Week 12 Wrap vs Sutherland, Sydney and Parramatta

1st Grade Round 7: UTS North Sydney vs Sutherland at North Sydney Oval

UTS North Sydney 191 (43.3 Overs) (O Knight 45*, J Rew 33, T Reynolds 33, J Greenslade 30) def by Sutherland 7/269 cc (S Alexander 2/39, O Knight 2/47)

All good things must come to an end, and so it proved for the Bears’ unbeaten run in the Belvidere Cup, with the return to white-ball cricket bringing with it a comprehensive defeat to Sutherland.

The match got off to the best possible start, with a stunning catch at point by Tim Reynolds to dismiss Sam Konstas, Sutherland’s whizz-kid who was top of the First Grade runs ladder before the weekend, for a second-ball duck. As so often this season, it was Olly Knight taking a wicket at the start of his first spell, and it had the Bears fired up for the game ahead. There was enough in the deck to keep the bowlers interested with the new ball, and Sutherland took just ten off the first five overs before they started to accelerate. However, the introduction of Fletcher May removed the other opener, Ross, for 17 in the 14th over with the score on 49.

Partnerships were a feature of the Sharks’ innings, with the Bears not managing to take wickets in clumps until late in the innings, and stands of 48, 52, 58, and 45 being added for the second to fifth wickets. The mainstay was Jarryd Biviano, who looked to be batting on a different pitch to his team-mates and played with his typical attacking style to reach his fifty off 44 balls with a six. He was finally dismissed for 109 off 107 in the 43rd over thanks to an excellent catch by Olly Knight at deep backward square leg off Sam Alexander (who bowled with great control for his 2/39). The score was 5/204, which became 5/207 the next over as Knight took his second pole, and we had hopes of restricting Sutherland to around 250. However, the Sharks rampaged for the last few overs, taking 40 off the last four to post 7/269.

Although a strong finish and a good score, 270 is usually about par for North Sydney Oval, so there was no loss of confidence in the Bears’ camp. However, Sutherland struck twice in the first six overs, with Brent Atherton caught behind and Mac Jenkins bowled leaving. James Rew and Jimmy Greenslade, both in superb form, combined for our best partnership of the day (51 off 56 balls) with both playing with control and intent, but each was strangled down the leg side to leave us 4/90 in the 23rd.

Tim Reynolds struggled to get the accurate seamers away, but, as ever, punished the spinners when they missed their lengths, and hit two bombs before without finding the boundary along the ground. When Reynolds was dismissed, we were 6/131 in the 33rd over with the run rate required over 8 and the Bears well behind the 8-ball. Olly Knight played his typically aggressive game (including hitting three big sixes) and put on 36 with Adam Cavenor (16), but the tail didn’t wag and we were dismissed for 191 in the 44th over. Knight finished 45* off 34 to add to his 2/47.

Next up, a trip to Rosedale to play Fairfield-Liverpool, who we have a history of beating in tight encounters in the last few years. We’ll take a win however it comes as we look to get back up the ladder after dropping to fourth.

2nd Grade Round 7: UTS North Sydney v Sutherland at Glenn McGrath Oval

UTS North Sydney 9/223 cc (G Aitken 82, D Mares 64) def by Sutherland 3/226 (42.1 Overs)

3rd Grade Round 7: UTS North Sydney v Sutherland at Bon Andrews Oval

UTS North Sydney 8/191 (48.2 Overs) (B Kumar 62*, M Clark 48) def Sutherland 7/190 (N Whyte 3/14, B Kumar 2/21)

The Bears hosted Sutherland at Bon Andrews Oval in a return to one day cricket. The freeway edge wicket on the square was in use and it had a familiar green tinge but also seemed hard underneath. Nevertheless, Skipper Lindsay chose to bowl when he won the toss.

Nuwan Whyte got the Bears off to flyer removing the openers off stump and then the number 3s off bail. Nuwan was unplayable in his opening spell moving the ball off the seam at will. Aidan Thomas was introduced and he took the crucial wicket of the Sutherland skipper straight after drinks, caught at mid wicket. At 3-42 the Bears were on top, and even more so at 4-53 when Chris Savage bowled the the #4.

The Sutherland #6 then took the game up to the Bears targeting the short boundary until he slashed one to Aidan Thomas who hung onto a sharp chance at point of Baran Kumar. Baran then got a wicket next ball and the Bears were right on top at 6-90.

Sutherland then dug in, and gritted their teeth. Their next two partnerships added exactly 100 showing what a good wicket it was. Sutherland closed at 7-190 a good 40 or so more than we would have liked as the Bears got a little sloppy in the last 10. Nuwan Whyte was the pick off the bowlers with 3-14 off 10!!

The Bears chase got off to a shaky start with Finn Nixon Tomko out for nought. Aidan Thomas and Oscar Jago Lewis followed quickly and we were in trouble at 3-17. Cam New and Max Clark steadied the ship a little to 3-54 before New’s dismissal for 17. The Bears continued to lose wickets and when Max Clark was dismissed for 48 at 6-104 things were looking dire.

But Baran Kumar (62*) had other ideas. Partnering with Nuwan Whyte he showed calmness and poise to pick off the bad ball and make inroads into the total. Whyte was dismissed for 17 at 7-153 and the target was firmly in sight although the tail was exposed.

That mattered little to Baran who continued to play shots all around the wicket whilst taking minimal risk. Skipper Lindsay came and went for 9 and when the big ball runner Justin Rodgie entered it was 8-163 with 28 needed off around 7 overs.

Rodgie played one exceptional straight drive for 4 and ran hard between the wickets his crucial innings, but it was Baran who saw us home in the 49th over, pulling us out of the fire to deliver a crucial win to keep 3s season alive. Baran’s knock showed what a mature, calm cricketer he is. Mentally tough - he is never distracted from the task at hand and has the confidence and skill to see the job home.

In this innings Baran typically attacked when hitting to the short boundary but often to the unprotected longer side - it was a masterful innings, and to go with his two poles - a club player of the round performance!

3s travel to Fairfield Oval and will hope to keep the good times rolling for a push to finals cricket.

Women's 3rd Grade Round 10: UTS North Sydney v Sydney at Tunks International Sports Park

UTS North Sydney 6/103 (A Gibbons 31*) def Sydney 9/89 (E Aitken 3/19, E McKay 2/25)

This Saturday we took on Sydney again, after our match-up a few weeks ago. After winning the toss, Sydney chose to bat. We applied pressure early in the field, restricting their openers greatly in the first few overs. Anjali d’Cunha (1/12) and Nanthana Bhavan (1/20) put on more pressure, picking up wickets and keeping runs down. Charlotte Moss debuted for third grade this week, trying out some nifty spin with figures of 1/12. Evy McKay also picked up wickets ending on figures of 2/25. Emily Aitken picked up 3 wickets, conceding just 19 runs, to finish off the last of Sydney’s batters. This week our fielding really stood out, especially the work of Sarah Gibbons throughout the whole innings, and Anna Peterson who took an amazing catch off an edge from Sydney’s opener. We saved plenty of boundaries and kept Sydney to 89 runs.

Evy McKay and Sarah Gibbons went in to open the batting against a strengthened Sydney side. Evy (9) scored a couple of quick boundaries, but Sydney picked up some quick wickets and things started to look a bit shaky. Luckily, Amy Gibbons and Anjali d’Cunha came to the crease and built a crucial partnership. Amy (31*) hit mandatory retirement of 30 runs again this week, scoring two 4s and two massive 6s. Anjali (14) and Anna Peterson (12*) both helped to stabilise the innings, and scored two impressive 4s each. Charlotte Moss (8*), Manvek Jawanda (5*), and Anna Lucas (1*) finished off the innings for us to end up on 103 runs.

4th Grade Round 7: UTS North Sydney v Sutherland at Sutherland Oval

UTS North Sydney 3/162 (26.2 Overs) (K Karan 83*, R Broom 37*, N Desai 28) def Sutherland 8/161 cc (J Thomas 2/18, B Wilson 2/21, I Merlehan 2/25)

Unfortunately no Stuart Clark there to greet the fourth grade bears at Sutherland oval, but they were greeted with a glorious carpet outfield and an interesting deck. Back to the one day formats, skipper Perry stuck to the formula, winning the toss and bowling first.

It proved to be the right decision, with the Bears well on top early, making the most of the new ball and conditions. Wilson struck twice early, one caught behind by Perry and another caught at second slip by his opening partner Jack Thomas. Jack also picked up an early pole, curtesy of a sharp catch by fourth grade debutant Nihal Desai at 2nd slip. Sutherland were 3/25 at drinks, and were 4/25 shortly after drinks with Jack picking up his second wicket of the day, and second wicket in two weeks with the short ball, again caught by Karan at mid wicket.

The bears well on top, spin entered the game, with Kumar picking up where he left off, picking up an early wicket caught behind. The wicket was turning square, and although Charles bowled well without luck, it was spin until the end.

Merlehan bowled with control for his 10 overs, suffocating the Sutherland batsmen and picking up two pressure wickets to keep the score stationary in the bears favour. Desai bowled extremely well, keeping Perry busy in his return behind the stumps, beating the bat on numerous occasions, unable to find the edge.

Sutherland finished on a very sub par score of 8/161, the Bears content with what was a solid performance with the ball and in the field.

From ball one, Desai and Amir showed intent to score, not afraid of the new ball attack Sutherland threw at them. However Amir’s stay was short lived, and unfortunately Nigul followed quickly, putting the bears in a spot of bother.

Enter the man of the day, Kaustav Karan, who knuckled down with Desai to build a platform. Desai was on a roll, hitting two cracking boundaries in a row, and thought he was on for a third before a short ball got big on him, and hurried him through a pull shot to be caught for a well made 28.

The game was in the balance, the bears at 3/45 early doors, but what ensued next was utter carnage.

Robin Broom and Karan took a liking to the Sutherland attack, mincing them all over Sutherland oval. From glorious cover drives to free hits deposited over the other side of the adjacent road, the pair took down the Sharks, intent on secure a bonus point.

Karan passed 50 in no time, and if Sutherland had scored a handful more runs, no doubt he would have gone on to secure his second century of the season, however it was not to be.

A glorious innings from both batsmen secured the bonus point win for the bears with 7 wickets in hand and 3 overs to spare (before the 30 over mark).

Chasing 161 in 26 overs is no joke, and this side means business. They look to continue their red hot form heading into their final match before Christmas against Fairfield at the home of cricket, Tunks International Sports Park.

5th Grade Round 7: UTS North Sydney v Sutherland at Tunks International Sports Park

UTS North Sydney 5/163 (D Singh 50 ,C Lloyd 48*, O Jennings 30) def Sutherland 9/157 cc (R Adabala 2/22, K Dhawan 2/26, S Vohra 2/28)

The usual stunning vista greeted the Bears as they arrived at Tunks International Sports Park, where history and a slight green tinge prompted the skipper to bowl first after a successful coin toss. A couple of early chances were missed but tight bowling had Sutherland 1/10 off their first 9 overs, with Riseborough claiming the first scalp. Change bowlers Matt Cole and Kishna Dhawan then reduced them to 4-51 before a slow partnership developed. Taking control of the game, Shiv Vohra and Ravi Adabala squeezed the life out of the opposition, bowling 20 overs between them through the middle and taking 4/50, before a late flurry of runs to their lower order saw Sutherland reach an under par 9/157 off their 50 overs.

The Bears openers started well, with Olly Jennings and Dilraj Singh taking the score to 60 in the 18th over before Jennings fell for 30. This precipitated a collapse, with 3, 4 and 5 all making ducks and the score falling to 4/65 in short order. Singh was joined by skipper Chris Lloyd and the two slowly regained control of the innings. Lloyd was unusually circumspect, eschewing his normal bomb hitting in favour of blocks and more than a few tactical leaves that picked up a wide. Eventually, the Sutherland bowlers began to tire and both Singh and Lloyd took the game away. Singh fell for a well compiled 50 with the target in sight, leaving Adabala to join Lloyd and tidy up the last of the runs. Lloyd (48*) decided to show the massive crowd (both of them) what they paid for (nothing) with scores level as he got a big bomb away into the trees to see the boys home. 6 points and a song meant that 5th grade kept their 7 point lead atop the ladder going into the last round before Christmas.

Brewer Shield Round 10: UTS North Sydney v Parramatta T20 at Bon Andrews Oval

UTS North Sydney 4/89 cc (S Kuncham 32, S Julien 31) def by Parramatta 3/90 (S Julien 1/11, E Aitken 1/27)

Bon Andrews Oval awaited the red hot Brewer Bears on a fine Sunday. Their opponents, the high flying Parramatta squad who were sitting 2nd on the ladder, a challenging outing for the Bears who had been dominating the competition as of late.

Captain Julien won the toss, and the coin had hardly landing and she was already calling to bat first.

Shiloh and Adelaide strode out to the middle, and were met with tight bowling from the Parramatta outfit. The opening pair batted with tenacity and grit to see off the new ball until Adelaide was dismissed. Sam Kuncham then joined Shiloh to keep working through the innings at just below a run a ball pace, Parramatta restricting the runs on a quick Bon outfield.

Both batters were both undone in the early 30s, and the Bears coldn’t accelerate thereafter, getting restricted to a total of 89 at the compulsory close of 20 overs.

Parramatta were on the offensive from ball one, intent on making the most of the pristine outfield and batting conditions. Shiloh had other ideas, cleaning up the opener and stemming the flow of runs. Emily Aitken provided a glimmer of hope, removing the quick scoring opener, quickly followed by a run out, the Bears still believed.

However it wasn’t to be this week, with Parramatta getting over the line 3 down. The Brewer Bears look to bounce back to form next week against a third place Penrith outfit.

Media courtesy of Tony Johnson, Malcolm Trees, Jeff Williamson, Greg Buckley Adam Cavenor and UTS North Sydney members.