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It was a sensational Saturday for the Men against club champs leaders Parramatta, as the Tahs went 4 / 5 headlined by a few mammoth run chases. Meanwhile, the Women had a frustrating weekend despite a couple of thrilling contests.
Saturday fixtures
Men’s 1st Grade:
Parramatta continued batting at 8/347, however the Tahs were able to close out their innings relatively efficiently as Evans took the final two wickets to have the visitors all out for 377. What followed was extraordinary. An early wicket wasn’t the ideal start to the chase, but that just paved the way for another belligerent O.Davies innings, smacking 106 off 75 balls including 9 soaring sixes. Phenomenal ball striking, and finding the perfect ally in M.Brewster (134) who navigated a tricky new ball spell before finding his rhythm on the way to a magnificent hundred of his own in a 176 run stand. Lenton (87no) just continued the momentum with a classy knock, adding a further 128 with Brewster, as the Tahs took full control of the chase. A couple of middle order wickets, however, Lenton, Boulton (23) & Joseph (12no) finished off the run chase for a mammoth 5 wicket win inside just 69 overs.
Men’s 2nd Grade:
Tahs skipper Trewartha declared on our overnight score with a first innings lead of 125 at Old Kings, with maximum points in sight. Osbourne off to the perfect start with 2fa early, as the Tahs quickly rediscovered the relentless line & length that boded so well for them on Day 1. The chief destroyer from last week Kaye then picked up his 7th for the fixture, while Dunnachie struck an important breakthrough too. Parramatta knuckled down & made the remaining wickets tough to come by, but the Tahs wouldn’t let up, as Kaye & Osbourne continued their fine form to take 2 more each to have the home side 8 down. Kaye just couldn’t be stopped as he closed out the innings to finish with 5fa & ridiculous match figures of 11/61 off 42 overs. With 18 to win outright, Croft, Trewartha & O’Sullivan made light work inside 2 overs to secure 10 points for the Tahs.
Men’s 3rd Grade:
Resuming 6/242, Parramatta batted on into Day 2, but a superb start from Wigney completely swung the momentum of the game with 3fa in quick succession making it 9/250. Parramatta’s skipper with a late flurry of boundaries to propel them to a declaration at 9/282. Leaving the Tahs 67 overs to chase 283 in a must-win fixture. After an early wicket, Melchiore (45) & S.Hole (89) navigated the new ball spell before building a terrific platform in a 97 run stand. The latter providing the backbone for the innings with an up-tempo knock. Another strong partnership after tea with Daly (36) had the Tahs in a decent position to launch at 2/169 from 49, but a couple of wickets relatively quickly halted momentum. 78 off the last 10 overs with no fielding restrictions looked a tough ask, but the Tahs wouldn’t be denied, as a superb attacking half-century from Cooper (55) & a crafty innings from skipper Webber (32no), both at better than a run a ball, took the game deep and gave us a chance. Webber & Kerr finishing off an epic run chase for a memorable 4 wicket win with just 2 balls left in the day.
Men’s 4th Grade:
Chasing 249 to win, the Tahs resumed 0/17 at Merrylands, with Coyte (35) & Donnan (78) making a strong start on Day 2 as they combined for a 62 run opening stand, both taking the attack to Parramatta’s bowlers. Back-to-back wickets halted momentum, but a match-defining 116 run partnership between Donnan & Mendel (100*) ensued, as the two consolidated the innings before cashing in on a batter-friendly wicket. Donnan bringing up a classy half century while Mendel compiled a free-flowing innings of his own, on his way to a superb match-winning unbeaten hundred. A couple of wickets falling late in the chase but Mendel & Dinan (26*) navigated the remaining runs to secure an excellent 6 wicket Tahs win inside 70 overs.
Men’s 5th Grade:
After being bowled out late on Day 1 for 192, the Tahs would need to bowl well to be in with a fighting chance of defending a below-par total at Mike Pawley Oval. And the bowling group did exactly that early on challenging Parramatta’s top order consistently, as Graham struck the opening breakthrough, before a couple of mini rebuilds from the visitors were halted by wickets at regular intervals. Buchanan with the Tahs’ 2nd before Counsell & J.Brewster struck in quick succession soon after, followed by another to Counsell in quick time. The Tahs on the charge with Parramatta 5/73, but the visitors would fight back strongly with what was ultimately a match-defining partnership worth 79. Buchanan giving the Tahs a chance with a breakthrough to make it 6/152, but ultimately Parramatta were too good on their way to a 4 wicket victory.
Women’s 3rd Grade:
After a late home ground change to Nolans #1, the Tahs were in the field first after losing the toss. But that proved to be a blessing early on as Searles tore through North Sydney’s top order with a superb opening spell picking up 3 wickets. The visitors fought back strongly with a solid partnership through the middle overs, until two wickets to Champion & one to Gillett halted Norths’ momentum & helped restrict them to a gettable 7/105. The run chase was off to an absolute flyer courtesy of some excellent boundary hitting from Dunnage on her way to 32no off just 14 balls including 2 sixes. Pike (30no) continuing the positive start with an attacking 21 ball innings to steer the Tahs towards victory. A few wickets late but Gillett & Champion saw the Tahs to a 6 wicket win with 4+ overs to spare.
Sunday fixtures
Women’s 1st Grade:
Returning to Manly Oval, the Tahs were asked to field first after losing the toss, with St George-Sutherland making a positive start to their batting innings with a 46 run opening stand until L.Hughes picked up the first breakthrough. The visitors continued to build strong 50+ run 2nd & 3rd wicket partnerships as they built a solid platform to launch towards the back end of the innings. Hughes (2), Crawford (3) & Sharma (2) proving the pick of the Tahs’ bowlers taking wickets at important stages & helping prevent the Slayers’ total from getting too far out of reach. Nevertheless, a total of 8/250 left the Tahs with a big chase ahead. However, at 1/72, the game looked in the balance after a strong 2nd wicket partnership between Horsfall (34) & Kua (33) until a middle order wobble had the Tahs on the back foot. A counter-attacking run a ball half century from Henry (62) in combination with K.Punter (24) gave the Tahs an outside chance as the required rate climbed. But the Tahs wouldn’t back down without a fight, as Burke (30no) & skipper McLerie (31no) took the game right to the end, falling just 9 runs short at the 50th over.
Women’s 2nd Grade:
The long trip to Raby Oval saw the Tahs in the field first after losing the toss on a muggy Sunday morning out west. Unfortunately, the 50 overs with the ball went far from the plan, as the Tahs struggled to build consistent pressure & leaked a number of costly sundries. Economical spells from Allen & debutant Searles, and two wickets to skipper Cambridge the shining lights as Campbelltown posted a very strong 2/226 from their 50 overs. However, the batting innings was far more positive, as Cambridge (44) & Kyme set a solid platform early on, before S.Hughes (33) & E.James (23) combined for an excellent partnership that saw the scoreboard tick over regularly, the Tahs 2/132 after 30 overs & right in the game. A big storm hit with the Tahs ahead on DLS, but after a lengthy delay, the rain cleared & left a revised target of 166 from 38 overs. A few wickets saw pressure build, Frew & Allen taking the game to the final ball, a run out seeing the match end in a thrilling tie.
Brewer Shield:
At Grahams, Tahs skipper Terrey won the toss & elected to bat first, however the Tahs struggled early on against a disciplined Greater Hunter Coast bowling attack, who took advantage of overcast conditions in the morning. The Tahs top order collapsing to be 3/2 & later 5/21, in need of some resistance. A fighting knock from Davies (35) was just what the doctor ordered against a classy bowling lineup, in a stubborn partnership with Davidson (11). Lower order resistance from T.Ford (19) & Martin pushing the Tahs ever so close to triple figures, with the final wicket falling at 99 & leaving a big job for the bowling group. Ford struck relatively early & despite some economical spells with the new ball, the Tahs just didn’t have enough runs to compete with, as Greater Hunter passed our total in the 28th over, winning by 9 wickets.
Men’s 1st Grade (Limited Overs Semi Final):
Sunday also saw M1s travel to Waverley to take on Easts in the limited overs semi final. Sent into bat first after losing the toss, an enterprising start from M.Brewster (20) was quickly halted by a regular fall of wickets through the top order to have the Tahs under pressure at 5/74. J.Davies (83) proved the backbone of the innings & found valuable support from skipper Foster (40) in a crucial 99 run stand to resurrect the innings. Handy contributions late from Boulton (22) & Evans (23no) giving the Tahs a chance with a below-par yet competitive 9/242. In reply, Easts took the attack to the Tahs with a match-defining 140 run opening partnership that had them in full control. Wickets in quick succession to O.Davies & Hadley momentarily giving the Tahs a sniff, but that was quickly shut down by another big partnership, before rain hit with Easts in poll position at 3/193 in the 32nd over. No more play possible, Easts victorious by 7 wickets on DLS & spelling an end to the Tahs limited overs campaign.
Upcoming fixtures
The final round of limited overs cricket for the Men this weekend as M2s-M5s have one-day fixtures against Bankstown, with M2s & M4s at home. M1s have a Sat/Sun two-day fixture at Bankstown Oval.
Meanwhile, W1s, W2s & Brewers take on Northern District, the former hosting while the latter two are both away fixtures. W3s are up against Sydney away.
Until next week, up the Tahs!
