Week 12 Wrap vs UNSW, Bankstown, NDs and Penrith

1st Grade Round 12: UTS North Sydney v UNSW at North Sydney Oval

UTS North Sydney 6/188 (48.4 overs) (BS Atherton 84 JN James 45*) def UNSW 9/187 (cc) (O Knight 3/25 M Jenkins 2/25 J Campbell 2/38)

It was a must-win encounter against a team seven points and two places ahead of us, with the added incentive of finishing our run of games on the hallowed turf of North Sydney Oval on a high. The Bears were buoyed by the return of Justin Avendano from the BBL and Mac Jenkins from illness, but UNSW had big-name inclusions of their own in NSW players Chris Tremain and Matthew Gilkes. On a day when rain threatened, and indeed delayed the start by 10 minutes, it was a good toss for Tom Jagot to win, and he had no hesitation in inviting the Bumblebees to bat first.

James Campbell made an almost immediate impression, bowling Tom Scoble in his second over with the score on 7. He followed that up six overs later, finding the edge of Jack Attenborough’s bat for Aiden Bariol to take a sharp catch to his right. The third wicket fell in the tenth over, Olly Knight’s first, courtesy of a slip catch to Justin Avendano, and the Powerplay ended with the Bees 3/40 and the Bears well on top. The first of three short rain delays in the innings hit during the 13th over, and Knight struck again shortly after the resumption with the prized scalp of Gilkes, who hit a full ball straight to Matt Alexander at mid-off for 24.

4/53 became 5/70 and 6/86 with catches to Bariol and Avendano again, off Knight (3/25) and James Aitken (1/25) respectively. Tremain joined captain Hayden McLean to try to give the innings some respectability, but both eventually succumbed to the Bears’ spinners, first McLean missing a straight one from Mac Jenkins to end the partnership with the score on 117. The Bees’ scorer described Tremain’s batting style as “for a good time, not a long time”, but he was uncharacteristically watchful until a rush of blood saw him seek the cow corner fence off Rob Aitken (1/27), but find only the safe hands of Brent Atherton. The ninth wicket was just around the corner with a simple catch to Bariol off Jenkins (2/25), UNSW 9/134 in the 38th and surely the end of the innings was nigh…

… but there was a sting in the Bees’ tail, an unbroken tenth wicket partnership of 53 that took the score to 187. It was, as a minimum, something to bowl at, especially in the conditions, but well below par for NSO. While disappointed not to have been able to turn the screw, at the halfway mark we were feeling confident of our chances.

The early loss of Tom Jagot and Justin Avendano in our reply had the Bears 2/17 in the seventh and it was game on. The score became 3/47 in the 17th when Bariol offered the simplest of chances to his wicketkeeping counterpart, Gilkes, bringing in Jack James to join Brent Atherton. The pair have often batted together at the top of the order, and combined to excellent effect, taking the Bears through to 3/120 after 34 overs when there was yet another rain delay – 68 more needed at 4.25 per over. Atherton had brought up his 50 off 78 balls and followed this up with the first six of the innings over backward square leg.

Play resumed after a 20-minute hiatus with no overs lost. Either side of the break, the Bees rotated their quick bowlers in short bursts from the Southern End while spinner Padmanabhan bowled economically from the other, and managed to keep a lid on the run rate even if not find the breakthrough they craved. Tremain was particularly difficult to get away, conceding only five runs in his two overs in the middle with his last three saved up for the death, and Hayden McLean’s ten overs going for just 31. Atherton dispatched a short ball from Padmanabhan into the stands, but otherwise the Bears pair could manage only singles and a couple of twos after the rain delay. With 10 overs left, 46 runs were needed – and it appeared the pair had the game well in hand and under control, but there weren’t going to be many overs to spare!

Atherton took a risky single off the last ball of the 43rd and was run out for 84, one of his best innings in Bears colours – a knock that deserved the hundred that’s surely round the corner in what is already a fine season for the new dad (477 runs at 53). The partnership netted 107 runs and was the first time the pair had combined for a triple figure stand. Atherton’s dismissal brought in Mac Jenkins with the score on 154, and Tremain was given the ball for his eighth over in an attempt to turn the game towards the Bees. Tremain conceded just one, meaning we needed 33 off six overs. Jenkins batted with his usual intent, looking for gaps and singles, and James hit a four through mid-wicket in the 46th, leaving us 19 to get from the last four.

Tremain had his tail up and gave away just two in the 47th, so it was 17 needed from 18 balls. We didn’t want to bank on too many from Tremain’s remaining over, or leave too many for the 50th, so that left no choice but to try to go big in the 48th, bowled by Declan White. Unfazed, Jenkins clipped the first ball over the mid-wicket rope and, after a couple of singles, followed it up with a four through cover point. The Bears breathed a little more easily with only five needed off 13 balls, but Jenkins failed in his attempt to finish it in one go, managing only to hit the ball very high into the air. There was some danger of both keeper and bowler attempting the catch when the ball came back to earth, but it was safely pocketed by White and Jenkins had to go for 19 off 16.

New man, Olly Knight, fell to Tremain the next over, bringing in sublime finisher, Rob Aitken. Aitken off drove his first ball for four to level the scores, and scampered a single off the next to see the Bears home with eight balls to spare. Jack James finished 45*.

There were some nervous moments, and it’s hard not to feel we should have been chasing 40 less, but the end result of six vital points was by far the most important outcome. A bonus point win for Sydney means they leapfrog UNSW into 6th place and go seven ahead of us, but we closed the gap to UNSW in 7th to just one point. All we can do is keep winning, and we’re all excited to play red-ball cricket next weekend for the first time this season, with a two-dayer away at Sutherland.

2nd Grade Round 12: UTS North Sydney v UNSW at David Phillips South Oval

UTS North Sydney 193 (48.1 overs) (A Cavenor 38, J Greenslade 34, B Kumar 26) def by UNSW 6/242 (cc) (S Alexander 3/40)

UTS North Sydney headed across the bridge to David Phillips to face the students of UNSW under stormy morning weather. The forecast predicted clearing rain and the game was reduced to a 49 over clash.

Despite the rain, the wicket looked good despite a few wet patches. Some home ground knowledge proved essential at the toss, with UNSW winning and batting. The wicket plays best in the morning and gets lower and slower throughout the day.

Solid opening spells from the opening bowlers did not produce immediate results. The batsmen responded with aggression and took advantage of the loose balls, batting with positivity. The batsmen rode their luck and were starting to get away. A wicket to Baran Kumar broke the opening stand, but inconsistent bowling proved costly. Excellent spells of bowling from the experienced skill of Sam Alexander (3/40) and Ray Alexander (1/19) put the brakes on the Bees. However, inaccurate bowling and too many extras allowed the opposition to push their total to 6/242. The total was larger than hoped for but, with a long batting line-up, the Bears were positive.

The Bears started positively with Finn Nixon-Tomko (18) and Adam Cavenor (38) striking the ball cleanly and turning over the strike consistently. The Bears stayed in touch with the run rate throughout most of the innings. However, wickets consistently kept falling. The slowing wicket with the ball getting lower made it more difficult to advance the game and many of the wickets fell with batsmen advancing the game.

Unfortunately, the luck of the UNSW innings was not reflected in the Bears innings, and it seemed that all chances went to hand. Jimmy Greenslade (38) continued his impressive form, dominating the bowling attack and looking a class above in difficult conditions. The run rate started to get out of hand and soon the chase was out of touch. The boys kept attacking to the end and unfortunately fell 40 runs short. The scoreline was not a clear indication of the nature of the game.

Women's 2nd Grade Round 10: Gordon / UTS North Sydney v Northern Districts at Bon Andrews Oval

Gordon / UTS North Sydney 4/188 (cc) (G Keating 105*, A Dongre 26, O Callaghan 25) def by Northern Districts 6/333 (cc) (O Cook 2/11, A Dongre 2/36)

What a game of cricket! 521 runs for 10 wickets in 100 overs. There was no shortage of entertainment for lovers of batting.

With NDs at 3/41 at the 12th over mark. GNS were looking in good, but a masterful century by Kate McTaggart (152 from 124 balls) and 76 from Emma Howe enabled NDs to take the game right away from the ReinBears. The pair put on 167, before Eliza Thompson 44 (45) combined with Kate for a partnership of 96 to take the score to over 300. Best of the bowlers for the GNS were Anushka Dongre 2/36 (7) and Tuvini Jayakody 1/44 (8) with a nice little cameo from Liv Cook at the end with 2/11 (3).

With the Harbour Bridge down the road, the target of 334 proved a bridge too far for our fledgling ReinBears. A strong bowling performance by NDs kept the pressure in the GNS top order and our batters were never really able to push the scoring to a rate where we had a chance of victory. Going at less than 3 rpo for the first 30 overs, our batters were able to put on over 100 in the last 20 overs with the stand-out performance, a first-time century by Grace Keating (105 off 137 balls).

Grace left the best until last, bringing up her century on the third last ball of the match With Grace on 99, Tuvini masterfully worked a single and Grace did the rest. Unlike last year when she fell one short, Grace was able to bring up three figures with a six over mid-wicket. And the GNS crowd went wild! Credit must also go to Anushka with 26 (28) sparkling runs, showing her teammates how to run those quick singles.

Even though the margin of victory was big, there was an even bigger outpouring of joy and good will from both sides and their supporters celebrating the achievements of the two centurions on what proved to be a very entertaining cricket match.

3rd Grade Round 12: UTS North Sydney v UNSW at Bon Andrews Oval

UTS North Sydney 75 (26.1 Overs) (HP Lee-Young 23) def by UNSW 9/270 (cc) (IR Merlehan 3/54, H May 2/45)

A lost toss saw UTS North Sydney thrown into the field on a typical Bon Andrews wicket. The first few overs were disrupted by a passing shower and then a comical run out by Harri Lee-Young was the only other highlight for the Bears in a very tough first session.

The second session, however, was much closer and brought about another couple of wickets as Chris Savage was able to break through with a simple LBW decision for the umpire. Izaak Merlehan also snagged a couple of poles, finishing with figures of 3/54 after 10 overs. He bowled well in unison with the other spinner, Kobe Allison.

UNSW then, once again put on a great display of batting to put themselves back in the driver's seat of the match, until Harry May and Brad Wilson both came back on to finish the innings, bowling extremely tidily. Harry picked up two wickets late and Brad effected two run outs in the final over, going only for a single run.

The batting innings for the Bears was one to forget, as the very first ball cannoned into Jordan Vilensky's toe, dismissing him for nought. From there, we never got off the ground as Harri Lee-Young top scored with 23 not out. Hamish Reynolds dug in for 12 off 43 balls, and brought up his 1,000th run for the Bears just four days after his 16th birthday.

It was an extremely disappointing performance from 3s, and we look forward to making amends in our next fixture against Sutherland.

Women's 3rd Grade Round 10: UTS North Sydney v Bankstown at O’Neill Park

UTS North Sydney 76 (38.5 overs) (H Blackburn 18) def by Bankstown 8/170 (40 overs) (A D’Cunha 2/19, E McKay 2/24)

Celebrating more firsts ...

One of the great things about cricket is that there's always something to celebrate. It's a game that can have highlights that go beyond the simplicity of which team had the most runs, luck, and decisions or rules that worked for or against them. In a development team like ours, with so many players that are new to cricket, these highlights are important on days where the scoreboard is maybe not one of them.

We knew it was an important toss to win and we wanted to bowl first. There was plenty of rain around, the outfield was long and wet, the grass slippery to run on, plus our team feel that we're just better chasing. Unfortunately, the toss went against us, so Evy McKay and Anna Peterson bravely opened the batting against some great bowling from two Bankstown second graders. Anna unfortunately played one on from wide outside off, before Evy (5) and Sarah Gibbons (5) put on a patient 21 runs together. A bit of bad luck for Evy given caught behind when it brushed her thigh, but Sarah openly admitted her lbw was as good as they get.

Amy and Hetti reunited in the middle, following their 53* and 52* from last week, with great expectation and excitement. Very windy conditions certainly helped our tally of sundries, with Bankstown giving us 20 wides in the match, but equally played havoc with hitting the ball out of the middle of the bat, and combined with the long grass meant that we only scored one four all innings. It also put a lot of pressure on our batters to hit harder than they're used to, causing all sorts of trouble for us.

Amy was out for a very-slow-for-her 5 off 25 balls, Liz Buckley similarly fell for an unusually slow 3 off 20 balls, and so it continued. Hetti held her ground beautifully with a patient captain's knock of 18 off 52 balls including our team's only four, Anna Lucas was very unlucky to be run out by her partner (who did apologise afterwards), and Tilly Kingsmill occupied the crease for 25 balls for a single to her name.

After the match the umpires made a specific comment about our bottom order's grit and determination, with our numbers 9, 10 & 11 holding out for 74 balls faced between them!

Anjali d'Cunha also made 5 (our fourth for the innings) off 36 balls - an important innings as the sundries piled up. But the highlight of the match was Manvek Jawanda, scoring her first runs ever in cricket and grinding out 3 runs off 26 balls, first in partnership with Anjali and then with Abby Williams who also held out 12 deliveries, taking our team score to 76 and surviving all but the last over of our innings.

We knew the only chance we had was to get quick wickets, and after Evy's great bowling last week, we decided we'd open with Evy's spin (2/24 off 8) at one end and our usual opener, Anjali d'Cunha (2/19 off 8), at the other end. This worked even better than we hoped, keeping Bankstown to only 2/15 after 8 overs. First change saw Liz Buckley (5-1/20) struggle with slippery conditions and switch from fast to medium pace, well supported by Abby Williams (1/29 off 6) who, with insecure footing, struggled with the occasional drift to leg side which was punished. Even the ball couldn't stand up to the conditions and had to be replaced mid-innings!

At 4/29 from 12.2 overs, we were back in the game with a good chance of pulling off a miracle.

But an early dropped chance saw ex-Bears player Mridula go on to bat beautifully and change the game with the top score of the day, and Bankstown passed our score after 21 overs.

The controversial rule in Third Grade which allows teams to bat on past the victory in order to secure bonus points has the effect of demoralising and humiliating the losing team and embarrassing some players in the winning team, something that upset some players and certainly the coaches as Bankstown pushed ahead. Batters and fielders both agreed on field that they didn't want to be there, while those chasing bonus points insisted.

To our team's credit, they kept going and tried to make the most of it. Hetti gave everyone a chance to bowl who was willing to have a go, Tilly Kingsmill (0/20 off 2) was punished somewhat for a few no-balls, but the team celebrated wildly when Chloe Blackwell (1/16 off 2) picked up her first wicket ever in her first bowling ever in any form of cricket. Amy Gibbons (0/17 off 5), a reluctant but effective left-arm spinner bowled great line and length and was unlucky not to pick up a few wickets, but her team was delighted not only with seeing Amy bowl for the first time in a long time, but also that only a single no-ball in 5 overs meant that we were getting through the overs relatively quickly! Hetti (0/9 off 1) briefly experimented with spin, Anna Lucas (0/13 off 2) also gave away only 1 extra ball, as did Manvek Jawanda (0/2 off 1). Great team effort in bringing the pain to a close as quickly as possible.

The crowd were embarrassingly quiet, the opposition struggled to look anyone in the eye, only the Bankstown captain cheered every run as they chased for maximum damage. Damage indeed, as Anna Peterson ended up unnecessarily straining a quad muscle - we hope she recovers quickly (we need you back Anna!).

In all, not a proud day for our sport nor our competition, and we hope the administrators remove this outdated rule as they did for the Brewers competition.

We still love cricket, and there's always next week ....

4th Grade Round 12: UTS North Sydney v UNSW at David Phillips North Oval

UTS North Sydney 149 (cc) (D Thorat 42, D Johnson 31) def by UNSW 9/179 (cc) (A Thomas 4/30, P Lindsay 2/36)

4s were on the road at Dave Phillips North in Daceyville to take on UNSW. Some morning showers delayed the start of the game, however we got underway around 11am with no overs lost. Credit to the umpires and both teams for their work in maximising play.

Norths won the toss and had no hesitation in asking UNSW to bat with recent results at the ground favouring the team batting second (thanks Ash Perrott for the analysis).

The Bears got off to a great start with Fraser Noack (1/30 off 10) striking early. The Bees then put a decent partnership that was undone by Matt Coles accurate left armers. Coley has been doing a mountain of bowling at training and it showed as he bowled 10 straight for 1/30. When Ben Revai (1/20) snicked off the Bees opener for 53, UNSW were 3/69 and the innings was delicately poised.

From here the Bears continued to bowl tightly and Lindsay (2/36) and Aiden Thomas (4/30) struck regularly to put the breaks on the Bees who finished 9/179 off their 50. Dave Phillips North is a very small ground and this was a fair bit under par and a good result for 4s. Lindsay’s second wicket was his 350th for the Bears, an impressive feat matched only by Rob Aitken and James Campbell amongst current players.

Unfortunately, the batting performance carried on from the prior week with 4s not showing enough desire to score and allowing UNSW to dictate terms. It is telling that the highest strike rate in the top 6 was 53.45% - on a small ground with a docile pitch, that isn’t good enough and the Bears were made to pay. Dylan Johnson (31) and Dhruva Thorat (42) tried hard, with Matt Cole (16) and Pat Heuzenroeder (11) showing some dash, however it wasn’t enough with the Bears falling 30 runs short, bundled out for 149.

5th Grade Round 12: UTS North Sydney v UNSW at Tunks International Sports Park

UTS North Sydney 8/167 (cc) (HJ Davis 36, A Perry 35, LA Smith 28, M Lloyd 27) def by UNSW 4/172 (cc)

A mouth-watering encounter was slated for the 5th of Feb 2022, with second place UTS North Sydney taking on the in-form fourth placed UNSW at Tunks International Sports Park. Only being separated by a couple of points on the ladder, this was a crucial clash for both sides, looking to cement their places in the top six heading down the stretch into finals.

Weather threatened to disrupt play throughout the morning, and succeeded at times, playing havoc with the Bears’ warm up plans, taking covers on and off the pitch. However, the toss was done at 9:30 am as per regulations, Alex Perry won the toss for UTS North Sydney, and as per their previous eight games, the Bears would yet again bowl first this week.

Rain continued to play a part in the morning’s proceedings, with a further stoppage just after two overs had been bowled. However, once play resumed, there were no further interruptions throughout the day, and a full 50 over a side game would be achieved.

It was slow going early doors for the UNSW Bees, and the Bears finally struck, with Charlie Rose taking a sharp catch in the covers off youngster James Edwards to get the wickets rolling. Alex MacGill followed shortly after, picking up their other opener with a catch at point by Henry Riseborough. At drinks the game was in the balance at 2/47 after 19.

UNSW came out swinging, landing a few big blows straight after the break, including launching a couple of big pull shots over the rope for maximum. However, the spin duo of Jennings and Perry slowed the runs for the visitors, Perry bowling 5 maidens and finishing with 1/16 whilst Jennings was unlucky, having a few chances dropped, which would later be crucial.

The Bears were on top after 41 overs, having the visitors 3/103, however, another counter punch came from the Bees, taking 69 off the final 9 overs after some big blows down the stretch. Henry Riseborough picked up a wicket, bowling their number 5, but this didn't stop the onslaught from the UNSW batsmen, who finished the innings at a well-established score of 4/172.

With three and a half runs required for victory, Smith and Jennings strode out to the middle ready to kick the chase off, and they did, taking the score past 40 before Jennings fell caught behind. Michael Lloyd continued where Jennings left off, picking his moments, and dispatching UNSW bowlers to the fence, and over it. Smith also got in on the act, and the Bears were in a positive position at 1/51 after 17 overs.

Post drinks, however, it was a similar story to last week for North Sydney, losing four for 24, with Smith (27) and Lloyd (28) both caught in the outfield playing big shots. This triggered a mini collapse, with Chris Lloyd and Charlie Rose both unfortunately coming and going cheaply.

This left Alex Perry and Harry Davis at the crease who began to take the sting out of the game, and build the innings again. The pair turned the strike over, pushed the fielders for 2s and 3s in the slow Tunks outfield, and when in their zones, punished the bad bowling.

The pair took the game deep to the final five overs, requiring just under a run a ball from the final five for victory, setting the stage for a grandstand finish.

After a brilliant partnership of 72, Davis (36) was bowled trying to up the run rate, attempting to loft the UNSW leg spinner down the ground. Perry still had other ideas, sending the first ball of the 46th over for four, leaving the Bears with 20 off 23 for victory. However, the next ball, trying to run one past short third man for at least a couple, Perry was caught behind off a diving one-handed catch.

MacGill and Riseborough put in a valiant effort, however the task was just too much, the Bears falling agonisingly close to chasing the total, the difference between the two sides after 50 overs each being 5 runs.

Again, a tale of missed opportunities, with numerous dropped chances in the field, and cheap wickets with the bat the cause of the loss. Still, plenty of positives to take out of the game for the Bears, with having such an off day and fighting with now a top two side all the way to the death, showing how competitive this team is.

Next week sees an away trip to the Shire to take on Sutherland at Tonkin Oval. The Bears will look to get back in the winners’ circle, and continue to build momentum heading into the back end of the season.

U18 Brewer Shield Round 10: UTS North Sydney v Penrith at Bill Ball Oval

UTS North Sydney 84 (42.2) def by Penrith 9/85 (36.3 overs) (SY Julien 4/8)

We arrived at an overcast and dreary looking Bill Ball Oval hoping that we might be able to get a full day's cricket but not certain. After much deliberation, we decided that we would see if we could change our fortune by electing to have a bat first.

The openers Shiloh Julien and Sam Kuncham got off to a slow but solid start before a mishap in the running saw Shiloh depart for 11 (1/36 off 13.4). Not long afterwards, Sam pushed one a little uppishly to short midwicket, and after an umpires’ conference much conjecture from the cheap seats on the sidelines and what seemed like an eternity, she was adjudged out (2/26 off 13.3). Despite believing the ball had hit the grass, Sam showed great maturity walking off with just a frustrated shake of the head.

With the ball holding a little in the pitch and the Penrith side setting some very tight fields, they restricted our scoring with most of our shots seeming to find the fielders. Even the usually free-flowing Liz Buckley was struggling to get going but battled her way to 11 before being stumped in what must have been a close call with just a small lift of her back heel.

Unfortunately, after the solid start, we lost wickets at regular intervals The top order struggled through a combination of misfortune and small but costly mistakes. This week, the usually reliable tail struggling to score as they have in previous weeks with only Emily Aitken digging in showing great patience to top score with 12 runs before being the final wicket to fall with the Bears being held to 84 runs.

As we were preparing to bowl, the heavens opened up and after about five minutes of heavy rain the covers were brought out, but as quickly as it came the rain was gone again. However, before we could start the game, the covers were out again and it looked like this may be the pattern of the afternoon.

Despite the low score, we knew that the pitch was holding a little and there would be some turn on a wicket which was showing signs of wear after being used the day before. Knowing that we needed early wickets, the plan was to use the new ball then switch to spin early. Like all good cricket plans, the players needed to do the heavy lifting.

Right on cue, Liz Buckley (1/15 off 3.3) did her best Mitchell Starc impersonation with a wicket with the opening ball of the innings, a low full toss on leg catching the top edge and flying to a perfectly placed Ani Uthappa at deep fine leg. Sam Kuncham (0/12 off 5) again bowled a great opening spell, keeping things tight before the switch to spin.

Mayher Singh (1/17 off 9) then entered the attack, bowling beautifully, with the ball turning at right angles with the batters unable to lay bat on ball as she struggled to get the wickets her bowling deserved. At the other end, off-spinner Shiloh Julien (4/8 off 7 with 3 maidens) took advantage of the conditions, bowling with a combination of deadly precision and great plans to tear through the Penrith batters.

With the score at 5/41 after 21 overs, we knew we were right in this match and could snatch an unlikely win, Emily Aitken (1/8 off 4) again bowled a great line and length as did Georgia MacDonald and skipper Mabel Oxenham, both bowling 2 overs 0/3. With the game teetering on a knife's edge, Shiloh and Mayher were brought back into the attack with success, the score sitting at 7/64. Charlotte Moss followed that up with a spectacular piece of fielding, a long chase ending with a runout with a direct hit from the deep mid-on boundary to have Penrith 8/67.

Just as we were beginning to hope the momentum swung again with the Penrith number 6 counter-attacking through a combination of some lusty blows and a few miss hits that just seemed to elude our fielders, finding the grass before they could get there. At 8/80, the Bears were rueing their lack of runs whilst batting, as they were quickly running out of runs to play with. With plenty of overs left, Mabel then threw Charlotte the ball looking for another minor miracle, and was rewardded with a wicket with the score on 81, bringing the number 11 batter to the crease and providing the Bears with a chance of victory. The field pushed in even further, hoping to create pressure, but unfortunately on the fifth ball of the over the no. 6 managed to squeeze one past the fielders who chased back but could not cut off the second, allowing her to get off strike for what was in all likelihood going to be the final over.

The final over saw the return of Liz Buckley's raw pace to the attack in a hope of taking the final wicket where spin and line and length had failed. Unfortunately, the well set no 6 was on strike. That being said, she looked less comfortable as the first two balls were full and fast, just whistling past the off stump. Sadly, for the Bears, on the third ball of the over the batter got a thick edge squeezing the ball through the gully region for the winning runs. Despite the loss, this was a thrilling match to watch and the girls should be very proud of the way that they played.

Match MVP Shiloh Julien’s form since getting age dispensation has been particularly impressive and we are excited for her future with the Bears.

Media courtesy of Tony Johnson, David James, Sarah Berman, Adam Cavenor, Malcolm Trees, Evy McKay, Gordon Women's Cricket Club and team captains.