Round 6 saw UTS North Sydney take on local rivals Mosman in a 2-day fixture. Some attritional cricket on day 1 set the top 3 grades up to mount impressive run chases on day 2. Fourth and fifth grade could not quite apply the same pressure but still fought admirably after dropping behind early in their matches.
First Grade
Thomas Jagot reports
UTS North Sydney 9/372 (J Avendano 141, AJ Crosthwaite 62, O Knight 33, B Bryant 30, R Aitken 26) def Mosman 193 (J Campbell 5/59, R Aitken 2/21, M Alexander 2/23)
A sunny day at North Sydney began with skipper Justin Avendano losing the toss and the boys being asked to field. Toby Lester and Jimmy Campbell started extremely well - both bowling with consistent line and length. Having Mosman 3-80 at lunch on a reasonably flat wicket was a tick in the win column for the Bears. We continued to apply pressure with Matt Alexander and Rob Aitken both doing a great job. In the end we skittled Mosman for an under par 192. James Campbell the standout finishing with a magnificent 5-59.
Left with a session to bat, Ben Bryant and James Crosthwaite were off to a flying start. Captain Avendano then followed suit, and with some brilliant stroke making we finished the day at 3-100 with Avendano and A Crosthwaite the not out batsmen.
Day 2 rolled around and the wicket is an absolute beauty. Avendano and Adam Crosthwaite were never troubled, knocking off the remaining runs before lunch. Then it was decision time, do we send them back in and have a crack at an outright, or make the Whales eat more dust? With the wicket being a highway, the decision was made to make them kick more dirt for 3 hours. Justin finishing with a well compiled 141 and Adam with 62. Rob Aitken, Olly Knight and Matt Alexander also looked comfortable at the crease in the afternoon. End result, 6 points and our season is alive.
Second Grade
David Barber reports
UTS North Sydney 4/332 (G Lavelle 153, J Aitken 101*, A Wigglesworth 35) def Mosman 9/329 (dec) (J Aitken 3/59, AA Shaikh 2/37, N Naguleswaran 2/60)
On a cloudy morning we turned up to a a pitch that was described as a stray dog - a reflection on the uncertainty of its behaviour. Mosman won the toss and decided to bat. Ali Shaikh slung the game in favour of the Bears with two quick wickets whilst Declan kept it tidy at the other end. This momentum continued with James and Naranjan taking 2 wickets a piece leaving the Whales at 6/132. Mosman dug in posting a partnership of 110 till a breakthrough from Barber left them at 7/245. They then crawled their way to 9/329 with James and Sam picking up wickets towards the close of play.
The following week, a young and inexperienced move by the Mosman captain had the Whales declare at the start of play. Out strolled George and Adam to start the Bears' run chase. The first wicket soon fell at 1/42 with a ball that was described by Docos as moving square. The next wicket of Hardy fell quickly with a good ball taking the edge going to first slip off the spinner. Adam Wigglesworth played a classy, well-paced innings for 35 before being dismissed by a leg side stumping to bring the Bears total to 3/145. George, well past 50 at this point, started to look like he wasn’t going to be dismissed and made his way to 100 with James rotating the strike and punishing any bad bowling at the other end. George eventually dismissed on 153 left the score at 4/305. The Whales, left pulverised from this partnership at this point, had a glimmer of hope but James "the Dr" Aitken delivered the bad news and put them to the sword, bringing up the victory whilst simultaneously notching up his ton to put the final nail in the coffin. #bears6points
Victory against one of our fiercest rivals is pretty sweet but to do it with 5 in the shed left to bat and 8 overs to spare shows what this team is capable of.
Third Grade
Jarrad Ninness reports
UTS North Sydney 5/261 (R Shirazi 70*, AN Singh 65, C Lloyd 43, A Shirazi 35*, D Thorat 32) def Mosman 6/259 (dec) (P Lindsay 3/72, JJ Ninness 2/41)
Day 1 saw the UTS North Sydney Bears win the toss on a rather green but very flat Bon Andrew wicket and bowl first. Mosman took a very cautious approach to start their innings, and consistent tight bowling saw them mostly on the back foot.
Their opening bat managed to keep ticking it over on his way to a scratchy, yet mostly chanceless, ton - whilst the bowling group toiled to keep pressure on and limit scoring at the other end. Special mention to Pat Lindsay taking some crucial late in the day wickets.
Day 2 came and saw Mosman continue on at 4-240 odd realising that their slow accumulation from day 1 was never going to be enough.
2 wickets in the first over to Jarrad ‘Flailing-Arms’ Ninness had them reeling and then a run out to Todd Levine courtesy of a demolition job on the stumps by Anmol was the last straw for the Mosman outfit as they declared 7-259.
A hundred opening stand by Dhruva and Anmol put us in a commanding position, before Raf Shirazi took over from Dhruva to make a match winning 70*. Special mention to Raf who anchored the innings well on his way to what could have been a brilliant ton as we mowed down 260 with 4 of the great Bears still left to bat in the sheds.
6-Points to the Bears
#Beware
Fourth Grade
Ben Knox reports
UTS North Sydney 43 and 152 (G Singh 62) def by Mosman 111 (N Whyte 4//40, B Knox 3/17, H May 2/34) and 5/85 (R Hasan 3/26)
The Bears lost the toss and were sent in on a lively Rawson pitch, and with a combination of good bowling and poor batting, UTS North Sydney were bowled out for 43 in a forgettable first innings batting display.
Searching for a 2nd innings win, the Bears came out lively and aggressive in the field, with a dominant opening bowling display between Nuwan Whyte and Gurnoor Singh. Both bowled tight line and lengths, and Nuwan collected 4 wickets whilst Gurnoor was unlucky not to pick up any, going for only 18 runs off 8 overs. Mosman at this stage were 4-39 before Harrison May came on to pick up 2 wickets in 2 balls, both his wickets hitting the stumps, and Mosman slumped to 6-40. After a few chances went the way of Mosman’s opening batsman J Doolan, he made 68 runs before Benjamin Knox came on, taking 3, and putting Mosman at 9-97. After a little bit of tail end hitting, Mosman were all out 111, the final wicket coming from a Charlie Rose run out from square leg. The Bears worked exceptionally hard in the field, bowling tight lines and fielding with intent all 40 overs.
The Bears needed to survive 9 overs to close out Day 1, and unfortunately lost Adam Cavenor and Cameron New to some more good bowling before the close of play, ending at 2-8, and trailing by 60.
Aiming to take the day deep and claim a 2nd innings win, The Bears started day 2 well with Lachlan Cork and Finn Nixon-Tomko putting on a decent partnership of around 30 before Cork was dismissed for 20. As wickets began to fall Gurnoor Singh played patient and smart with the tail as he made his way to 50. Gurnoor fell for 62 chasing quick runs as the overs were beginning to run out, and The Bears were bowled out for 145 odd with a lead of 85, and 19 overs to bowl.
Harrison opened the bowling this time, and the Bears had Mosman 1 down for around 10, however Mosman recovered and looked comfortable to chase down the 85. Enter Rashedul Hasan, who spun his way through to 3 wickets, keeping the Bears in the hunt. Nuwan picked up another scalp thanks to a brilliant catch by Lucas Heffernan, leaving Mosman 5 down, however they scraped past the lead of 85 in the last over of the day.
The result didn’t reflect the difference between the two teams, the Bears showing plenty of fight with the ball and in the field after the batting display in the first innings. However more grit was needed with the bat, and that proved to be the turning point.
Fifth Grade
Ethan Joseph reports
UTS North Sydney 105 (J Aylward 25*) and 4/96 K Lawrence 63* def by Mosman 3/239 (E Joseph 1/29, A Huq 1/33, F Atshan 1/46)
We were greeted by a green deck that looked like a bowlers treat and that would be a delight with the overcast conditions. Unfortunately Mosman won the toss and sent us in. Striding out to the wicket to open the batting was Yousuf Ali and Aditya Nigul. The ball seems to be working a treat for Mosman Whales as they take early wickets with our batsmen making starts and unfortunately not able to go on with it. We end up only making 105 of 58.3 overs. The highest score being Jonathan Aylward's 25*. Coming into bat at number 8. Jono backed himself and played his shots scoring two fours and one six.
With some time left on Day 1 we had a bowl with Sol and Ethan sharing the new pill. At the end of day's play Skipper Fudge lead by example, taking the lone wicket. Mosman finished the day 1 wicket down for 81 off 20 overs.
The Bears started well in the field on day 2 but lacked intensity and failed to take wickets and capitalise on half chances. Fudge chopped and changed the bowlers with no breakthrough. As both Mosman batsman hit half centuries the Whales had a lead of 130 as they proceed to send us back in to bat. Keith and Fudge instructed us to play in the V and ‘value our wicket’ with Fudge declaring ‘We are not losing this outright’. But again Bears lose early wickets and we're in a bit of strife with 2 wickets down for not many runs. Next you know the experienced Keith Lawrence finds himself in the middle and he puts on a glamorous display of batting. Keith continues to keep this quality presentation of batting going as he brings up his 50 and finishes not out. The Mosman Whales win the game but not outright as that partnership remained crucial in the bears not losing in outright fashion. Next week the UTS North Sydney Bears take on the Sydney Cricket Club.