Welcome to another edition of the Weekend Wrap, proudly brought to you by our friends at New Balance | Belgravia Apparel. Visit them at www.belgraviaapparel.com for all your community club and business apparel needs.
The Men resumed two-day fixtures against Sydney with solid results, while the Women had a tough weekend against some strong opposition.
Saturday fixtures
Men’s 1st Grade:
Sydney batted on into Day 2, with the Tahs taking the final two wickets relatively quickly, the first to Stobo and then Dhillon with his 5th for his maiden 1st Grade 5fa. Sydney all out 328. Brewster (64) & Beadle (80) were off to another terrific start either side of a slight rain delay, as the former took the attack to Sydney’s bowlers, while the latter showed his usual patience & class as the pair combined for a 98 run opening stand. O.Davies (35) started positively to continue the momentum, before a few wickets fell quickly as the Tahs lifted the tempo. A heavy storm rolled through & led to a lengthy delay, with the equation an improbable 115 more to win off 13 overs when the rain ceased. Foster (23*) & Kaye not out when the captains shook hands, the Tahs 7/257 & the match ending in a draw.
Men’s 2nd Grade:
Resuming 9/320, Lawson took the final wicket early to leave 323 for the Tahs to win. Trewartha (50) & Croft (51) both continued their fine form with a flurry of boundaries in entertaining half centuries that put the Tahs in a great position at 0/96. A few quick wickets including both set batters halted momentum, until N.Hole (76) & Joseph (100*) commenced their sensational 142 run partnership. Both putting the pressure back on Sydney’s attack with positive intent & regular boundaries to bring the Tahs in sight of victory. Joseph & M.Kapoor (29*) finishing the job as the former brought up a match-winning hundred, his first for the club. The Tahs passing the target only five wickets down inside a remarkable 74 overs.
Men’s 3rd Grade:
Common trend continued as Sydney batted on into the morning of Day 2, not lasting much longer as Pryke picked up his 4th to see Sydney all out for 237. The Tahs began steadily with 76 overs to chase the target, with Melchiore (30) & Daly (34) building a terrific platform heading into tea to have the Tahs in a strong position at 2/94. A middle order collapse saw pressure soar at 6/120 despite a mini Searle counter-attack. But it was Dinan (43) & skipper Webber (42*) who shifted the momentum as they took the attack back to the opposition with an aggressive 75 run partnership, giving the Tahs a chance just as a big storm threatened to roll in. Sure enough it did, stopping play for 45 mins, but after the resumption, a quickfire cameo from Pryke (21) brought the Tahs within reach. The skipper calmly icing the game under pressure alongside Walker, as the Tahs scampered to a gutsy 2 wicket win late in the day.
Men’s 4th Grade:
The Tahs resumed the run chase in a terrific position at 0/78 in pursuit of 205, but things didn’t go to plan early on Day 2. Both set batters, Kennedy (53) & Donnan (20) dismissed & that was the start of a slippery slope for the Tahs middle order, falling to 8/141. Melville (29) did his best to steady the ship but couldn’t find much support, with the Tahs well behind the eight ball now. A gutsy lower order fight back from Kerr (22) & Bishop-Perrett (29) brought the game back within reach, with the latter hitting a flurry of boundaries to have the Tahs within touching distance of victory. Unfortunately though, the Tahs fell agonisingly 6 runs short when the final wicket fell, with Sydney then batting to tea to lock down their first innings win.
Men’s 5th Grade:
After a magnificent Gatehouse double-hundred on Day 1, the Tahs had plenty of runs on the board & Day 2 commenced superbly with Buchanan striking early for the Tahs 2nd. Sydney consolidated briefly before the Tahs really took control of the fixture, Graham picking up his 2nd after one late on Day 1, before Buchanan continued his terrific form with another couple of breakthroughs. A well rounded bowling effort continued as W.Matheson chimed in with two wickets, while Kershler closed out the innings strongly with two for himself. The Tahs enforced the follow on, with wickets to Buchanan, Graham, Brewster & Matheson having an outright win in the question, until a big storm rolled in and meant the Tahs had to settle for first innings points.
Women’s 3rd Grade:
Travelling to Tunks to take on North Sydney, the Tahs were in the field first after the home side won the toss. With the ball, the Tahs started brightly as Searles & Ellis both struck once each early on, before Norths fought back with a decent partnership until Randall took the Tahs 3rd with the score at 71. Norths continued to build a couple of moderate partnerships, but the bowling remained disciplined with further wickets to Randall, Champion & skipper S.James, and a run out to Hatfield, restricting the home side to 7/145 from 40 overs. James (35) & Wilson (16*) started the chase positively with the former particularly taking the attack to Norths’ bowlers. Wilson & Hough then seeing the Tahs into a strong position when the storm rolled in, but the Tahs had done enough for a 9 wicket DLS win.
Sunday fixtures
Poidevin Gray Shield:
Looking to bounce back from last week, the Tahs were asked to bowl first & got off to a super start courtesy of Lawson, who struck two big breakthroughs in his opening spell. Gordon fought back with a steady partnership but the run rate remained in check, as Dhillon got into the game & picked up the first of his 4 for the day. Bowling with great control & discipline in a superb 10 over spell. M.Kapoor & Osbourne also with wickets as the Tahs bowlers built consistent dot ball pressure, backed up in the field, to eventually see Gordon all out for 129 in the 44th over. Croft (22) & Karlsson-Lacy (27) began steadily in the chase, but as the wicket got lower & slower, it became particularly tough to score on. Contributions from skipper Boulton (24), before M.Kapoor (15*) & Dhillon (9*) saw the Tahs to a 4 wicket win in the 41st over.
Women’s 1st Grade:
Final round of the Kingsgrove T20s for W1s as skipper McLerie won the toss & elected to bowl at Sydney Uni. A wicket relatively early to L.Hughes was a positive start, before the home side rebuilt with a substantial partnership deep into the innings. The Tahs however stuck to the task, Kua breaking the threatening partnership, while Whiteley struck in the final couple of overs, as Sydney Uni posted a strong total of 3/141. The run chase was headlined by Kua (60), who was outstanding in her 43 ball counter-attack to set a great platform for the Tahs. Forming a 61 run partnership with Punter (19) to have the Tahs in a positive position. The game went down to the wire, and despite the best efforts late of Burke, Guyot, McLerie & Crawford, the Tahs fell just 2 runs short.
Women’s 2nd Grade:
Back home at Manly Oval, the Tahs were sent into bat first after losing the toss. A couple of wickets fell early, but Terrey (20) & skipper E.James (23) both made positive starts to their innings to have the game in the balance at 2/46. Unfortunately though despite their best efforts, a middle order collapse saw momentum shift away from the Tahs, with Wilson (13*) offering the last resistance as the Tahs were bowled out for. It was always going to be a tough ask to defend, and Parramatta’s openers took the game on from the onset to take full control of the chase. Passing the total for the loss of no wickets in the 18th over.
Brewer Shield:
Skipper Addison won the toss & elected to bat at Grahams, the Tahs on the back foot early at 3/11 as Gordon’s bowlers built consistent pressure. It was up to the skipper (25) & Davies (20) to rebuild the innings with a 49 run partnership as both hit some great boundaries & looked set for big scores. S.Punter also started positively, but unfortunately the middle & lower order struggled to build further momentum, with the Tahs eventually bowled out for 93. With the ball, things started superbly as T.Ford struck with the first ball, while Searles also broke through to give the Tahs a chance with Gordon 2/28. However, the visitors soon took control of the run chase with an unbeaten 3rd wicket partnership, passing the Tahs’ total 2 wickets down in the 32nd over.
Upcoming fixtures
Match-up of the season thus far for the Men as they take on great rivals NDs, M1s Sat/Sun fixture, while M2s-M5s have one-dayers. Currently 1 vs 2 in club champs, so sure to be an exciting series of fixtures. Meanwhile, W1s have the week off before their one-day campaign commences. W2s travel to Penrith & Brewers to Parramatta in one-day fixtures, while W3s host Sydney in a T20 at Balgowlah.
See you next week. Up the Tahs!
