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Another crazy weekend of cricket as the Men fell agonisingly short of Club Champs glory (by a mere 17 points), while W3s & Brewers had hard-fought semi finals, with the latter progressing to the big dance.
Men’s 1st Grade:
After a long day of toil last Saturday, the Tahs bowlers closed out St George’s innings relatively quickly the morning of Day 2, as Kaye dismissed the dangerous Francis early, followed by another shortly after, before Evans took the final wicket. St George all out 280, leaving the Tahs 86 overs to chase. Unfortunately, the batting innings was headlined by a number of starts but just lacked the big partnership to set the foundation for the chase. O.Davies (27), Foster (31), N.Hole (31) & M.Kapoor (27) all started well but ultimately it wasn’t to be, the Tahs bowled out for 156 in reply.
Men’s 2nd Grade:
St George resumed 5/70 on Day 2 at Manly Oval, 110 runs in deficit & with a set batter still there, so the game was well & truly still on. But Lawson made sure the ascendancy remained in the Tahs’ favour, knocking over the set bat early before taking another shortly after, both caught in the gully by Croft. The visitors fought back with a little partnership to give them a glimmer, but Tahs skipper Trewartha wasn’t about to let that happen, taking two wickets in consecutive balls to all but seal the game. Dunnachie with the final wicket, St George all out 107, first innings points to the Tahs, and the captains shook hands immediately.
Men’s 3rd Grade:
120 over day at Harold Fraser, Tahs skipper Webber won the toss on a green wicket & elected to bowl. Wigney started with his usual probing line & length, off stump cartwheeling for the Tahs’ 1st, before great partnership bowling saw him pick up another. Kerr chimed in with a breakthrough to have the Saints 3/29, before the home side consolidated either side of lunch with a strong partnership. Walker broke the stubborn partnership shortly after lunch before Kerr knocked over the opposition captain. With the Saints showing little intent, it was a grind in the heat for the Tahs, but led by Kerr, who bowled a mammoth 22.3 overs to pick up 4fa, the Tahs fought superbly. Searle with 3fa late in the piece, St George all out 172 in the 69th over, setting up a run chase. 51 overs to chase 173 for a home final. Dinan (32) began with a flurry of boundaries in an entertaining knock, S.Hole (16) started steadily, but a few wickets had the game on a knife’s edge at 4/73. But that didn’t faze Mendel (61), who was up for the task in a high-pressure environment, beginning patiently before accelerating on his way to a match-winning half century. A crucial partnership worth 72 alongside Searle (25) that defined the fixture. Light became an issue, the Saints did their best to slow the game down in comical scenes, but the Tahs wouldn’t be denied a home final as Mendel & Searle surged towards the target, before the skipper (15no) iced the game under pressure, a 4 wicket win at 6:47pm with just 5 overs left in the day. Crazy day, and a home final for the Tahs.
Men’s 4th Grade:
With St George resuming 0/59 in pursuit of our 139, the Tahs would need to pull a rabbit out of the hat at Grahams. After the Saints began steadily the morning of Day 2, Bishop-Perrett broke through twice in quick succession to ignite the game momentarily & give the Tahs a sniff. But unfortunately, that glimmer of hope was shut down relatively quickly as St George consolidated well before their 3rd wicket partnership saw them to first innings victory shortly after the first drinks break.
Men’s 5th Grade:
Tahs skipper Nasser declared on the overnight score of 9/275 at Olds Park, as the Tahs looked to make early inroads on a flat wicket. Graham started proceedings positively with an early breakthrough as the Tahs seized control of the first session with a steady influx of breakthroughs. J.Brewster with the 2nd before Counsell picked up two wickets in a probing spell before tea to have the Saints 4/66. After tea, St George battened down the hatches & essentially shut up shop in the chase, meaning opportunities were hard to come by for the Tahs, but the bowlers continued to charge in & probe away. Brewster breaking the stubborn 5th wicket partnership, before Buchanan swung the game with a direct hit run out & two breakthroughs himself, Saints 8/129 off 65. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the bowlers, St George’s tail survived the remaining 15 overs to prevent a Tahs victory, the match ending in a draw.
Women’s 3rd Grade:
Semi final time! At Fortress Balgowlah Oval, skipper James won the toss & elected to bat, and it was clear early that runs would be hard to come by, boundaries particularly, on a spongy outfield. The top order struggled to gain early momentum, and this continued throughout the whole innings as some disciplined North Sydney bowling, combined with the unfavourable conditions, made scoring slow going. Mini starts from Pike & Martin, but it was a gutsy lower order effort from Searles (12no) alongside Ellis that lifted the Tahs to 9/71 from 40, which didn’t seem like many, but was worth plenty more. Needing to bowl well, it was a near perfect start from Searles & Molyneux, who combined in a superb opening spell, to take 2fa & 3fa early respectively. Ellis continued the charge with 2fa, followed by one to Bursill, before North Sydney fought back to make things a little nervy. But a breakthrough to Wright & the final wicket to Searles saw the Tahs victorious by 16 runs progressing to the Grand Final.
Brewer Shield:
Brewers made the trip west to Howell Oval to take on Penrith. Skipper Addison won the toss & elected to bowl, a run out starting proceedings before Brown broke through to have Penrith 2/21. The home side fought back strongly to be well in control at 2/97, but that’s where the Tahs spinners turned the screws. Jayakody breaking the dangerous partnership, followed by another run out, and then Pallister dismissing the other set bat shortly after. 5/99 in the blink of an eye. Jayakody & Pallister struck once more each to have swung the game quickly back towards the Tahs. Penrith however showing some stubborn lower order resistance, despite an important wicket to T.Ford, as the home side posted 8/134. Terrey made a positive start to her innings but a couple of early wickets had the Tahs on the back foot early in the run chase. That was until a superb fighting innings from Davies (38) who continued her good form to give the Tahs a chance. Unfortunately though, just as partnerships built, wickets would fall, the Tahs 7/86 when storms rolled in & spelled an end to proceedings. The Tahs 24 runs short on DLS, to end what was another great season for Brewers.
Upcoming fixtures
Finals action continues this weekend as the Men move into quarter finals across Saturday & Sunday, with plenty on the line as the Tahs fight for semi final spots. Fixtures as follows:
Men’s 1st Grade Quarter Final vs St George @ Hurstville Oval
Men’s 2nd Grade Quarter Final vs Sydney Uni @ Manly Oval
Men’s 3rd Grade Quarter Final vs St George @ Grahams Reserve
Men’s 4th Grade Quarter Final vs St George @ Harold Fraser Reserve
Men’s 5th Grade Quarter Final vs Parramatta @ The Green
Meanwhile, it’s Grand Final week for W3s, who earn the right to host on Saturday. Fixture details as follows:
Women’s 3rd Grade Grand Final – Manly vs Sydney @ Balgowlah Oval, 12:30pm Saturday
Plenty to play for. Up the Tahs!
