The Tahs enjoyed a relatively successful weekend around the grounds, as the Men recorded a clean sweep against Hawkesbury, while the Women had two wins, a loss, and a heart-stopping tie across the grades. PGs also had an excellent team win over a strong Randwick Petersham side.
M1s resumed Day 2 at 0/9 in reply to Hawkesbury’s 185. Starting at 9:15am, the Manly Oval pitch had a bit in it early, as the Tahs lost two quick wickets to be 2/18 in a shaky beginning to the chase. Skipper Jay Lenton (71) and the returning Ollie Davies (71) settled the nerves with a counter-attacking 117 run partnership, before Ryan Farrell continued the momentum with 40, combining with Jay to secure first innings points. Matt Brewster provided some late entertainment with a quick fire 21, as the Tahs declared 8/249 with a 64 run lead and 71 overs left in the day. Josh Seward and Tom Kaye struck early to have an outright victory on the cards, before Hawkesbury consolidated, wickets to Joel Foster and Bertie Foreman unfortunately not enough for the Tahs’ push for maximum points. Nonetheless, a great first innings win to move M1s into the Top 6 in the Belvidere Cup.
Lachie Coyte and Ben Bryant picked up where they left off in M2s run chase, the Tahs beginning the day 1/36 in pursuit of 139. The pair patiently navigated a tricky morning session before continuing to narrow the deficit, Lachie (118) taking the attack to the Hawks’ bowling line-up, while Ben (60) dropped anchor at the other end in an exceptional 161 run partnership to take the Tahs to first innings points. Post lunch, Lachie brought up an incredibly well deserved hundred, his first in 2nd Grade, as the Tahs sought to build a lead. When the pair were both dismissed, Lachlan Barnsley (20*) and Ned Hole (4*) combined just before a declaration at 3/227, with a lead of 89. Sending the Hawks back in, the search for an outright victory was a grind as the wicket flattened out, the home side 0/64 from 31 overs when the captains shook hands, the Tahs victorious on first innings.
120 overs ahead for M3s as they returned to field with the Hawks 8/81 from 37 overs bowled on Day 1. Josh Lawson continued on from last week to pick up his 6th, before Fraser Noack took the final wicket as the Hawks were bowled out for 93. Zach Trewartha began the chase positively with a quick fire 25, before a few wickets halted our momentum. Skipper Sam Hole (42) combined with Ryan Hadley (19) to lock down first innings points, before the boys went on the attack, entertaining cameos from Josh Coyte (22), Evan Dunnachie (25), Fraser Noack (28*) and Lachie Trewartha (12*) taking the Tahs to 8/196 at the declaration, leading by 103. An early wicket to Josh Lawson (2/20) set the tone, before Dunnachie (3/16) took charge with three quick wickets just before tea, some great catching in the slips from Hadley and Charles. The Hawks made us fight for the next, before Coyte (2/11), Lawson, Trewartha (2/24) and Noack (1/3) collected the last wickets late on Day 2 to record an exceptional outright victory for the Tahs.
M4’s trekked back out to Bensons Lane, resuming the day 3/36 requiring a further 67 runs for first innings points. Liam Dinan (38) and Keelan Mendel (27) took to the crease for the Tahs, batting in a positive manner to put on 52 runs and push towards the Hawks total. It was then up to Josh Cooper (18) and skipper Jayden Kennedy (29*) to take the attack to the opposition as the Tahs looked to build a substantial lead to have a chance at outright victory, both progressing the score forward to 6/153 when the declaration came, with a 51 run lead. The Tahs toiled hard with the ball for 42 overs in the second innings, but despite wickets to Cooper, Ellis Raymond (2/12) and Will Skinner, the search for outright was in vain as we had to settle for a solid first innings win.
M5’s were back at Mike Pawley Oval, skipper Simon Waddington and Lukas Overhoff resuming the Tahs batting innings at 6/159, with a lead at that stage of 86. Lukas was dismissed early to bring an exceptional innings of 75 to an end, before Waddington (42), Jordan Brewster (16*) and Julian Osbourne (11*) went berserk with boundaries galore as the Tahs declared 9/207, leading by 134 runs. Enter Will Matheson (3/26), who alongside Osbourne tore the Hawks top order apart with four superb wickets early to have the visitors 4/5 inside the first 6 overs. Some middle order fight from the Hawks skipper was cut short by Kai Croft, who joined the party with a brilliant 7 over spell of 5/14, supported by debutant Harry Kershler with his maiden grade wicket for the club, as the Hawks innings ended on 61 to result in a massive outright victory for the Tahs.
PGs’ season resumed with an away fixture at the picturesque Petersham Oval against an undefeated Randwick-Petersham side. Skipper Josh Seward won the toss and elected to bat, a steady start from Roop Dhillon (23) halted by a couple of quick wickets. This brought Andrew Boulton (55) and Seward (46) together for a game-changing 94 run partnership, the former anchoring the innings while the latter counter-attacked. Josh Cooper (25), Kai Croft (35) and Evan Dunnachie (21*) concluded the innings superbly with some great hitting, Evan with two towering sixes in the final over to push the score to 7/249 off 50. Evan struck a massive blow early dismissing the Randwick skipper, before Josh Lawson (3/28) and Lachie Trewartha picked up big wickets to have the home side 3/67. A big partnership followed, but a Brodie McDowell stumping off the bowling of Bertie Foreman (2/29) to dismiss the set batter shifted the momentum. From there, a steady flow of wickets amongst Seward, Croft, Foreman and Lawson saw Randwick bowled out for 208, as the Tahs recorded a great team victory by 41 runs.
Saturday also saw W3s back at Fortress Balgowlah Oval to take on Sydney with returning skipper Sallie Molyneux asked to bat first after losing the toss. Daisy Addison began the Manly batting innings positively with a run-a-ball 24, before Grace Pike (16) and Jasmin Wilson (17) continued the momentum with a strong partnership. Late runs amongst Erica Sharma (23), Sophie Beukers and Emily Hatfield saw the Tahs post 5/143 off 20 overs. The bowling innings started superbly with two wickets in the first two overs, from Sharma and Molyneux, before Sydney consolidated momentarily. This was until Sienna James (2/4) broke the partnership, followed soon after by some great bowling from Addison (2/9) and Wilson (3/1) as the Tahs’ consistent pressure brought about a big batting collapse, Sydney finishing 9/41 after 20 overs, a huge victory for the Tahs.
Brewers had their first one-day fixture of the season, travelling to Storey Park to face Northern District. Losing the toss, the Tahs were sent into bat first, the loss of a few wickets early creating some pressure. This didn’t faze Annabelle Croll (86*), who came to the crease at 3/27, beginning patiently before accelerating in the latter overs to finish with a classy 86no from 127 balls. Skipper Sophie Lowry (15) provided crucial support in a 50 run partnership, as did Daisy Addison who combined with Croll for 52 runs, the Tahs posting 8/178 from 50 overs. An early wicket to Charlotte Allen was followed by consistent little partnerships from ND’s batters, but wickets between Lowry (2/31), Addison, and Eve Burke, to go with four run outs, kept the Tahs in the game. Ultimately, it came down to the final ball, the Tahs needing a dot ball to win, but unfortunately a single meant the game ended in a remarkable tie, points shared between the teams.
W2s took on Penrith at Manly Oval on Sunday morning, Manly fielding first after losing the toss. Penrith began steadily, before Molly Kidd (2/18) castled the stumps for the Tahs’ opening wicket, followed by a catch behind to Steph Hughes shortly after for 2fa. Lara Hughes (2/8) then entered the game and built pressure with an economical spell resulting in a further two wickets, including a stumping where the Hughes’ sisters combined. Elizabeth Cambridge chimed in with a wicket, to go with a run out from Darcey Whiteley, as Penrith concluded the 20 overs with 6/84. The loss of an early wicket in the run chase didn’t stop a positive 40 run partnership from Mia Nel (21) and overseas recruit Gabrielle Dunnage (32*) to take control of the game. Brooke Frew (14*) then combined with Dunnage to take the Tahs to a bonus point victory, passing the total early in the 14th over, Dunnage finishing with an excellent 32no from 30 balls.
Skipper Lauren Kua and her W1s side were home at Manly Oval for the second consecutive week, Kua winning the toss and electing to bat against a strong Sydney side. Elizabeth Cambridge (25*) and Lara Graham (35) provided a solid start for the Tahs’ batting innings, seeing off some tight bowling from the visitors while regularly rotating the strike and hitting the occasional boundary. The skipper upped the ante with a quick fire 22, before a boundary on the final ball of the innings from Laura Judson helped the Tahs to 5/110. Eliza Henry picked up an early wicket, but Sydney began to build a strong partnership with some aggressive batting, until Graham (3/21), Kua, and Chelsea McLerie struck in quick succession to keep hopes high. A run out to Mia Phelps, and further wickets to Graham and Mia Nel unfortunately weren’t enough though in a close encounter, Sydney winning by two wickets in the penultimate over.
We now move forward to next weekend, with the Men beginning Day 1 against St George, while PGs face rivals North Sydney at Manly Oval. W1s and W2s play their first one-day fixtures of the season against Bankstown (away) and Campbelltown-Camden (at home) respectively. W3s are at Balgowlah again to face Gordon, and Brewers take on the Southern Swans down in Port Kembla.
