Another scorching weekend didn’t stop the Tahs from continuing their winning momentum, with the Men taking 3 from 5 wins against a formidable Western Suburbs, while the Women finished the first half of their season in style with a clean sweep.
The picturesque Centennial Park hosted W3s on Saturday, skipper Sallie Molyneux winning the toss and electing to bowl. An early run out to Emily Hatfield started proceedings well, before the bowlers took charge with an excellent team bowling effort, wickets shared amongst Sophia Chick, Molyneux, Lily Crabbe, and Cam Pryor, but it was Jasmin Wilson that starred with incredible figures of 3/1 from 3 overs. Sydney University posting 8/36 from 20 overs. It was then left to the in-form Gabby Dunnage to lead the batting innings with a blistering 60* off 27 balls, retiring after 30* and then returning to hit the ball to all parts of the ground. Contributions from Molyneux and Sophia Randall helping the Tahs to 9/114 off 20, a dominant bonus point victory.
Brewers kicked off Sunday’s triple header at Manly Oval, skipper Sophie Lowry electing to bat first. Elizabeth Cambridge began the Tahs’ innings positively with 23, along with some entertaining boundary hitting from Kaya Punter. The loss of a few quick wickets halted momentum, before Charlotte Croll held the innings together with a crucial 32, to take the Tahs to 7/96 from 20 overs. Skipper Lowry struck early with the ball to have Bankstown on the back foot, but the visitors consolidated to have the game in the balance. This was until a game-changing 2 wicket spell from Punter, combined with important wickets to Eve Burke, Croll, and a clutch 2 wicket final over from Lowry, helped restrict Bankstown to 7/82. Manly victorious by 14 runs.
The middle game of Sunday’s triple header saw W2s host Bankstown, with skipper Renee Hough continuing the coin toss trend and batting first. An excellent start ensued with Elizabeth Cambridge (12) and Gabby Dunnage (29) combining for a 51 run opening partnership, before the Tahs lost their way through the middle overs with one of the Bankstown bowlers proving particularly effective with 5 wickets. Hannah Moss played a clever innings of 22* to push the Tahs to a competitive 8/108. With the ball, Erica Sharma led the way taking the first 3 wickets of the innings to finish with 3/10 off 4 overs, before Lara Hughes tied down the runs with an economical 3/8 from 4 overs, supported by a wicket to Kaya Punter, the Tahs winning by 28 runs in the end.
As the afternoon sea breeze set in, it was W1s who headlined the final game of the day, skipper Saskia Horley winning the toss and batting first, and what followed was simply incredible. Horley and Shivani Mehta began patiently to have the score 0/58 from 10 overs, before both accelerated the run rate with great awareness and phenomenal boundary hitting, combining for a magnificent 170 run unbeaten partnership. Needing 6 off the final ball for a century, Saskia’s slog sweep fell centimetres short of the boundary as she ended with 99* from 65 balls, with Shivani 59* from 57. Tahs 0/170 from 20. Ebony Hoskin (2/26) and Mia Phelps (2/20) bowled superbly early on to have Bankstown 5/13, but the visitors fought back strongly with WBBL star Erin Burns making a classy 95 to bring them right back into the game. But a clutch final over from Chelsea McLerie, including a run out from wicket-keeper Katie Letcher to dismiss Burns, saw the Tahs victorious by 16 runs.
M1s made the inaugural trip to Orange to take on Wests at Wade Park on Saturday, with a special hometown debut for Lachie Coyte. Skipper Jay Lenton won the toss and chose to bowl, Wests off to a flyer before the Tahs clawed back momentum with the opening breakthrough to Jacob O’Sullivan and two wickets apiece to Joel Davies and Josh Seward. Wests fought back and finished strongly to post 244, despite further wickets to Bertie Foreman and Ryan Hadley. The run chase was off to the worst possible start at 3/4, resistance from Lenton (37) and Ned Hole (35) not enough as the Tahs slumped to 9/126, needing a further 119 runs. The next couple of hours was simply phenomenal viewing, as Tom Kaye (61*) and Seward (58) combined for a scarcely believable partnership of 106, both taking the game deep with great composure, until the Tahs’ fell agonisingly short of victory, the final wicket falling at 232 in the 49th over.
Andrew Jamieson’s M2s side were at Pratten Park, the skipper winning the toss and bowling first. Early breakthroughs to Michael Counsell, Jamieson (2/23) and Lachlan Ford having Wests on the back foot at 3/35, before the home side consolidated. Another flurry of wickets in the middle overs between Jamieson, Roop Dhillon (2/26), Ford, and Isaiah Vumbaca saw Wests 8/129 until some lower-order hitting boosted their score to 178. In the run chase, Ahillen Beadle led the way with a patient 67, but the loss of a few quick wickets saw the game in the balance at 4/99. Ryan Farrell (29) and Jordan Daly (50*) combined for a 55 run partnership to swing the momentum, Jordan proving the key with an unbeaten half century, the Tahs winning by three wickets.
With M1s taking their home game to Orange, M3s called Manly Oval home for the day, skipper Sam Hole winning the toss and choosing to bowl. The first wicket was utterly bizarre courtesy of an Ellis Raymond run out on a free hit, before Josh Lawson picked up two big wickets to have the Tahs on the charge. From there, all bowlers chipped in with excellent spells, wickets shared between Lawson (3/36), Josh Coyte (3/25), Fraser Noack (2/15) and Matt Sunshine as Wests were bowled out for 122. Skipper Hole took control in the run chase with a measured 42, as he and Cam Merchant (38) took the game away from Wests before both fell chasing the bonus point. With 19 needed in the 30th over for a BP, and 12 needed off the final two balls of that over, Ellis Raymond (18* off 4) showed his class with two clean strikes to secure a bonus point 6 wicket win.
The scorching heat out west greeted M4s at Blick Oval, skipper Adam Parkinson electing to bowl after winning the toss. A luckless start with the ball ensued, Wests 0/37, before a ridiculous direct hit run out from George Cumming at mid off got the Tahs on the board. Some excellent tight bowling dried up the run rate, followed by wickets to Preston Lee, Cumming and Parkinson to have Wests 4/120 after 35. The last 15 overs of the bowling innings proved decisive, as the Tahs bowled superbly at the death to restrict Wests to 8/191 off 50. At 3/15, 4/50 and 6/104, the chase looked on shaky ground, but the country boy Brodie McDowell was standing tall despite full body cramps to keep the Tahs in the game. In the end, it was McDowell (94*) and skipper Parkinson (51*) that took control of the game with a match-winning 93 run 7th wicket partnership, battling through the stifling heat to lead the Tahs to an incredibly gutsy 4 wicket win in the 36th over.
Grahams hosted M5s on Saturday as skipper Simon Waddington made it 5 toss wins in the day for the Men’s grades, also electing to bowl. Up front it was Chris Halloran (4/39) that kicked off proceedings with four of the first five wickets to have the Tahs right in the hunt against a strong Wests side. Through the middle to later overs, Kai Croft (3/22), Ollie Melville (2/19) and Jack Donnan provided crucial support to restrict Wests to be all out 143 in the 47th over. After the loss of a couple of early wickets, Melville (33) and Donnan (18) consolidated the run chase, before Wests’ left-arm quick caused a complete capitulation of the Tahs’ middle-lower order with a devastating spell of 7/24 as the Tahs were bundled out for 85 to succumb to the first M5s defeat of the season.
While the Women head into their Christmas break, the Men still have one big task left for next weekend, M1s-M5s taking on Campbelltown-Camden, with M1s, M3s and M5s on the road, and M2s and M4s at home.
Until then, up the Tahs.
