5th Grade Round 12: UTS North Sydney vs Hawkesbury at Bensons Lane 3
Hawkesbury 140 (S Balbi 3/8, A Perry 3/24, AC MacGill 2/5) def UTS North Sydney 130 (J Hedges 33, NC Hay 27)
After copious amounts of rain for the first weekend of the matchup, the first two-day match of the season would ironically be played over one day, with 120 overs to be bowled.
Embarking on a long journey out to the famed Bensons Lane, the 5th grade Bears were welcomed with spitting showers and an unsurprisingly green deck. The ominous forecast also indicated storms in the afternoon.
Needing a result to keep pace with the top six, Perry and the team knew that bowling first was the only option. And after winning the toss, that is indeed what the Bears would do.
After a 15 minute delay, the players were out onto the lush outfield and raring to go. Sol Balbi and Alex MacGill took the new ball, instantly putting pressure on the opening pair for Hawkesbury. When MacGill tried to knock off one of the openers’ helmets, he attempted to pull the ball, without much success, popping it straight up in the air into the waiting hands of Alex Perry at midwicket for one of the easiest catches of his cricketing career. The unrelenting pressure from Balbi and MacGill continued, with Balbi sending the other opener’s off stump cartwheeling, and MacGill trapping their number 3 in front. With their foot on the throat, Perry took another catch at slip off Balbi to remove the Hawks number 4 batsmen and have the team in disarray at 4/11.
Ben Revai, Aidan Bennett and Jamieson Hedges all entered the attack to continue the onslaught, however the fightback had begun for Hawkesbury. Their captain and number 6 got countless lives from missed opportunities and the Hawks battled their way to 77 before Hedges chimed in removing the skipper with the 3rd last ball before lunch, caught at point by Balbi.
There were some light showers during the lunch break, softening up the deck and wetting the outfield, making for an interesting afternoon of cricket.
Resuming 5 down and some whispers of a declaration with the impending weather, the Bears began to push for the last 5 wickets with spinners Shiv Vohra and Alex Perry trying to make the most of the conditions.
Perry struck first, removing the number 6 for 56 after his 9 lives ran out, caught by Vohra at backward square. This triggered a minor collapse, with Perry bowling the Hawks keeper and Vohra picking up one caught by Hedges at slip. Revai took a screamer off Perry to have the Hawks 9 down. Some resistance was brought about in the last partnership, and Balbi finally brought an end to the Hawks innings with a leg before wicket dismissal.
Hawkesbury all out 140 with 54 overs left in the day and plenty of rain to come...or so was thought...
Singh and Bennett fresh off their electric opening stand against Fairfield strode out to the middle confidently. They were greeted with a swinging ball, and Bennett fell early after he miss timed one to mid off. Singh fell shortly after, with the ball holding up in the soft wicket and flicking one to square leg.
Nick Hay and Charlie Rose fought through the new ball, however the conditions were favourable to the bowling side, plenty of cloud, no top level water on the outfield, and a seemingly untouched ball still moving around as if it were new. Rose, after looking solid for 13 chopped on, bringing Perry to the crease at 3/28, making 140 look a long way off.
Hay and Perry took the score to 55 shortly after tea before a big swinging yorker got through Perry's defenses, sending the captain on his way, and putting a big question mark on the outcome of this game. With the game in the balance, and fresh off NSW Metro U16 selection, Hedges calmly walked out to the middle to join Hay, the pair determined to see the chase home.
As the sun came out, Hay and Hedges were pulling closer to the total, however after a spirited innings of 27, Hay fell caught behind. So often in cricket one wicket brings about a second, and Revai was unfortunately on his way for nought after a spectacular catch by the Hawks keeper.
Connell walked in at number 8 for the Bears with the game on a knife’s edge. Hedges and Connell took the fight to the Hawks and had turned the game on its head. With 9 overs remaining the score was at 6/120, with just 21 runs required.
A rush of blood from the youngster saw Hedges run out by a hair after attempting a quick single to mid off, bringing his outstanding fight of an innings to a close at 33. From there the lower order collapsed to be all out 130, ending a nail-biting day of cricket, and leaving the Bears gutted and with plenty to work on mid week.
Despite the loss, results around the grounds were kind, and the Bears are still within striking distance of a finals berth with three rounds remaining. Next round sees the Bears take on Northern District, a grudge match for many at the club. Hungry for a bounce-back statement win, the Bears will prepare rigorously for this two-day encounter commencing next week at Tunks International Sports Park.