5th Grade Round 3: UTS North Sydney v Blacktown at Bon Andrews Oval
UTS North Sydney 8/256 (cc) (A Thomas 60, C Rose 40, A Perry 36, H Riseborough 26) def by Blacktown 258 (49.2 overs) (A Thomas 4/32, J Thomas 2/26, A Perry 2/51)
An absolute treat for Round 3 awaited the Fifth Grade team, a match on the hallowed turf of Bon Andrews. Usually residing at Tunks Park, the lack of sightscreens provided the side a chance to play on the same ground where First Grade played the week prior, undoubtably providing some extra hype for the fresher members of the team! Waiting was a Blacktown side playing their first game of the young season after their match last week was washed out.
The captains and umpires came together at 9.30 for the toss, which Perry lost, and with that, the Bears would bowl first.
Jack Thomas and Henry Charles took the new ball this week, aiming to replicate the successes of last week up top. Unfortunately, it was not to be, with the two Blacktown openers playing aggressively from ball one. The pitch was perfect for batting on, hard and fast, with a true bounce.
Through the opening and first change spells, there were many miscued shots by the Blacktown openers, none of which managed to go to hand. Other days would've seen these chances fall in different spots, but not today. Oli Millar finally made the first breakthrough, with Callum Fursman taking the catch at point after some tight bowling, leaving Blacktown 1/80 at drinks.
Their other opener however, was not slowing down, despite the tight bowling. Rob Lavery and Alex Perry began to tighten the screws, and when Perry had their number 3 batsmen caught by Fursman at short cover, the Bears sensed a swing in momentum at 3/180. This, coupled with Henry Charles' run out of the other opener, turned the innings on its head, as the danger man was finally removed for 125.
Perry then removed another Blacktown Spartan leg before wicket, and that led into the Thomas show...
Aidan Thomas and Jack Thomas combined for the final six wickets, in a brilliant display of back end seam bowling. Tightening the screws and building pressure, Aidan took 4 wickets, with Jack taking two catches off his brother, and clean bowling the final two batsmen to finish off the innings, leaving Blacktown all out for 258.
Considering that at stages it seemed as though the opposition were on track for 300+, the heart and effort the team showed to reign them in was second to none. And with a quick outfield and a confident batting line up, the Bears begun to ready themselves for the chase.
Fresh off his 4 wickets, Aidan strode out to the centre alongside Henry Riseborough to begin setting up the mammoth chase. The pair played brilliantly, seeing off the new ball, whilst going at the required run rate and then some. It was a chanceless partnership, Aidan playing glorious cover drives and Henry rotating the strike and cashing in on some loose bowling with pristine timing. Unfortunately for the pair, the partnership came unstuck at 86, when Riseborough was run out for 26 pushing for a second run.
Luke Smith strode out to the middle for the first time this season, and opened his account with a 4 off his first ball, followed by another shortly after. His eyes lit up when their leg spinner dropped a half tracker, and he picked out the man on the fence, being caught for a quick-fire 9.
Alex Perry came to join Aidan at the crease, keeping the momentum going and rotating the strike and challenging the fielders. Aidan continued to cover drive his way past 50, until he went back to a short ball that took an unfriendly bounce, hitting him on the pads straight in front. This brought to a close a potentially match winning innings at 60.
Charlie Rose and Perry then set about taking the score past 200. The pair putting extreme pressure on the fielding side with multiple twos and threes and continuously cashing in on loose balls. Drinks came and went at 36 overs with the score at 3/175, requiring a further 84 for victory in the final 14 overs, the two reset and began to resume the chase. The pair pushed one too many quick singles, Rose was run out for 40 after some brilliant fielding and a touch and go decision from the umpire. The score now 4-194.
The hero from last week’s chase, Rob Lavery, joined Perry in the middle, however this did not last long, with Perry caught at mid-on shortly after for 36. Meaningful contributions from Lavery, Mannix and Fursman all helped set the Bears up for one final push, with Jack Thomas and Oli Millar at the crease. The pair took the score to 8/244 heading into the final over, needing 15 for victory.
A boundary through mid-wicket off the first ball by Millar give the Bears hope that the victory was still alive, pushing singles and twos for the remainder of the over left 5 runs required off the last ball. The pair could only muster another 2 to finish off, leaving the innings closed at 8/256.
There was some conjecture around the final ball, whether Blacktown had 6 outside the inner circle, however the umpires quashed this, and the result was final. It was a mammoth effort by the Bears to get within two runs of victory, however there were plenty of execution factors throughout the day that could have contributed to a victory.
The Bears look to bounce back next week, with a tough challenge awaiting, a match up with local rivals Manly at Mike Pawley.
All in all, another heart stopper for Fifth Grade, who may soon be aptly named the Cardiac Kids...