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Two-day cricket got underway for the Men over the weekend as the Tahs took on Blacktown on Day 1. Meanwhile, the Women had resounding wins & close defeats across a mixed weekend of results.
Men’s 1st Grade:
The Tahs lost the toss at Manly Oval & were bowling first on a very used wicket that looked beautiful for batting. And it proved to be exactly that on a day full of luckless toil. Dhillon struck twice early in his spell to have Blacktown 2/51, but that’s where it became a real grind as the visitors knuckled down with a huge partnership on a ridiculously flat and docile wicket. 250 more runs with not a single half chance in between as the Tahs toiled without luck. Skipper Foster breaking the mammoth stand, as he took 2fa late in the day, to go with one to Evans, as the Tahs didn’t stop trying as a long day fell to a close. Blacktown 5/341 at stumps from 96 tough overs.
Men’s 2nd Grade:
At Joe MacAleer, the Tahs were sent into bat first after losing the toss, and a wicket in the first over was a far from ideal start. Karlsson-Lacy (58) & stand-in skipper Daly (32) consolidated in a partnership that was just building nicely when the latter was dismissed. Several mini starts through the middle order but the Tahs ultimately struggled to take full ascendancy. Karlsson-Lacy holding things together at one end with a hard-fought half century. But ultimately the innings looked in strife at 8/129. Not if you ask Nathan Pryke. Who once again stood up when the moment presented & the team needed it most, immediately taking the attack back to the Blacktown bowlers in a superb innings. 80no in quick time off just 71 balls, with incredible intent yet measured hitting. A crucial contribution from Toohey in a 88 run stand, before the final two wickets fell quickly to see the Tahs all out for 217, Pryke unbeaten with 80 of the very best. Lawson struck early in reply before the hosts took control as the day headed for a close. But crucial wickets late in the day to Dinan, Pryke & Seward leaves the game in the balance with Blacktown 4/105 at stumps.
Men’s 3rd Grade:
Tahs skipper Webber won the toss & elected to bat as new opening pair Tullia (18) & Cumming (40) got the Tahs off to a positive start early on. The latter particularly helping build a solid platform, in a 62 run stand with Gatehouse (108), who would become the storyline of the day. The club favourite compiling one of the more classy hundreds you’ll see, in a superb knock that formed the backbone of the Tahs innings. Patient to start before tempered aggression later in the day saw him cash in a bring up a sensational hundred. Combining with the returning O’Sullivan (65) in a 108 run partnership that headlined the innings, as the latter took down the opposition spinners in particular. The Tahs putting the foot down late in the day as team first batting was at forefront, as the score propelled to 292 when the final wicket fell in the penultimate over of the day.
Men’s 4th Grade:
The Tahs rocked up to a very sticky wicket at Jim Hanshaw Oval, as we were asked to bat first in tricky conditions. And it proved to be tough going indeed as the soft condition of the pitch saw bowlers extracting plenty of assistance and making things challenging for the Tahs batters. The top order put under immense pressure by a threatening new ball spell as wickets tumbled & runs proved hard to come by. Skipper Parkinson attempted to counter attack, but it was ultimately the innings of Martin (56) that showed tremendous resolve amidst trying conditions. 127 balls of pure resilience to give the Tahs a fighting chance, well supported by Walker (17) in a 62 run stand. The final few wickets fall relatively quickly to see the Tahs all out for 145 with something to bowl at. 13 overs remained in the day & the Tahs were keen to rip in. Graham, Counsell & Nasser charging in without luck in the remaining overs, as Blacktown went to stumps 0/12.
Men’s 5th Grade:
Day 1 washed out. One day match this week.
Women’s 3rd Grade:
What a tremendous Saturday it was for our W3s side who took on Sydney away in a one day fixture. The Tahs asked to bat first after losing the toss as Nel (32) kicked off the innings with a really positive start, but the innings was ultimately in the balance at 3/74. That’s where the fun started and the Tahs took full control. First it was Pike (50no) who compiled a terrific half century off 60 balls to anchor the top order, before Hatfield (51no) joined the party with an equally impressive half century off just 49 balls. And if that wasn’t enough, Beukers (52no) took advantage of the great platform that had been set to peel off her own half century in an excellent innings. All three hitting several boundaries in what was a terrific batting display. Late contributions from Cameron, Gillett & Champion propelling the Tahs to a mammoth 4/277 from 40 overs. It’d be hard to better the batting innings, but the bowling innings was just as impressive. Gillett striking early before Crabbe took the next three in a probing spell. That’s where Nel stole the show with a superb 5fa taking the remaining wickets in a crazy 4 over spell that saw wickets tumbling ridiculously fast. Sydney all out for 58 as the Tahs secured a mammoth win by 200+ runs.
Women’s 1st Grade (Sunday Game 1):
The Tahs took on Sydney in the morning fixture at Manly Oval as the visitors were off to a super start with their openers taking the attack to the new ball to be 50 without loss. Spinners Mehta & Punter swung the momentum with a wicket each as the Tahs slowed the run rate down considerably heading into the last few overs. But that’s where Sydney’s opener went to a new gear, launching a brutal attack taking 51 off the last four overs to propel the visitors to a formidable 3/143 from 20 overs. A horror start to the chase with a wicket falling second ball, and the Tahs looked up against it, but that was far from the case. What followed was simply sensational between overseas import Hunter (84no) & Mehta (44) as the two combined for one of the more entertaining partnerships in recent memory. The latter providing the perfect foil to what was a brutal knock from Hunter, who belted an unbeaten 84 from 67 balls to make a tricky run chase look easy. Henry & Hunter finishing the chase off with the latter deservedly hitting the winning runs as the Tahs recorded a superb 8 wicket win with 5 balls to spare.
Women’s 1st Grade (Sunday Game 2):
The afternoon at Manly Oval saw the Tahs host Gordon, who won the toss & elected to bat. But the Tahs began in disciplined fashion keeping the run rate in check through the powerplay, before Mehta dismissed Gordon’s dangerous opener. A decent partnership followed but the game never really drifted away as the Tahs kept applying dot ball pressure & boundaries to a minimum. Skipper McLerie breaking the partnership, as particularly economical spells from the skipper, Brown, Mehta & Handley helped restrict Gordon to 2/111 in a strong all-round bowling effort. Unfortunately, the chase didn’t quite go to plan as wickets halted the Tahs’ ascendancy & struggled to start on a low & slow wicket as the required rate climbed. Henry (35), Terrey (26no) and the skipper doing their best late to keep the Tahs in the hunt, but ultimately it wasn’t enough as the Tahs fell just 7 runs short.
Women’s 2nd Grade:
Tahs skipper E.James won the toss & elected to bat at Grahams as Burke (23) & S.Hughes (13) made a steady start to the innings. The skipper (14) too started positively, but ultimately the Tahs struggled to really take the ascendancy against some disciplined North Sydney bowling. S.Ford (19no) making an important contribution, while Frew (10no) finished the innings off with some great intent to give the Tahs something to bowl at with 5/88. Needing to bowl well & take all chances, the Tahs started decently with the ball keeping the run rate relatively in check during the powerplay, as Frew picked up the opening wicket at 26 in the 6th over. But that’s where North Sydney took full control & capitalised on ideal batting conditions. A late wicket to Simpson-Lee proving to be only consolation as North Sydney passed the total in the 14th over, winning by 8 wickets.
Brewer Shield:
The Sunday morning fixture at Grahams saw Brewers skipper T.Ford win the toss & elect to bat first as openers Davies (33) & Simpson-Lee (16) made a superb start to the Tahs innings with a 55 run opening stand. The former taking the attack to the bowlers early while the latter provided great support in an excellent partnership. However, the Tahs struggled to build off the platform that had been set, with the middle & latter overs proving difficult for scoring. A late cameo from S.Punter (14no) providing some much needed momentum as the Tahs posted a below par but competitive 5/96. The skipper began superbly with the new ball taking an early wicket, followed shortly after by a run out to Davies to have Campbelltown 2/1 in reply. The visitors fought back momentarily, before spinners Pallister & Simpson-Lee really slowed the game down with an excellent spell. One wicket for the former & two for the latter, as the game went down to the wire. Skipper Ford closing out the innings well under pressure as the Tahs secured a 15 run victory to kick start their season.
Upcoming fixtures:
Another big weekend of cricket coming up, as the Men resume on Day 2 against Blacktown with most fixtures in intriguing positions. Note that M5s have a one-day match after Day 1 was washed out.
Meanwhile, W1s take on Sydney Uni away, as W2s & Brewers head up the highway up against Greater Hunter Coast in a T20 double header. W3s are back at home to Sydney University in a one day fixture.
Until next time, up the Tahs!
