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.
A massive weekend for the club as our Women’s program kicked off for season 2026/27, while our Men’s teams fixtures all lined up for the first time this year, taking on Sydney Uni in one dayers.
Men’s 1st Grade:
Tahs skipper Foster won the toss & elected to bowl on a drizzly morning at Manly Oval, as he (23) & Brewster (31) got the Tahs off to a flying start with some aggressive batting in the powerplay. However three wickets in quick succession halted the momentum, with a big partnership needed. And that’s exactly what we got courtesy of the youth of Boulton (74) & the experience of Lenton (72) as the two combined for an ultimately match defining 138 run stand. Both batting patiently before lifting the tempo in an excellent stand. Some late hitting from Trewartha & Searle promoting the Tahs to 7/243 from a reduced 47 overs. The Students came out swinging in reply, wickets to Searle, Evans & Hole amongst the chaos, but the visitors were somewhat in control at 1/68 & later 3/105. Dhillon entered the attack and struck twice, while Searle took another, but the Students seemed to have the game within their grasp 6 down & needing only another 40. But in the blink of an eye, Dhillon ripped the game back from the brink, three wickets in an over including the set bat, capping off a match winning 5fa. Toohey with the last wicket as the Tahs were victorious by 29 runs.
Men’s 2nd Grade:
After a delayed start due to rain, skipper Vumbaca won the toss & elected to bowl, the match reduced to 43 overs per side. Osbourne struck first before the Students took control of their innings with a substantial partnership to be 1/91. Croft with the important breakthrough before a diamond duck run out had the Tahs back in the fixture. Another to Kershler kept the momentum rolling, but the Students fought back strongly in the latter half of their innings with three frustrating partnerships. Wickets late to Vumbaca & Kaye as the Students posted 7/251. Croft (23) & Melchiore (53) began patiently combining for 37 up top, before the latter played catch up with some brutal hitting in the late stages of his innings on his way to a half century. Karlsson Lacy (43) made a positive start, along with both R.Kapoor (23), Daly (21) & later, Kaye (24) as the Tahs kept themselves right in the game heading into the latter stages. Wickets though as crucial times hurt the charge, as 5/195 turned into all out 216, falling short of the target.
Men’s 3rd Grade:
Another grade whose fixture was impacted by the early morning drizzle, skipper Webber won the toss & elected to bowl as an hour delayed start meant 45 overs per side. Brewster & Skinner began disciplined without much luck, before the Students settled into a big partnership with sensible batting up top. At 0/102 they were in full control, but George Cumming (4/33) flipped the game on its head with a superb spell. 9 overs each in tandem with Seward, as the former broke through four times, while the latter executed partnership bowling to perfection without much luck. A bit of a late surge from the Students to propel them to 5/208 from 45. After a relatively early wicket in the chase, Tullia (50) & Gatehouse (62) set the innings up beautifully with a composed partnership to build a great platform. The former showing his experience & class while the latter displayed maturity & composure beyond his years on 3rd Grade debut, both bringing up excellent half centuries. Cooper too with a crucial knock, a run a ball fifty to lift the tempo & take the game deep. Before Dinan (12no) & Seward (17no) calmly iced the game for a 6 wicket win with 8 balls to spare.
Men’s 4th Grade:
A long car trip saw the Tahs at Cumberland Oval as the Tahs lost the toss & were asked to field first. Sunshine & Buchanan began well with the new ball as the Tahs restricted runs early, Buchanan with the opening breakthrough. To the Students’ credit, their opener held their innings together with a big knock of 84, building a few decent partnerships with the middle order. But the Tahs toiled away, as a few run outs helped keep things in check, while Sunshine picked up two wickets late. Sydney Uni posting 7/224 from 43 overs. A steady start in reply led by the skipper Parkinson (37) as the Tahs looked to be positive early on to get on the front foot in the chase. The skipper with the some brutal hitting early, while crucial contributions from Cranney (28) & Martin (28) kept the Tahs well & truly in the game. Heading into the last ten overs, the game was right in the balance, but the experience of Beatty (33) shone through in a critical knock. But a few wickets left the Tahs teetering 9 down still needing 20-25 to win. But no worries for the tail. Graham (23no) & Buchanan (16no) closing out the chase with a superb last wicket partnership including some big bombs, as the Tahs secured a nail-biting one wicket win with an over to spare.
Men’s 5th Grade:
Our young 5th Grade side were back at home as the Tahs were sent to field first after losing the toss. An early wicket to Cruickshank was responded to by a couple of substantial Sydney Uni partnership, as their opener built a strong platform. But the Tahs persisted, the first of the two big partnerships broken by Rulli, before a run out broke the second one. Another run out had the Students 4/155 and that’s where the Tahs really turned the screws with some disciplined bowling at the latter part of the innings. Godwin chipping in with a wicket, before Cruickshank & Rulli finished with 3fa each to restrict Sydney Uni to 9/215 from 47 overs, still a formidable total to chase. After a horror start to the chase losing a wicket first ball, the Tahs struggled to really take the ascendancy despite a couple of strong starts. Wragge (43) threatened with an important knock, but partnerships were broken just as they looked set. But it was Beau Moran (64) that really showed his class in a match defining knock, anchoring the Tahs’ chase with great composure. It looked a tough ask at times, but the lower order stepped up, Rulli (22), Godwin (20no) & M.Moran (16no) steering the Tahs home under pressure for a three wicket win with two overs to spare.
Women’s 3rd Grade:
The Women’s season kicked off on Saturday as W3s hosted Parramatta in the opening round at Fortress Balgowlah. Skipper S.James winning the toss & batting first, as a couple of early wickets had the Tahs on the back foot to start. But Pike (33) stepped up when needed with a crucial innings that anchored the Tahs’ batting, with support from the skipper (15) in a steadying partnership. Beukers (20) with a crucial knock in the middle order to keep things ticking over, while Bursill chipped in with handy lower order runs, as the Tahs posted a competitive 132. Parramatta began patiently in reply & looked difficult to budge at first, before Gillett broke through for the opening wicket. Another decent partnership then broken as the Tahs went on a roll, two wickets to Nel, one to the skipper & one to Bursill having Parramatta 5/65. But the visitors didn’t back down easily, taking the game to the closing stages. Another wicket to the skipper, and a couple of run outs, as the Tahs held their nerve restricting Parramatta to 8/123 from their 40 overs, securing a 9 run win.
Brewer Shield:
Kicking off the triple header at Manly Oval, Brewers lost the toss & were asked to field first. A nervy start from the Tahs with the ball seeing NDs off to a steady start in their innings to be none down after 10 overs. But to the Tahs’ credit, they kept chipping away, as spinners Pallister & Simpson-Lee shifted the momentum with a great spell in tandem, the former picking up 2fa. Skipper T.Ford closed out the innings well with a wicket of her own, but NDs surged to a really strong total of 3/117 from 20 overs. The Tahs would need to bat well in reply, and began steadily, although disciplined bowling from NDs made runs hard to come by early. Davies (14) & Simpson Lee (43no) put on 38 for the opening wicket, before a couple of quick wickets fell as the Tahs look to lift the tempo. That’s where a superb partnership between S.Punter (37) & Tahs debutant Simpson-Lee kept the Tahs in the game. Needing 78 from the last 10 overs, the two batted smartly to push the singles & twos, while hitting regular boundaries to take the game right down to the final over & ultimately the final ball. A super catch off the final ball preventing a Tahs win by just 2 runs, but a phenomenal fightback nonetheless.
Women’s 1st Grade:
Tahs skipper McLerie won the toss & elected to bat on a wearing Manly Oval wicket, as Irish overseas Hunter (35) & ACT representative Horsfall (41) combined for a superb start for the Tahs. The two mixing smart running with some strong hitting in a 60 run opening stand to set up the innings perfectly, as both showed super positive signs for the season ahead. Handley (17) chipped in with a positive start & looked set to launch late, but unfortunately a late flurry of wickets halted the Tahs momentum, until the skipper (11no) gave the Tahs a late boost to propel the total to an about par 6/129. NDs began quickly in reply to be on the front foot in the chase at 0/30 after the 4 over powerplay. Before Henry struck twice in quick succession to flip the game on its head. But again NDs consolidated as their No.3 proved the game changer. A sharp run out to Brown & wicket to L.Hughes giving the Tahs a late glimmer of hope, but it wasn’t to be, as NDs took out a 6 wicket win with 4 balls to spare.
Women’s 2nd Grade:
The final fixture of the afternoon saw skipper E.James win the toss & choose to bat first, as Terrey (13) & Guyot (14) for the Tahs off to an excellent start with a flurry of boundaries early in the innings. Unfortunately after being 0/29 & later 2/54, a surge of wickets through the middle overs really clamped the brakes on the Tahs, as tight bowling an increasingly wearing pitch made it difficult for the new batters to start. The skipper (26) showing some great resistance before lifting the tempo late to lift her side beyond 100, and to a defendable 9/102. With the bowling needing to be spot on from the start, the Tahs unfortunately missed the mark in the field, NDs beginning strongly before a breakthrough to Thornton provided the only real highlight for the rest of the afternoon. NDs batting sensibly & with great experience to time their chase perfectly, as they went on to a 9 wicket win inside the 18th over.
Upcoming fixtures:
Same same but different this weekend as another massive weekend awaits for the Tahs, but in a different format for the Men, who take on Blacktown in two-day fixtures over the next two Saturdays. M1s, M3s & M5s at home.
Meanwhile, the Women move into Round 2 of their respective campaigns. W3s take on Sydney away in a one-dayer, while W1s, W2s & Brewers host Sydney, North Sydney & Campbelltown at home in T20 fixtures.
See you next week.
Up the Tahs!
