in Akash Padavala and Yuvraj Mengi. The off-spinning / leg-spinning pair have been training hard through out the season and are keen to take their opportunity to some hard men’s cricket.
