Brewer Shield Round 19: UTS North Sydney v Sydney at Birchgrove Oval
UTS North Sydney 5/130 (36.4 Overs) (E Buckley 72, S Julien 28) def Sydney 127 (38.4 Overs) (S Julien 6/27, I Selems 3/12)
The delightful Birchgrove Oval was the venue for the final match of the regular Brewer Shield season. With Sydney Harbour as a backdrop and dew still on the manicured couch outfield, the toss was won by the home team and the Bears were sent into the field. A decision that we were not unhappy with in the least.
The opening bowlers hit their length from the outset and Madeleine Winslow was immediately rewarded with a return catch. This crucial wicket breaking the usually impervious Sydney opening partnership. The bowlers then settled in for the grind as the Sydney top order dug in and set to work building a platform. The Bears also settled in and kept the screws on the opposition, making boundaries a rarity and forcing Sydney to scuttle through for very tight singles. Georgia MacDonald, Shiloh Julien and Sam Kuncham were all impressive as they held the usually fluent Sydney top order to 57 off 18 overs at the drinks break.
Sharon Julien and Emily Aitken then joined the attack. The spinners bowled well in tandem, holding the batters in check, with the runs at a slow trickle. The concerted pressure from all the bowlers finally culminated in the much anticipated breakthrough, with Kayla Robson pouching a catch off the bowling Sharon. With the number three dismissed and the partnership broken, Sharon then went to work on the rest of the batting order, dismissing the new batter two balls later. The remaining opener looked to accelerate, passing the half century mark on a patient innings. She then pushed a little too hard as Kayla again combined with Sharon to claim the fourth wicket and Sharon’s third. This is approximately when the wheels completely fell off the Sydney innings. The next two batters came and went, one bowled and one beautifully stumped by Karmen Jawanda, with only meagre contributions to the total. Sharon was once again the architect of their demise, claiming her 5th wicket and ripping the usually solid Sydney batting lineup to pieces. Pace was then reintroduced into the attack from the southern end in the form of Isabel Selems. She immediately adopted a you miss, I hit approach to the now exposed lower order. Her patience outlasted the batters and a couple of ill conceived swats across the line saw the stumps scattered twice in a row. Sharon then chimed in again with a caught and bowled, taking her day’s wicket tally to six. Isabel then brought the Sydney innings to a premature end in the thirty-eighth over with an LBW. The total a very getable 127.
The Bears openers looked untroubled as they powered through the new ball burst, with Liz Buckley taking ten runs off the sixth over. The Bears were 0/37 off 6 overs and a partnership was blossoming. Good shot selection combined with power put the opposition on the back foot, creating many singles as the fielders hung back on the ring. With the pace attack spent, spin was introduced. It was at this point that Liz unleashed, powering several boundaries towards the harbour. The bears raced to 0/70 off 16 overs and were in complete control, Sydney powerless to stop the flow of runs. Liz continued to motor along, reaching fifty in the twenty first over, and then moving to 59 in the space of a few balls. With the game racing towards an early conclusion, Shiloh took off for a quick single, stopped, slipped and was run out by half a wicket length. The Bears were now 1 for 93 after 22 overs and the bulk of the heavy lifting was done.
Sam then came to the crease and looked comfortable, but a loopy spinner proved to be her undoing as she looked to push the scoring along. Her stumping took us to 2 for 102 in the 27th over. Adelaide looked in good touch, crunching a boundary through the off side, but was dismissed LBW shortly after. Liz kept the singles ticking over, punching the ball with authority to the many boundary sweepers. Then out of the blue, with the end in sight, a near double bouncer drag down by the spinner brought the seemingly unstoppable Liz undone. The purest definition of a wicket ball that you will see. Liz was dismissed LBW for 72 trying to dispatch the dying half tracker to the boundary. The Bears were 3 for 107. Kayla Robson was not going to muck around and took up where Liz left off, taking the total to 4 for 121 before departing. This left Isabel and Eva to knock off the remaining runs before strutting back to the jubilant cheers of their teammates.
The Bears finished the job in the thirty-seventh over, claiming a bonus point against the virtually undefeated competition leaders. This was a feat that would have been unheard of just last season. The team is playing good cricket and will take a lot of confidence into the semis. The Bears have in fact locked in second place in the competition and have earned the right for a home final and home ground advantage. Go Bears!