Another strong weekend just gone for the Tahs, with 3 from 5 wins for the Men to go with 3 from 4 for the Women, as both programs hold their lead atop their respective Club Championship ladders.
M1s had their second Saturday/Sunday fixture of the season, this time away to Sydney Uni. Sent into bat first, Joel Foster (47) and Matt Brewster (28) made a positive start with a 73 run partnership before a quick succession of wickets either side of lunch had the Tahs in strife at 5/115. Ned Hole (66) was holding strong with an excellent counter-attacking innings, combining with Jordan Daly (90) for a consolidating 75 run partnership. But after a 1st Grade debut 14 years in the making, it was debutant Daly who was the star of Day 1 with a composed 90 to salvage the Tahs innings, superbly supported by Bertie Foreman with an entertaining 68* in a 118 run stand. 6/307 at stumps.
Day 2 saw Daly fall agonisingly short of a century on debut, before some late fireworks from Foreman and Ryan Hadley propelled the Tahs to 7/335 when the declaration was called. An early breakthrough to Hadley but the Students fought back to be just one down at lunch as the wicket flattened out. Post lunch, it was Hadley who broke the building partnership before Foreman picked up his first. The Students again consolidated, before that man Hadley again stood up to get the big wicket of Kerr for 51. It was a real grind from then on, a wicket in the middle overs to Josh Seward and two more to Foreman seeing Uni 7fa and victory in sight. But the home side again made the Tahs work, Foreman with his fourth dismissing Hope for 51, but time was running out with only 4 overs remaining. Enter Hadley who defied the stifling heat to pick up the 9th, before Foreman made the final breakthrough, his 5th, to seal victory with just 2.3 overs left!
Manly Oval witnessed two of the great comeback victories across the weekend, the first being M2s on Saturday. Winning the toss and batting, the Tahs were well behind the eight ball at 6/91 despite early resistance from Ben Bryant (16) and Brynn Mendel (28). In desperate need of someone to hold the innings together, it was Lachlan Barnsley (52) who stepped up, bouncing back into form with an excellent half-century. Well supported by Roop Dhillon (40*) who controlled the latter overs of the innings, along with a few big strikes from skipper Andrew Jamieson (21) to push the Tahs to 9/192 from 50. Despite wickets to Michael Counsell and Jacob O’Sullivan, the Students looked in cruise control of the chase at 2/106, before the tide turned. Counsell with the two big breakthroughs, while Isaiah Vumbaca and Zach Trewartha turned the screws with their medium pacers in the absence of injured skipper Jamieson. Ultimately it was Vumbaca who was the star with 5/48 including the final 3 wickets in his last over, to cap off an incredible 41 run win.
M3s had a day to forget at St Paul’s Oval against the Students. Bowling first after losing the toss, three early breakthroughs to Josh Lawson, including two in two balls in his second over, had Uni 3/37. The Students clawed their way back into the contest before Evan Dunnachie picked up the breakthrough followed soon after by a run out to Fraser Noack. Lawson got the big wicket of the set batter for 79, and the Tahs had regained the ascendancy. Unfortunately, the Students got away in the final ten overs to post 7/213 from 50, and their late momentum carried over into their bowling innings. Some excellent new ball bowling from the home side catalysing a heavy batting collapse to see the Tahs 7/24. Ellis Raymond (39) and Evan Dunnachie (38) fought hard to resurrect the innings but the damage had already been done, Tahs all out for 116.
You don’t often see scores tied in cricket, but a disastrous batting collapse in M4s saw such occurrence. Asked to field first, the Tahs were unstoppable early as Will Skinner and Ryan Bishop-Perrett combined for a team hat-trick to see the Students 4/22 early on. But the visitors wouldn’t roll over, their middle-lower order making the Tahs toil for further breakthroughs. Spinners George Cumming and Adam Parkinson restricted the runs through the middle stages, the Students posting 9/167 from 50. Nick Rigg (19) and Jack Melchiore (27) began the run chase with a positive 47 run partnership, before Ollie Melville and Melchiore combined for a further 42. The Tahs in complete control at 2/115 before some forgettable middle-order batting turned the game on its head. Melville held the innings together with a patient 70, but was running out of partners before he too fell to make it 9/154. Skinner and RBP did a good job to level the scores at 167, but unfortunately the final wicket fell then and there, tied game.
M5s continued their red-hot form with another clinical run chase on Saturday. Winning the toss and bowling, two early breakthroughs to the in-form Julian Osbourne had the Tahs on the front foot at 2/8, before one to Jordan Brewster made it 3/34. The Students consolidated to drinks before Chris Halloran, Luke Watts and Preston Lee struck in quick succession through the middle overs, 7/117. Another stubborn partnership forced the Tahs bowlers to play the patience game, before the final three wickets fell quickly to Osbourne, Watts and Brewster. All out 175. Lee attacked the run chase early with a quick fire 22, before a few middling partnerships were broken to see the Tahs 3/81, with Jake Hutchings (58) going strong. Hutchings and Lukas Overhoff (35*) combined for a 53 run partnership, before the latter was joined by Luke Watts (22*) to finish the chase in the 31st over, for the loss of four wickets.
The second of those Manly Oval comeback victories aforementioned was W1s on Sunday against a strong Parramatta side. Winning the toss and batting, the early dismissal of skipper Saskia Horley to an old-fashioned mullygrubber didn’t stop Shivani Mehta (88) and Lauren Kua (36) from building a patient 103 run partnership on what was proving to be an up and down wicket. Georgia Adams continued the momentum briefly, but it was Mehta who anchored the Tahs innings with a match-winning 88 from 134 balls. Supported by a late cameo from Katie Letcher (17*) to propel the Tahs to 7/192. Parramatta began the run chase in a flying manner with a 74 run opening stand, and it took a brilliant direct hit run out from Eliza Henry to kick-start the wickets. Kristie Crawford with the big wicket of Moore, but Parramatta were still in the box seat at 2/128. This was until Kua broke the dangerous partnership, before the spin duo of Horley and Adams sparked the revival with a combined 6/43 from 18.4 overs, to go with another wicket to Crawford, Parramatta all out for 174.
W2s moved into 2nd spot on the ladder with an incredible bonus point victory over ladder-leaders Sydney at the picturesque Birchgrove Oval. Skipper Renee Hough won the toss and elected to bowl, Molly Kidd justifying the decision with an early breakthrough, followed not long after by the Erica Sharma’s first of five wickets for the day. Lara Hughes continued her exceptional form with 3/5 from 8 economical overs through the middle, but it was Sharma that was the stepped up with the final four wickets to finish with an excellent 5/11 from 7 overs. Superb team bowling seeing Sydney collapse from 2/40 to be all out for 73. Elizabeth Cambridge and Gabby Dunnage began the chase in a positive manner, before a few relatively quick wickets halted the Tahs momentum at 3/42. But a composed 11* from Isabella Zovi combined with a counter-attacking 21* from Mia Nel saw the Tahs victorious with a double bonus point by 7 wickets in the 23rd over.
W3s continued their march towards finals with another dominant display at Balgowlah Oval in a one-day fixture against North Sydney. Skipper Sallie Molyneux winning the toss and electing to bat, with Emily Hatfield (36) and Sophie Beukers (28) beginning the Tahs innings superbly with a 68 run opening partnership, rotating the strike regularly on what was a frustratingly slow outfield. Natalie Jonkers continued the momentum and was the mainstay of the innings with 50* from 54 balls including 3 fours and a six, leading the Tahs to 6/181 from 40 overs. Sophia Chick got the Tahs off to the perfect start in the bowling innings with a first ball wicket, followed soon after by a breakthrough to skipper Molyneux. North Sydney fought back momentarily, until Jasmin Wilson’s 8 over spell of 4/16 turned the game back heavily in the Tahs favour. Further wickets to Cam Pryor and Sienna James, to go with two run outs, helping the Tahs to a bonus point 118 run win.
Old Kings Oval hosted Brewers on a scorching hot Sunday, as the Tahs suffered defeat to 4th placed Parramatta. After skipper Sophie Lowry won the toss and elected to bat, tight bowling early from the home side to go with the rub of the green not falling in the Tahs favour, saw the score 7/24 following a top order collapse. Darcey Whiteley (34) and Saoirse Ford (22) did an excellent job to resurrect the Tahs innings with a 55 run partnership as both battled through the heat to try to lead the team to a defendable total. Unfortunately, after both were dismissed, the Tahs innings ended in a hurry, all out for 80. With a low total to defend, the Tahs fought hard in the heat to make it difficult for Parramatta’s batters, wickets to Whiteley, Emily Horstead and Brooke Frew ultimately not enough as the home side passed the Tahs’ total four down in the 25th over.
This coming weekend sees the Men face off with Parramatta in Day 1 of two-day fixtures across the grades, before M1s also host their limited-overs QF on Sunday against Mosman. Saturday also has W3s hosting Sydney University, before a big Sunday for the Women with W1s and W2s away and home to Gordon respectively, while Brewers host Campbelltown at Mike Pawley Oval.
Until then, up the Tahs!
