RD 11 MATCH REPORTS V BLACKTOWN & METRO CUP

In a weekend that saw RPC up against a plethora of former teammates, they were able to come away with four wins from five grades against Blacktown.

Adam Docos (81*) and Daya Singh (4/23) starred in 1st Grade, while some late heroics from Sadeep Deepak and Alan Mathews saved the day for 3rd Grade. Josh Segal (92*) produced a spectacular innings in 4th Grade, while Cotter Litchfield (4/13) and Harry Schultz (3/12) wreaked havoc in 5th Grade. Nimesh Desai picked up his first ever 5 wicket haul (5/20) to send Metro Green on their way to a much needed win.

Unfortunately for 2nd Grade, they fell on the final ball of the 50th over.

Lefand Group 1st Grade @ Joe McAleer Oval

Randwick Petersham 1/128 (Docos 81*) def. Blacktown 124 (Singh 4/23 Ralston 3/32)

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Adam Docos

It was the skill of the “old hand” and the talent of the “newcomer”, which highlighted Randwick Petersham’s convincing win over Blacktown Mounties in Saturday’s 1st Grade clash at Joe McAleer Reserve, Blacktown. In his 302nd 1st Grade match, the highly experienced Adam Semple, took a wicket first ball of the match. He took another with the first ball of his second over. And while that achievement set the scene, it was the performance of newcomer Adam Docos, having his first bat in 1st Grade, which brought home the win in scintillating style, with a bonus point to boot.
Batting first, Blacktown Mounties struggled against an experienced attack. After 19 overs they were 7-67 and in danger of not making triple figures. A rally among the tailenders managed to get them to 124, but that was never going to be enough on a good batting strip and a hot day. Skipper Daya Singh took the bowling honours with 4-23 off 10 overs while fast bowler Jason Ralston took his 25th wicket of the season in finishing with 3-32 off 8.2. Semple ended with 2-31 from 8 overs. And champion wicket-keeper, Anthony Sams, added to his haul of dismissals with another four, taking his career tally with the club to 420.
There was a hiccup in the run chase, with Puru Gaur out third ball for a 1-0 scoreline. However, that was the last of the celebrations for the Mounties as Randwick Petersham’s newest capped player, number 146 Adam Docos, in his third 1st Grade match but batting for the first time, took to the attack in concert with Riley Ayre. After 25.1 overs they passed the target with a final tally of 1-128. Ayre remained 38* off 63 balls while 24 year old Docos racked up a remarkable 81* off 86 balls in 98 minutes with 12 fours. He brought up his 50 in 68 balls, taking a single from off-spinner Jacob Wood. Ironically, he and Wood were Randwick Petersham 2nd Grade team-mates the past two seasons.
The win was Randwick Petersham’s ninth from 11 matches this season and it’s seventh in succession. It last won seven in a row in 2011-12—10 seasons ago.

Suttons City 2nd Grade @ Coogee Oval 

Blacktown 7/208 (Hussain 2/24 O’Loughlin 2/30) def. Randwick Petersham (Mullins 66 Hussain 55*)

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Kel Mullins

RPC on the toss at Coogee oval and elected to bat on a fake green top. A combination of line and length with a ring field from the Blacktown opening bowlers made scoring runs difficult brought about the wickets of both openers just after the power play. A top-order collapse saw the hosts 4/41, before Josh Mellick (34) played a counter-attacking innings.

Kel Mullins (66) and Akther Hussain (55*) came to the crease with the score 6/83 and showed the top order how to play, utilising their strengths on the sweep and slog sweep, as both players brought up half centuries before Kel was run out for a well made 66. At the end of the 50 overs, RPC managed to post a solid total of 7/205.

In the field, Mitch ‘the fridge’ O’Loughlin (2/30) and Conor O’Riordan (1/47) bowled good areas and were unlucky on multiple occasions not to take an early wicket. The introduction of Akther Hussain (2/24) saw the Randy Petes take a wicket into the drinks break, ably supported by Max Robinson (0/20) and James Widerstrom (1/44).

With the score 1/55 off 20, the middle session saw a couple more wickets fall, with debutant Dane Coombs (1/38) snaring his first second grade victim. With the game in the balance at the second drinks break, Blacktown needed six runs an over for the last session with wickets in the shed. What had been a very even contest for most of the innings tipped the way of the home side with 2 overs to go, as the required run rate ticked up to 10 with the last established batsman at the crease. A six off the last ball of the 49th over left Blacktown needing 7 to win off the last over and then 2 to win off the last ball.

A French cut for 4 sheets was enough to get Blacktown over the line, a disappointing finish to a strong overall bowling effort from Randwick.

Petersham RSL 3rd Grade @ Jim Hanshaw Oval 

Randwick Petersham 9/172 (Mahajan 48) def. Blacktown 6/171 

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Vivek Mahajan

Petersham RSL 3rd Grade arrived at Jim Hanshaw Oval to a very thick and luscious outfield and a deck that had a bit in it for both bat and ball. After losing the toss and being asked to bowl first, Sadeep Deepak (1-37 off 8) took a pole in his first over, but we had to wait till the 31st over before our 2nd wicket was taken. We bowled relatively poorly in the first 10-15 overs not bowling consistently enough in the same areas and allowing Blacktown to alleviate any pressure accumulated.
The introduction of spin brought us back in the game with Vivek Mahajan (1-20 off 10) and Guru Chandar (0-26 off 10) dragging us right back into the mix once again and strangling the Blacktown batsmen with some fantastic tight bowling. We missed a few half-chances, but some better bowling towards the end of our innings and late wickets to Alan Matthews (1-32 off 10), Mandar Mariguddi (1-30 off 8) and Blake Weymouth (1-24 off 4) saw Blacktown finish 171 off 50 overs with only 6 boundaries scored in their innings.
Our batting got off to a shaky start losing two quick ones early, with Vivek (48) and Tom Holland (19) steadying the ship and getting through into the first drinks break 2-51 after 15. Ben Chaplin made a strong cameo with a quickfire 30, including 2 mammoth sixes over one of the longest boundaries at the ground (anyone whose been to Whalan Reserve knows how big the grounds are!) all the while Vivek plied away at the other end, working in a combination of finesse, chipping over the infield and smart running. Lachie Bird (13) started off strongly but a wayward shot ended his stay, as we continued to lose wickets in clumps in the middle-lower order. It was looking dire at 9-144 when Sadeep and Alan were at the crease with 6 overs to go. What followed was some very smart and tactical batting from both youngsters, with Sadeep nailing 2 big boundaries when we needed them to keep us within reach of the target, and eventually seal the deal with an over the spare, Sadeep finishing 18* and Alan 9*. The pair batted with maturity beyond their years and didn’t let the pressure of the situation get to them in getting us over the line sensibly and with minimal risk.
It shows that 3rd grade can win a game from any position and we should take heart knowing we have the players to do so. The win keeps us in sight of the 6 with some big games coming up. Roll on next week.

Mellick Wealth Management 4th Grade @ Kensington Oval

Randwick Petersham 8/201 (Segal 92* Dodd 40) def. Blacktown 8/168 

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Josh Segal

4th Grade were forced into a change of grounds, returning to Kenso against Blacktown on Saturday. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, a slowish start was rectified by one of the best partnerships from the side all season. Josh Segal (92*) and Jackson Dodd (40) were able to put on 75 runs for the fourth wicket.

After the latter departed, Segal continued to churn out runs and worked with the fresh batsmen, before teeing off late and getting the side to a big score of 8/201.

Bowling started off well with an early wicket for Adam Coombs (3/37), but a second-wicket partnership of 92 runs for Blacktown saw the Randy Petes in a bit of trouble. Luckily, they were able to fight back thanks to some clever bowling from Tom Owen (2/20), before squeezing the visitors late and taking regular wickets.

RPC would end up winning by 33 runs in a dominant performance, keeping them within striking distance of the top-six with plenty of games remaining.

Community Bank Clovelly Bendigo Bank 5th Grade @ Whalan Oval

Randwick Petersham 140 (Segal 50) def. Blacktown 86 (Litchfield 4/13 Schultz 3/12)

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Jordan Segal

Randwick Petersham won the toss and elected to bat on a newly cut grassy wicket which looked hard on the surface. The outfield looked green but with the long boundaries and thick grass balls hit on the ground would struggle to reach the boundary. This meant plenty of singles and 2’s would have to be taken. A score of 180+ would be good to defend.

The RPCC batsmen top order batsmen were asked to bat conservatively for the first 10 overs as there would be a little bit in the wicket but would settle after then and be good for batting.

As predicted the new ball jagged around early and the RPCC batsmen were in dire straits down 4 for 31 in 15 overs. Azaan Syed (1) Jake Myers (3), Chaik Hathurisinghe (4) and Cotter Litchfield (4) back in the sheds. But, our number 4 bat Jordan Segal (50 – 2 fours and 1 six) rose to the occasion and along with Jack Gibbens-Johnson (24 no) put on a fighting partnership of 51 runs to get the team to 82 in 25 overs. Unfortunately, after Jordan reached 50 he was out LBW. It was a magnificent knock with fluent cover drives, powerful pull shots and brilliant running between the wickets. It was now time to capitalise on the know but the Blacktown bowlers came back hard to take 2 RPCC wickets in quick succession. Marley Whitcombe (0) and Fabian Heaton (0) back in the sheds in 2 consecutive overs. RPCC – 7 for 89 in 27 overs.

However, the RPCC lower order batsmen Harry Shultz (8), Scott Stirling (6) and Samarpreet Singh (5) did a fantastic job holding the fort to bat around Jack and kept the Blacktown players out longer in the field in humid conditions.  This strategy worked and the exhausted Blacktown bowlers gave away 30 wides in the process. Jack played an invaluable role for the team, coming in to bat in the 15th over he held the innings together and showed grit and determination to ensure that he was still there at the end of the RPCC innings. RPCC all out 140.

With still plenty of purchase in the wicket the RPCC bowlers were asked to bowl on or outside off stump back of a length. Getting early wickets were the key. We would also needed to catch and field well to defend 140.

RPCC opening bowlers Scott Stirling (1 for 18 off 8) and Harry Shultz (3 for 12 off 9) were fantastic. Harry was back to his best bowling with extreme pace struck first in his 1st over with a beauty of a ball bowled with great pace which took a thick edge for Heaton to complete the catch. Next over our bowling captain Scott trapped Blacktown’s number 3 batsman plumb in front to a delivery that seamed in from off stump to middle stump. Harry then delivered another beauty when he yorked the number 4 to take middle stump. Blacktown now 3 for 22 of 9 overs. The exact start we wanted.

Samarpreet Singh (0 for 19 off 8), Cotter Litchfield (4 for 13 off 10), Marley Whitcombe (1 for 12 off 5) and Chaik Hathurasinghe (1 for 8 off 6.3) all bowled magnificent lines and to the plan and gave nothing loose to the Blacktown batsmen who were desperately trying to up the ante. Special mention for Cotter who was called on to bowl tense times and he delivered brilliantly and got breakthroughs just when we needed it most. Blacktown all out 8 of 46.3 overs.

On the field Jack (in addition to his batting) was outstanding running and cutting off the 1’s and 2’s and in the process took an outstanding brilliant diving catch running off the deep midwicket fence.

It was brilliant feeling singing the team song after a hard-fought win. Thank you to 3rd grade players Skipper Tom, Guru, Ross and Alan M who supported the team by joining in the team song.

Big thank you to our club photographer Peter Bannigan for taking the team picture and many other photos of our 5th grade batting and fielding from all areas of the oval in spite of the hot conditions.

Thank you to all the parents who came a long way to support the team and to Balwinder Singh for recording us singing the team song. Much appreciated!!

Looking forward to everyone continuing to work hard at training and be well prepared once again for our next game.

Cartwright Insurance Brokers Metro Green v Sydney University Gold @ Petersham

Randwick Petersham Green 4-108 (24.2 Overs) A Beaumont 22 def. by Sydney University Gold 103 (39.1 Overs) N Desai 5-20, M Adam 2-14, T Gowda 2-26

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Green arrived to play at Petersham Oval and went rustic by setting up a marquee and lining their kits along the boundary edge just like we once did in juniors. Having lost the toss and asked to bowl first on a rock-hard Petersham Oval deck, with a carpet-like boundary, the challenge was thrown down by the Sydney University Gold batsmen who raced out of the blocks. Alvin Rajesh and Matthew Adam (2-14) bounced back, with the latter realising that this was a bang-it-in on a back of a length type of deck, having batsmen caught a mid-on and off the splice at cover. The USyd Gold captain and hard-swinging opener threatened to take the game away, before an errant ball on the legs from Nimesh Desai found its way into the hands of Valmik Ahire at backward square. After taking 16 off the over before drinks, the match was tantalisingly poised at 4-50.

From there it was the Nimesh (5-20) and Thanush Gowda (2-26) show, as the lanky quick enjoyed the extra pace and bounce, while ‘Big T’ held his nerve and picked up big wickets. The highlight of the session came when an ex-Randwick Petersham player was greeted by an umbrella field of 7 slips and 2 short catchers, before losing his off-stump the next over. Nimesh then cut a swathe through the lower order, challenging the outside edge of the bat to reduce the students to 9-87 and pick up his first ever 5 wicket haul. Alvin came back to knock over the last wicket, leaving the Green team a target of 104. After some early jitters and seeing off the new ball, the team passed the score in the 25th over and secured a much needed double-bonus point win.

7 slips

Mr Taxman Metro Gold v Sydney University Blue @ St Pauls

Randwick Petersham Gold 6-153 (50 Overs) J Trueman 55* def. by Sydney University Blue 4-298 (50 overs) S Sharma 3-63

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Gold won the toss and elected to bowl, and elected to bowl on the extension to City Rd known as St Pauls. The inexperienced side was put to the sword as, the students looked to avenge their brethren from the previous day. After piling on 4-298 in the 50 overs, few corners of St Pauls were left untouched. Shervin Sharma (3-63) did manage to take some wickets along the way.

In response, the young side battled gamely to ensure that they batted the full 50 overs. Everyone gave a good account of themselves, with Jarrod Trueman bringing up his maiden 50 for the Randy Petes. While they may not have won they game, they at least ensured that Sydney Uni Blue would not get the full complement of bonus points.

Talhir Tahir

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