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.
M1s kicked off their one-day campaign across the weekend just gone, while M2s-M5s closed out their T20 campaigns on a slightly rain affected Saturday.
Men’s 1st Grade:
After making the trip along the highway to Penrith, M1s were asked to bat first on an overcast morning after losing the toss. After a fast start from Brewster, a nightmare collapse saw the Tahs slump to 3/19 & 4/47, before Lenton (46) & Trewartha (24) steadied the ship momentarily in a 44 run partnership. Another cluster of wickets again halted momentum as the Tahs struggled for ascendancy, but some crucial lower order runs from Dhillon (26) & Evans (17) propelled the score to 159 when the last wicket fell, giving the Tahs something to bowl at. Penrith began positively in their run chase & seemed in cruise control of proceedings at 0/41, before a quick thinking run out from Trewartha got the ball rolling. Toohey then putting his hand up to be the man of the hour, as he tore through Penrith’s top order with a classy spell of fast bowling to finish with 4/25. Two wickets too to the skipper Foster had Penrith reeling at 7/53, before the home side fought back with a dominant partnership to all of a sudden be 7/122 with the game on a knife’s edge. That’s when one of the bigger storms of recent times hit, wiping out the game, the Tahs thankfully ahead on DLS to win by 9 runs.
Men’s 2nd Grade:
The afternoon fixture at Manly Oval saw the Tahs sent into bat first, as Croft (27) & Karlsson-Lacy (24) made a steady start to the innings in a 55 run opening stand to set a decent platform. R.Kapoor (45) his usual busy self in a classy knock that headlined the Tahs innings, contributions from Daly (19), before a couple of lusty late blows from Vumbaca & Kaye propelled the Tahs to a competitive 5/143. After a fast start from Penrith in reply, Pryke & Kerr struck once each to shift the momentum, before the spin twins Seward & Kershler both broke through after another threatening partnership. But to Penrith’s credit, their skipper took the game away with a superb innings supported by his middle order in an unbeaten 73 run partnership as Penrith passed our total 4 down in the penultimate over.
Men’s 3rd Grade:
Manly Oval was slightly damp after Friday’s downpour, meaning a delayed start but thankfully no overs lost. Stand in skipper Hole won the toss & elected to bat, but the Tahs were on the back foot early losing three key wickets in the powerplay. Melchiore (25) & Dinan (19) did their best to steady the ship, but wickets kept tumbling leaving the Tahs in strife at 6/75. That’s where a crucial late partnership worth 48 from Hole (24no) & J.Brewster (25no) lifted the Tahs to a defendable 6/122, which still felt slightly below par. Penrith’s powerplay was a stark contrast to ours as they batted smartly to be 0/43 & in control, before Cooper broke through twice in an over to break the game open. Another not too long after to Skinner had Penrith 3/63 & the game back in the balance with the visitors needing more than a run a ball. But unfortunately, a couple of costly mistakes in the field, combined with some clutch batting saw Penrith over the line narrowly on the second last ball.
Men’s 4th Grade:
At the foot of the mountains, stand in skipper Ritchie won the toss & elected to bowl as Penrith’s opener got off to a flying start with some strong hitting. But the fightback from the Tahs was outstanding, dragging the score back from 0/42 inside 7 overs. Graham with the opening breakthrough, as all bowlers stuck to their task with great discipline. Two wickets to Buchanan, another to Graham, and one to Matheson, along with economical spells from Sunshine & Counsell restricting Penrith to 5/109, a great fightback after a threatening start. The Tahs run chase started in far from ideal fashion, losing both openers cheaply to be 2/10 inside 4 overs, when a massive storm hit & spelled an end to the game just short of the mandatory five overs for a result to have been possible. Match abandoned, points shared.
Men’s 5th Grade:
The morning fixture at the foot of the mountains saw the Tahs bowling first after losing the toss, and what followed was a pretty complete bowling performance across the board. A run out kick started proceedings, before M.Moran struck three times in quick succession in a superb spell to break the game completely open. All the bowlers chipped in, the remaining wickets shared between Rulli, Godwin, Jayaram, Cruickshank & the skipper White. Penrith restricted to all out 80 on the back of an exceptional bowling & fielding effort. What looked to be a straightforward chase unfortunately though proved to be everything but, as the Tahs struggled to find any momentum in the run chase & ultimately succumbed to the pressure. Penrith’s bowlers to their credit executing very well, and the Tahs simply weren’t up for the fight with the bat, disappointingly bowled out for 60 in reply in a frustrating result after such a positive start to the day with the ball.
Upcoming fixtures:
Biggest weekend of the season so far coming up as the Tahs really kick into gear. One day cricket commences for the Men as we take on Sydney University, with M1s, M3s & M5s hosting on Saturday.
Meanwhile, after a big pre season, the Tahs Women kick off their campaign. W3s the first in action on Saturday with a home one-dayer against Parramatta. Before a massive Sunday at Manly Oval with our annual NBCF fundraiser as W1s, W2s & Brewers host Northern District in a blockbuster T20 triple header.
Until next time,
Up the Tahs!
