Round 15 NSW Premier Cricket v Western Suburbs 2021-22 Preview
& Metro Cup v Gordon & NW Sydney Maroon
The big question this weekend is whether there will be any cricket at all. By lunch-time Thursday, most areas of Sydney had received about 200 mm of rain (8 inches in the old money). All we can hope for is a bit of drying weather despite the forecast. It’s the third last round before the finals and we have a series of Limited Overs matches scheduled on Saturday from 10 am against Western Suburbs. They are in 11th place in the Club Championship on 902 points, just three spots behind us in 8th on 983. We are 24 points behind 7th placed Parramatta and 81 from Sydney University who are immediately in front of them in 6th. We lost a bit of ground last week with three lower grade losses. It goes without saying that we need some wins in the remaining matches if we hope to finish in the first 5 or so.
In our 20 seasons, we have played Wests in 83 matches across all grades and, apart from 3 draws, we have won 45 to their 35. We have had more wins in all grades except 2nd Grade where they hold a one win advantage.
In Metropolitan Cup cricket, both teams will play on Sunday. RPC Green will play Gordon at Coogee while Gold is up against North West Sydney Maroon at Marrickville. After two great wins last Saturday, the boys are keen to get amongst the points once again. Green is in 5th place and Gordon is well down in 12th. Gold is 13th while the Maroons are just out of the final 6 in 7th place
1st GRADE is at Coogee: Our 1st graders have stretched their winning sequence to 10 and will be keen to maintain the momentum. The side is still in 3rd place and made up a bit of ground on 2nd placed Mosman who lost last Saturday. We are on 73 points, Mosman 76 while leaders NDs are on 83. We are certain of a finals spot as we are 24 ahead of this week’s opponent, 7th placed Western Suburbs. They are just one point out of 6th, so will be going all out on Saturday to knock us over and move into the top 6 finals contenders. They are on a roll with wins in their last 3 matches against Blacktown, Sydney University and 2nd placed Mosman last Saturday. They will be a tough nut to crack although, historically, we have the wood on them, having won 6 of the past 7 clashes. Our last 4 scores playing Wests have been 9-278; 6-350; 9-272 and last season, 5-288. We may just need something like that again this Saturday to take the points. Anthony Sams has an interesting milestone coming up as he has a career total of 6,970 runs in 1st Grade which includes his early years with Bankstown. Just 30 runs will give him a remarkable 7,000 1st Grade runs. He will be the 113th player in Sydney 1st Grade to do it. If he can get past 7,246 he will be in the top 100. An amazing performance! Adam Semple is also on the verge of another milestone, needing just 4 runs to reach 6,500 in 1st Grade.
2nd Grade is at Pratten: The side will be keen to recover from its worst performance of the season in making just 111 against Gordon last week—it’s lowest since it made 72 in round 4 last season against NDs. Wests won’t be easy, being in 10th place to our 12th. But they lost last week as well. We have won 4 out of 7 at Pratten Park although they have won the past 4 clashes.
3rd Grade is at Petersham: A great win last week with Blake Weymouth displaying his talents with 62* from 65 balls after staring defeat in the face. We are still in 7th place and just 5 points from 5th and a real Finals possibility. We just gotta win! Wests are 12th but have beaten us 4 out of the past 6 seasons. They have lost 3 of their past 4 games this season. We have played Wests 4 times at Petersham for 2 wins and 2 losses. Time to step up.
4th Grade is at Blick: Wests are 9th and we are 16th. Wests have won 3 of their past 5 matches and we have won once. In 11 matches this season, the side has made 200 just once. Batting is our problem. On the positive side, we have a great record against Wests winning 11 to their 5. And the biggest advantage we have is that we have won 6 out of 6 at Blick Oval! Can we make it 7??
5th Grade is at Kensington: Despite winning just 2 of our past 5 games, we are still a finals chance, being just 4 points out of 6th in 9th place. Our Wests record is excellent, winning 11 to their 6. Wests are struggling this season in 19th place. We need to win this!
Metropolitan Cup. This SUNDAY, RPC Green will play Gordon at Coogee while Gold is up against North West Sydney Maroon at Marrickville. Following on from their win against Hawkesbury last weekend, the Green team are within shooting distance of a finals berth with two regular season matches left to play. Now if there was anywhere that you wanted to give yourself a chance of getting on the field with the dire forecast abound, it would be Coogee Oval and against the 12th placed team. Green was supposed to play Gordon two weeks ago but the rain put paid to that clash at Killara – the superb effort of the Gordon players to get us on, notwithstanding. Gold will take on North West Sydney Maroon, who are a quality young outfit that haven’t had the rub of the green go their way. Should play take place at Marrickville Oval this weekend, Gold will certainly have their work cut out for them.
Go the Randy Petes…..and stay healthy!!
The Round 15 Match Preview is Proudly Brought to you by:
Chargrill Charlie’s Coogee
Chargrill Charlie’s opened their first store in 1989 on the golden shores of Coogee, cooking food for their family, friends and community. Three decades later, that family has grown to 17 stores across Sydney and Melbourne.
It’s tempting to get caught up in the latest trends, but Chargrill Charlie’s try to remember who they are and what it is they do best – making delicious home-style food, with real ingredients and a lot of love.
Chargrill Charlie’s is a family business and they see everyone who is a part of it, from their regular customers, to their staff, as part of their extended family.
Chargrill Charlie’s aim is to always support the people eating their food, and to make them feel at home.
https://chargrillcharlies.com/
