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It was a jam-packed weekend of cricket for the Tahs, and ultimately a successful one to get the Men’s season formally underway. M1s hosted three Kingsgrove T20 Cup fixtures, while Men’s grades 2-5 kicked off their season with T20s, with plenty of great team and individual performances throughout.
Men’s 1st Grade:
Saturday had M1s hosting Bankstown & North Sydney in T20s at Manly Oval. The first fixture didn’t go the Tahs way, but not after an explosive 73 (38) from Ollie Davies, peppering the Manly Oval boundaries. Lenton the other contributor with 31 as the Tahs stumbled in the latter overs to post 9/152. Bankstown dominant early in the run chase, before wickets to Hadley, Stobo, Osbourne & Joseph clawed back the momentum. But unfortunately it was too little too late, Bankstown winning by five wickets with two balls to spare.
Shortly after, the Tahs had a grand opportunity to fight back, taking on North Sydney. Batting first, Davies was again at his brutal best with 76 (39), but this time, the Tahs were able to springboard from this early dominance. Brewster (21) & Lenton (31) helping the momentum flow, but it was new recruit Stobo that stole the show with a ridiculous display of ball-striking, 82no off 29 balls to propel the Tahs to 4/229. With the ball, it was a pretty clinical effort across the board, despite a relatively fast start from Norths in the run chase. Wickets shared between Hadley, Stobo, Evans, Osbourne, Davies & Joseph, seeing North Sydney all out for 133 in reply.
Sunday afternoon saw M1s needing a win against UNSW to secure a Kingsgrove T20 Cup finals spot. Sent it to bat first, a strong team effort with multiple contributors set a great platform. Davies (24 off 10) off to another flying start, before Brewster (47 off 29) & Joseph (48 off 44) built an excellent foundation. Stobo (41 off 16) again lighting up Manly Oval with some huge hitting, before Evans finished off the innings superbly with a couple of boundaries. Tahs posting 7/200. UNSW were off to a flyer in the chase, but when Evans & Osbourne dismissed the two danger men, things quickly turned in the Tahs’ favour. Osbourne continuing a bright start to his 1st Grade career with brilliant figures of 4/20, two wickets each to Evans & Stobo, and two direct hit run outs, seeing UNSW bowled out for 118.
Men’s 2nd Grade & Men’s 3rd Grade:
M3s kicked off the day at Waverley fielding first, with Easts making a positive start to their innings in the powerplay. McDowell with a phenomenal leg side stumping to shift the momentum, as spinners Cumming, Searle & Cooper tightened the screws with economical four over spells. A couple of late partnerships pushing Easts towards 150 before Wigney & Dinan were clever at the death to restrict the home side to 5/148. Early contributions in the chase from Coyte (18) & McDowell (18) had the Tahs in a decent position, as Karlsson-Lacy played the anchor role with a patient 48. The Tahs however lost their way through the middle overs which left work to do heading into the final few overs needing 10+ per over. Skipper Webber (19 off 11) & Melchiore (11 off 4) with a match-defining penultimate over, before Hole hit the winning runs for a nail-biting 2 wicket win with a ball to spare.
Straight after M2s were in action, also in the field first. Toohey & Boulton with a wicket apiece early, before Easts built a strong platform with a threatening partnership. But the Tahs didn’t waiver & pressure eventually built into the latter overs, as Vumbaca & Kaye took important wickets, while Toohey was the pick of the quicks with 3fa, restricting Easts to 6/140. The run chase was simply dominant, Croft (27 off 16) off to a flyer, before skipper Trewartha (52* off 38) & Boulton (56* off 43) combined for an unbeaten 93 run partnership to guide the Tahs home, both peppering the Waverley boundaries & batting with great class to secure a 9 wicket win inside 17 overs.
Men’s 4th Grade & Men’s 5th Grade:
Grahams saw M5s kickstart the day, winning the toss & batting. Akhurst with a couple of dismissive sixes early on, but it was Gatehouse (64* off 60) & skipper Dunlop (58 off 51) that really anchored the Tahs’ innings with well-compiled half centuries. The two combining for a 118 run partnership as both batted with great intent to steer the Tahs to 2/144 from 20 overs. With the ball, the Tahs’ bowlers were pretty clinical, led by the Dubbo debutant Jenkins with 3fa. The remaining wickets shared between Buchanan, Tipton, Graham, Seward & Matheson, as the Tahs held the ascendancy the whole way through, bowling Easts out for 125 in the final over to record a strong 19 run victory.
M4s followed shortly after, skipper Wheeler winning the toss & choosing to bat. The skipper (15) & Donnan (23) making a positive start to the Tahs’ innings, before a regular flow of wickets slowed things up. Martin played the anchor role through the middle with a composed 39 off 30, well supported by a late cameo from Pryke (20 off 12) which pushed the Tahs towards posting a competitive 9/129. The bowling innings was without much luck, despite wickets to Walker & Kershler, and particularly tight spells from the former alongside Pryke. Easts compiling an unbeaten 3rd wicket partnership of substance to take control of the run chase & secure victory.
Poidevin Gray Shield:
Sunday morning at Manly Oval had PGs hosting UNSW, who chose to bat first. After a decent start from the visitors, the Tahs took full control of the match with consistent pressure through the middle to latter overs resulting in regular wickets. M.Kapoor the standout with 4/10 from his 4 overs, Osbourne replicating his strong 1st Grade form with 3fa, Pryke reliable as always with 2fa, and an important breakthrough to Dhillon restricting UNSW to all out 90 in 16 overs. In reply, Joseph hit 9 boundaries in an entertaining 48 off 26 balls to have the Tahs in cruise control. But a slight wobble halted momentum briefly, before R.Kapoor & Croft calmly guided the team to a six wicket win in the 13th over.
Upcoming fixtures:
UNSW are the match-up for the Men’s grades this weekend, with M1s away for their first one-day fixture of the season. Meanwhile, M2s & M3s host the Bees in T20s, while M4s & M5s hit the road for their T20s.
Until next time, up the Tahs!
