3 PREMIERSHIPS IN 3 SEASONS

BELVIDERE CUP, LIMITED OVERS CROWN & AN UNPRECEDENTED 4TH T20 CUP

In 3 seasons (2019-20 to 2021-22) 1st Grade have been a highly successful side adding the Belvidere Cup, Limited Overs Cup and an unpredented 4th Kingsgrove Sports T20 Cup to the trophy cabinet. Each premiership has been achieved under the Co-Captaincy of Jason Sangha and Daya Singh alongside the experienced veterans Adam Semple and Anthony Sams.

Randwick Petersham First Grade were crowned the Belvidere Cup winners for 2019-20. At the conclusion of the NSW Premier Cricket 2019-20 season, Randwick Petersham headed the Belvidere Cup 1st Grade points table with 77 points–11 ahead of next best Sydney University on 66 with Bankstown in third place on 61. That gave Randwick Petersham the minor premiership in the competition for the first time. Under the leadership of Co-Captains Jason Sangha and Daya Singh the team lost only one match during the rounds. This was an amazing turnaround in performances as the team finished 18th in 2018-19 and as a Club the Randy Petes lifted 8 positions in the Club Championship to finish 7th.

The Finals Series comprising qualifying finals, semi-finals and a Grand Final was scheduled to be played between 21 March and 5 April. The winner of the Grand Final or the team with the higher position on the points table in the event of a draw, would be declared Premiers for 2019-20. Because of the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic and the action taken by the Australian Government to address its effect on the population, Cricket Australia issued a recommendation that club and community cricket close down amid the health concerns. Cricket NSW adopted that advice bringing to an end NSW Premier Cricket for the season. The Association also declared that the minor premiers of each grade would be declared Premiers for 2019-20. Randwick Petersham was accordingly named 1st Grade Premiers for 2019-20.

This was the first time in its 19 seasons Randwick Petersham were 1st Grade Premiers. The team had participated in three previous Belvidere Cup Grand Finals going down to Eastern Suburbs in 2003-04 and to Sydney University in 2010-11 and 2011-12. While the side were Premiers in the Limited Overs competition in 2011-12 and had won the Twenty20 competition three times between 2011 and 2016, the Belvidere Cup until this season, had eluded them.

Winning the NSW Premier Cricket 1st Grade Cricket Premiership is the pinnacle of achievement in cricket competitions at the level which feeds into NSW state and Australian international cricket teams. Most grade clubs have representative players in their ranks and we at Randwick Petersham were fortunate to have as part of our team, international David Warner, Daniel Sams and Jason Sangha – both from the NSW team and Sydney Thunder – and Kent CCC representative Daniel Bell Drummond.

This of course is only part of the story, as playing alongside them we also had a group of highly skilled hard working players who all made outstanding contributions to the success of the team throughout the season. Many of these players have played in NSW 2nd X1, NSW Under 19 and NSW Under 17 teams. None more so than veterans Adam Semple and Anthony Sams whose experience and skill as cricketers was central to the teams success and the last two remaining players from our last Grand Final appearances. Our youngest player is 17 year old Caelan Maladay.

As one of the standout sides this season it is fitting to cap off 2019-20 with this silverware. But titles like these are hard to win and it requires a large group of people behind the scenes: administrators, volunteers, coaches, scorers and game day helpers to create a winning environment. These people have been a part of a truly extended team and club effort to assist the players in every possible way. Credit must be paid foremost to Director of Cricket Operations Bill Anderson who has been at the helm since our first season as a merged club. His dedication to First Grade is unrivalled and the fruits of his labour are clear for all to see. Congratulations are also extended to Head Coach Greg Small on his second First Grade title with the Randy Petes and to the selectors Alan Wright and Peter Devlin. Credit must also be paid to Veena Naidu the team scorer. Their dedication and commitment are also unrivalled. In addition, the contribution of our wonderful ladies in the canteen each match day, our honorary photographer Peter Bannigan, our CEO John Stewart and Management Committee should also not be underestimated. We are fortunate to have these people and many others behind the scenes, prepared to give up their time for the benefit and welfare of Randwick Petersham Cricket. We are truly indebted to them all. A great thanks to the entire supporter base of Randwick Petersham members who came down and cheered on 1st grade at as many match days as they could – having such dedicated support no doubt spurred the team on.

Proud 19 year old Captain Jason Sangha was elated with the win stating “It’s been a terrific season for the Randy Petes. Although this may not have been the ideal way to win the Belvidere Cup, I’m immensely proud of all players and support staff for what was a dominating season, finishing 11 points clear of second place. I want to thank all the players, support staff, game day staff, volunteers, supporters and sponsors for their unwavering support in 2019-20.”

The President Mike Whitney was beaming in his praise for First Grade’s win “It has been a long wait for this title but it is certainly a wait worthwhile. To finish Minor Premiers after 18th last season is testament to the hard work and skill of our 1st Grade team who were formidable all season. I am a proud President heading into our 20th season as defending Belvidere Cup Premiers!!”

The Randwick, Petersham and surrounding communities were rightfully proud of the achievements of the Randwick Petersham Cricket Club and its 1st grade team in 2019-20.

On Sunday February 21st Randwick Petersham defeated Sydney Cricket Club by 8 runs to win the 2020-21 Limited Overs Premiership. This was the Randy Petes second title in the competition – last beating Fairfield-Liverpool in 2011-12.

It was Jason Sangha’s 2nd title in as many seasons as skipper to go with the Belvidere Cup win in 2019-20.

Batting first 232 was posted courtesy of Adam Semple (44*), Anthony Sams (44) and Tim Affleck (39). In the defence Jason Ralston was the pick of the bowlers with 3-40 and was backed up by 2 wickets apiece from Riley Ayre and Caelan Maladay. Anthony Sams was awarded the Michael Bevan Medal as Player of the Final with 6 dismissals, to compliment his efforts with the bat, including a 10m stumping on the penultimate ball of the match to seal victory.

Randwick Petersham are the 1st Grade Kingsgrove Sports Twenty20 Cup champions for 2021-22 after defeating Sydney University at University Oval today. The scores were 114 to 83. And while that is a winning margin of 31 runs, it in no way represents the closeness of the contest. In fact, the match can be summed up in a single word. Extraordinary.
It was extraordinary in that both sides suffered batting collapses with only one batter in each team making more than 17 runs. It was extraordinary and at times brilliant, bowling and fielding by both sides. It was extraordinary to think that in a T20 match, both teams failed to bat the 20 overs while the total runs scored were a mere 197 for the loss of 20 wickets. And it was extraordinary to experience the buzz around the ground from supporters of both teams. Truly a match to remember.
Under cloudy skies with showers continually threatening, Randwick Petersham skipper, Jason Sangha won the toss and batted. But after 10 overs, he and the Sams brothers, Daniel and Anthony, were back in the pavilion with the score a reasonable 3-73. Camden Hawkins was the real goer but nicked one to the ‘keeper when he had made 52 off 41 balls with 5 fours. At 5-98, Riley Ayre was gone and his dismissal triggered an amazing collapse which saw 4 wickets fall on 103. Chief destroyer was spinner Ryan McElduff who took 3 wickets in an over and ended with 4-16 off 3 overs. The score had slumped from 4-98 to 9-103 in just a few balls. And when Ben Mitchell was caught, Randwick Petersham was all out for just 114 off 18.1 overs. The deafening cheering from the University supporters in the grandstand clearly indicated that such a meagre score was just that. Very meagre.
But runs on the board can be a bit of a challenge for the chasers at times, particularly if the opposing bowlers and fielders put their mind to the job. And that’s what happened.
In Uni.’s innings, spinner Riley Ayre struck early and when “Iron Warrior” Adam Semple removed State bat, Nick Larkin, for a duck, the score was 2-6. Dan Sams and Daya Singh hit the stumps of Robertson and Cummins soon after and when Jason Ralston got the edge of Mortimer’s bat, the tally was a shaky 5-29 off 9 overs. Brought back into the attack, Semple removed both McElduff and Holloway in successive balls for a 7-38 scoreline. Sydney Sixers star Hayden Kerr, who was named in the BBL Team of the Tournament, was the student’s great hope. But when the over asking rate was approaching double figures, he was caught in the deep for 37 off 41 balls after hitting 2 sixes. The remainder provided token resistance against a determined and switched-on attack with the last man falling to an outfield catch for a final total of 83 from 18.1 overs. That was also the signal for a large and excited group of Randwick Petersham supporters, who had been vocal from the opposite side of the oval, to invade the ground and join in mid-wicket celebrations. Semple finished with 3-11, Dan Sams 2-8 and Daya Singh 2-29. Camden Hawkins was named Man of the Match. What a game!!
This was Randwick Petersham’s fourth win in the 13 years of this competition. The side has dominated all others in the T20 format, winning 51 of 69 matches since 2009-10. In a three year period, it has won all three competition conducted by the Sydney Cricket Association, having won the Limited Overs Cup last season and the Belvidere Cup the summer before.