Week 6 Wrap vs Gordon and St George-Sutherland

1st Grade Round 4: UTS North Sydney vs Gordon at Chatswood Oval

UTS North Sydney 5/387 (96 overs) (M Jenkins 104*, J Rew 63, J Avendano 58, J Greenslade 50, B Atherton 45, O Knight 25*) vs Gordon

It may have been perfect conditions for batting, but it was also a magnificent performance with the bat from the Bears to set up a commanding position against local rivals, Gordon. The highlight of course was Mac Jenkins’ maiden First Grade hundred, brought up with two balls left in the day, and resulting bear hug from Olly Knight at the other end, but all others in the line-up contributed to put the Stags to the sword.

After the Bears won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first, the early exchanges were dominated by James Rew, who continued his fine form from the previous Saturday and raced to 26 off his first 28 balls, including six fours. His opening partner, Brent Atherton was more circumspect, but gained fluency as the morning progressed, and at first drinks the Bears were cruising at 0/53. What was a great start became a superb session as it progressed, with Rew bringing up 50 with a six over mid-wicket and finishing 63* at lunch, while Atherton was 41*, the score 0/112 and the Stags had tried seven bowlers in vain.

Gordon could argue that they won the middle session, and certainly were delighted with a wicket in the first over at each end after the break to drag themselves back into the conteset. Rew edged to former Bear, Jack James, at second slip without adding to his lunchtime score, while Atherton was caught behind for 45. This brought together Justin Avendano and Tom Jagot. Avendano in particular looked “on” from the start, looking a million dollars as he took advantage of a fast outfield, while Jagot was content to play the supporting role, making 15 of the partnership of 82 before James took his second catch of the day.

Avendano meanwhile had followed Rew’s lead in bringing up 50 with a six, and it was a shock to us all when he was caught at point for 58 off 71 balls, the score 4/200. Mac Jenkins and Jimmy Greenslade consolidated in the 20 minutes remaining before tea, scoring 8 apiece and ending the session 4/218.

In the evening session (maybe that’s the wrong name as it started at 3pm?!) it was Advantage Bears again, with Jenkins and Greenslade sharing the biggest stand of the day. Gordon predominantly bowled spin through the session without taking the new ball when offered, with left-armer Matt Wright doing a power of work and bowling 25 overs. Greenslade backed up his ton last week with a half century, this time with only half of his runs in boundaries and some superb running between the wickets, while Jenkins scored most of his early runs square of the wicket and punished anything short. Each brought up 50 off 93 balls, but in Greenslade’s case he faced just two more before being caught with the score on 350, bringing Olly Knight to the crease to join Jenkins on 92.

There were just over six overs to go in the day – surely enough time for eight runs we thought – but Jenkins made us wait, showing admirable patience and accumulating them in singles. Knight did all he could to get Jenkins down the right end, but dispatched one into the stands when it was warranted, and then hit the second ball of the final over just a bit too well when aiming for one and it split the fielders for four. Four balls left, Jenkins 99* and at the wrong end! But then it all came together – a sharp single to Knight and a juicy one outside off stump put away for the century off 144 balls with 12 sixes and 2 fours.

Jenkins and Knight walked in to greet their very happy teammates on 5/387 – a fine day’s work, a third ton in four rounds, and a great platform from which to push for a third win.

2nd Grade Round 4: UTS North Sydney v Gordon at Bon Andrews

UTS North Sydney 7/406, 96 Overs (D Mares 100, J Aitken 89, H Lee Young 65, G Aitken 50, A Cavenor 28) v Gordon

Captain Lachy Stewart won the toss on a beautiful sunny day at Bon Andrews and elected to bat. The pitch looked like the Bon days of old, flat, despite a little bit of grass.

Openers Dylan Mares (fresh off a hundred the week before) and Adam Cavenor got off to a patient start, getting to the first drinks break unbeaten. Their 58 run partnership was broken as Adam fell for 28.

Dylan was joined by Sheridon Gumbs, and together set about piling on the runs with a 91 run partnership. Dylan began to pick up the pace, hitting 8 boundaries from his next 10 scoring shots, as balls began to fly around Bon. Gumbsy made a fantastic start, 22 before being dismissed the ball after drinks.

It was not long after that Dyl brought up his second hundred in two weeks, with a 6 onto the freeway! A richly deserved hundred! Unfortunately, he was dismissed soon after, for an even 100. However, his innings set a magnificent platform for the rest of the day.

James and Glenn Aitken joined together at the crease and set about accumulating runs. Partnerships were again the story of the day, as they put on 111 runs in a short space of time. Both Glenn and James punished the bad ball, and hit sweepers effectively with Glenn picking up 50 before being falling.

When Harri Lee-Young strode to the crease, the Bears on the sideline knew what was to come. James continued to glide the ball to third man and whip them off his legs. Pushing for late runs, he was dismissed for 89, unlucky not to score a hundred. It brought the end of another 60 run partnership.

Harri went large, whacking 5 sixes and 3 fours to pick up 65. Not to be outdone, Fletcher May hit 23* putting on a quick 50 together. Harri fell just before the end of the day and the Bears finished 7/406. A huge platform to push into Day 2 this week.

It’s all to play for!

3rd Grade Round 4: UTS North Sydney v Gordon at Beauchamp Oval

UTS North Sydney 7/297, 80 Overs (J Nevell 87, F Nixon Tomko 76, C New 37,B Kumar 31 ) v Gordon

3rds arrived at Beauchamp Oval, fresh of a dominant display vs Mosman in Round 3. Beauchamp is a smallish ground with a very quick (and bumpy) outfield and on inspection, the pitch looked flat and dry. Bat first was the plan and Skipper Lindsay called correctly at the toss and had no hesitation.

New and Nixon-Tomko strode to the crease and New got off to a flier peeling off regular boundaries. Unfortunately for Cam he sliced one to point and was out for 37. From here John Nevell (87) and Finn (76) batted with maturity and poise to put on 141 for the 2nd wicket. Unfortunately neither got the century their play deserved.

After Nevs dismissal at 3/230 in the 63rd over, the Bears fell into a bit of a hole. A huge total had beckoned, however a combination of some quality spin bowling and some average shot selection meant that we ended the day 7/297 and perhaps 30 or so runs short of par. Baran Kumar (31) batted with purpose and was the pick of the middle order.

The Bears have a strong attack and will be looking to strike early on Day 2. Disciplined bowling will be required to build pressure and create chances.

Women's 3rd Grade Round 4: UTS North Sydney v BYE

4th Grade Round 4: UTS North Sydney v Gordon at Tunks International Sports Park

UTS North Sydney 76 (38 overs) v Gordon 2/96 (40 Overs)

After taking the 10 points the week prior, the Bears rolled into Tunks International Sports Park eying another victory against local rivals Gordon.

Perry winning the toss and electing to bat on a classic Tunks wicket had the day off to a good start. This continued with openers Burrinaga and Amir navigating the early overs to take the score to 30.

The wheels then started to fall off for the home side, with Amir being run out at the non strikers end after Burrinaga creamed a straight drive and the bowler managed to flick it on the way through. The most unlucky dismissal in all of cricket. Things unravelled for the home side after this, with Burrinaga tearing his hamstring and having to retire hurt combined with a multitude of poor shots by the middle order saw us quickly sitting at 4/34 (effectively 5).

A small fight back from Dylan Johnson and Jacob Graham gave life to the innings, however this was quickly undone with Johnson falling, and the tail following suit.

A poor batting display riddled with a lack of application, a disappointing innings to say the least.

Gordon then showed us how it was done, batting with patience, going at a miserly 1.5 runs an over until the 35th of their innings where they put the foot down to take a lead of 20 runs heading into day 2.

5th Grade Round 4: UTS North Sydney v Gordon at Killara Oval

Gordon 150 (77.2 overs) (N Desai 4/28, R Lavery 2/20, D Thakur 2/31) v UTS North Sydney 1/0 (4.1 overs)

Unfamiliarly fine weather, a startlingly dry pitch and the conventional quantities of dog excrement greeted the Bears at Killara Oval for their round 4 clash against local rivals, Gordon. The toss fell the way of the Stags who elected to bat and thus spared skipper Lavery the challenge of working out what to do on a crumbling wicket not commonly seen in Sydney Grade Cricket.

Henry Charles and debutant Tom Cole took the new ball. Both ask serious questions of the Gordon openers, gaining movement in the air. In the end it was Tom Cole who claimed his first grade wicket, much to the joy of his teammates. Both bowlers maintained discipline and were unlucky not to claim more scalps in their opening spells.

From there, conditions dictated the terms and spin was the order of the day. Divesh Thakur and Shiv Vohra turned the screws, keeping the run rate to a crawl and constantly challenging the Stags’ batters. Divesh turned a big one past the first drop’s outside edge for a smooth stumping from Krishna Vanapamula, and shortly after offered up the surprise no-bouncer which, as they often are, was obligingly whacked straight to square leg for the third wicket.

After keeping Gordon’s scoring rate well below 2 an over for the first hour and a half, it was time to attack going into the break with the skipper turning to his leggie, Nihal Desai, as well as himself. Nihal also generated a breakthrough from a rare poor ball, while Lavery claimed his opposite number as well as the set batter to ensure Gordon went into the tea break behind the eight ball at 6/83 from 44 overs.

To their credit, the Stags’ numbers 7 and 8 dug in after the break and formed a very useful partnership. They rebuffed the challenges of some unconventional swing from Cole and Charles, as well as big spin from Thakur and Vohra, to add 59 for the 7th wicket. With the risk of an afternoon blow-out in the total looming, the Bears turned to legspin and pace again.

Nihal did what all good leggies do and bamboozled Gordon’s tail with good flight and very sharp turn. He claimed 3 of the remaining scalps with an array of superb deliveries to finish with four all up. Nihal was ably assisted by Henry Charles who chipped in with a wicket late and the Bears had fared admirably to concede only 150 after over 77 overs “in the dirt”. It was a credit to the fielding, especially the catching of Vohra and Spring, that the total wasn’t higher.

With 5 overs left in the day, nightwatchman Vohra joined opener Adi Nigul to see off the late threat. Shiv lost his wicket in the final over but, by that point, had performed his role and the match is in the hands of the Bears’ batters next week.

Kingsgrove T20 Cup Round 1 (Rescheduled): UTS North Sydney v Gordon at Tunks International Sports Park

UTS North Sydney 9/114 (cc) (T Reynolds 47, J Avendano 34) def by Gordon 7/131 (cc) (M Alexander 2/16, S Alexander 2/22)

For the first time this season, First Grade were making an appearance at Tunks International Sports Park for the postponed Round 1 of the Kingsgrove Sports T20 Cup. The Bears set to face off against local rivals Gordon for the 2nd time in as many days, but this time in coloured clothing.

After losing the toss and being directed to field, Matt Alexander struck early on, knocking over the pegs of the Stags skipper, giving the Bears a dream start.

Steady wickets continued to fall throughout the innings, Fletcher May, Mac Jenkins and Sam Alexander all getting in on the action throughout the middle overs. The big boundaries and thicker grace at Tunks proving to be an equaliser, with boundaries kept to a minimum throughout the middle overs. This in turn created run out opportunities, and James Rew capitalised, executing a pivotal run out to dismiss the set batsmen. This helped slow Gordon’s run rate through the final overs, the Bears restricting Gordon at a respectable 7/131 from their 20.

What ensued next was a barrage from Gordon’s new ball bowlers, having our top order in all sorts, with 5 of the top 6 dismissed for 2 or less. Justin Avendano fought through the early collapse with the returning Tim Reynolds. The pair set about quickly rebuilding the innings from an almost unprecedented start, pushing the fielders and rotating the strike. Again, minimal boundaries were scored for the big hitting pair, however, with these two at the crease, the game was still in the balance.

Gordon continued to bowl with discipline and the run rate continued to increase. The pressure eventually took its toll, with Avendano being caught for 34. Fletcher May came in and continued the fight with Reynolds, cameoing with 22 before being dismissed late in the piece. Reynolds also was dismissed for a run a ball 47, the Bears ultimately falling 18 short of the target, concluding their innings after 20 overs at 114.

Poidevin-Gray Shield Round 1 (Rescheduled): UTS North Sydney Sunday v Gordon at Tunks International Sports Park

UTS North Sydney 5/138 cc (M Jenkins 52, J Rew 26, O Jago Lewis 25) def Gordon 127 (19.3 Overs) (J Rew 4/16, E Oxenham 3/20)

Round 1 for PGs was rescheduled to Sunday 30th October due to wet weather in early October. The game was also moved to Tunks Park, however our opponents, Gordon, were unchanged.

Skipper Jenkins won the toss and elected to bat on a wicket that had provided enough assistance to the bowlers to keep it interesting in the mornings 1st grade fixture.

The Bears got off to a solid start with Gordon bowling and fielding well. Mac Jenkins was again the standout with the bat scoring 52 off 47 and he was particularly creative behind the wicket, using the pace of the ball to get to the fence through the lush outfield. Oscar Jago-Lewis (25 off 22) and Harri Lee-Young (14 off 8) cleared the fence to push the Bears score to a competitive 5-138.

The Bears defence started well with Oxenham taking a wicket in the 2nd over and then removing the other opener in the 4th over. Following this the game swung Gordon’s way with their #3 Doshi batting exceptionally.

Skipper Jenkins had an ace up his sleeve and he threw to the ball to 1st grade keeper James Rew. Rew’s left arm spin got the breakthrough removing the #4 off a skied shot. After Rew trapped the #5 LBW, Jenkins brought himself back on for the 15th over and got the key wicket of Doshi, caught by Oxenham, reverse sweeping for 68 off 44.

From here the Bears swarmed and wickets fell regularly highlighted by a great run out by Adam Cavenor and 2 more wickets to Rew (4 for 16 off 4). Oscar Jago-Lewis was neat behind the stumps with 3 stumpings and Jamieson Hedges and Lachlan Roughly were tidy with the ball when called upon. Oxenham ended the match completing a run out to go with his 3-20 off 3.3, as Gordon were dismissed for 127 in the 20th over.

Another professional performance from the Bears, who are 2 from 2, highlighted by some quality bowling performances and Jenkins 50 and calm leadership throughout.

Brewer Shield Round 4: UTS North Sydney v St George Sutherland at Bon Andrews Oval

UTS North Sydney 4/142cc (A Hicks 41*, L Buckley 30, S Julien 29, K Robson 24) def St George Sutherland 8/86cc (E Aitken 2/22, C Moss 1/3, A Hicks 1/3, M Winslow 1/17)

A beautiful sun-shining spring day greeted UTS North Sydney Brewer Shield girls for their Round 4 clash with last year’s premiership winners, St George-Sutherland on a good wicket at Bon Andrews Oval. Winning the toss, the Bears chose to bat. St George-Sutherland Slayers kept the initial overs challenging for North Sydney openers Shiloh Julien (29) and Kayla Robson (24) with some good quality swing bowling and excellent ground fielding before Kayla broke free with 2 sixes to initiate the flow of runs. As the boundaries started coming through, Kayla was dismissed LBW leaving the score for 1/43 in 8 overs. Coming in at No.3 the energetic & powerful Liz Buckley (30) hit some excellent boundaries including 2 sixes to increase the score before unfortunately getting runout to excellent fielding by a Slayer. Walking in at no.4 Adelaide hicks (41) looked supremely confident, and absolutely smashed the Slayers out of the park with 7 fours and a six, including 4 consecutive boundaries in the 18th over to set UTS North Sydney for a big score of 4/142 at the end of the allocated 20 overs.

With a big score behind them, UTS North Sydney took the field with much confidence. Opening the bowling, Sam Kuncham and Georgia MacDonald restricted St-George’s openers in the power play, followed by spinners Shiloh Julien and Emily Aitken putting further halt to the score. In her first over, Emily bowled St George’s captain and their best batter B Fairfax through the gate to start the flow of wickets. UTS North Sydney demonstrated a brilliant performance out on the field taking 3 outstanding run outs. Madeline Winslow made an amazing effort with a runout from square leg, followed by Sam Kuncham and Shiloh Julien with two consecutive run outs dismissing St-George’s top order. Not long after, Madeline Winslow, Charlotte Moss and Emily Aitken, yet again, knocked the stumps down leaving the Slayers with only 4 batters left. Bowling the last over, Adelaide Hicks claimed a wicket by trapping one more batter LBW, leaving St-George with 8/86 at the end of their innings. A dominant performance by UTS North Sydney claiming 1 bonus point and moving 3 places up in the points ladder to 4th place. A start to many more unforgettable wins by the Bears.

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