Week 6 Wrap vs Mosman, Sydney and St George

1st Grade Round 6: UTS North Sydney v Mosman at Allan Border Oval

UTS North Sydney 8/241 (cc) (O Knight 78, TL Reynolds 60, BS Atherton 28) def by Mosman 5/242 (35 overs) (O Knight 2/45, M Alexander 2/58)

After a superb win against St George in Round 5 and with the sun finally shining on the North Shore, the Bears arrived at Allan Border Oval confident of a repeat performance against an unbeaten Mosman outfit. The Whales won the toss and put us in. However, our confidence started to fall away as we slumped to 4/39 in the 12th over, courtesy of some tight bowling on a slightly sticky pitch.

This brought together the in-form pair of Tim Reynolds and Brent Atherton, who’d combined to great effect against St George, and they set about restoring some sanity, while continuing where they’d left off rotating the strike with great running between the wickets. The pair added 64 much-needed runs in 19 overs before Atherton was adjudged run out for 28 attempting a tight single, courtesy of a direct hit at the bowler’s end. At 5/103 in the 30th over the Bears were still behind the 8-ball, but back in the game.

Enter another in-form man, Olly Knight, who began watchfully with 3 off his first 10 balls, before launching a six off Jayden Park which did a bit of damage to a nearby car and the ball had to be replaced due to shards of glass being found in it. Reynolds took two fours off Park’s next over, followed by a second bomb from Knight two overs later. After one of his most mature innings and one that got us out of a deep hole, Reynolds was bowled for 60 with the score on 164 in the 41st.

After the loss of his partner, Knight hit the accelerator, moving to 50 off 46 balls with a third six. He was ably assisted by Rob Aitken who rotated the strike effectively for 11 before falling to a brilliant catch at mid-wicket. With 201 on the board after 47 overs, Knight went on full-on attack, taking 20 off his next six balls before holing out for a brilliant 78 off 57 balls with 6 fours and 5 sixes, his highest career score in the Belvidere Cup. James Aitken and Matt Alexander added 17 in the last 9 balls to see the Bears through to 8/241 off their 50 overs – below par, but much more competitive than it looked like early.

The Whales’ reply began like a dream with Matt Alexander knocking over Sterling McAvoy in the first over, and then Knight (2/45) trapping State player, Lachlan Hearne, lbw first ball in the second. It got even better when a fantastic catch at point from Tim Reynolds accounted for English import, Jordan Cox, in the fourth over with the score on 24.

However, this is where the fun stopped for the Bears, as the Whales enjoyed the best of the day’s batting conditions and piled on the runs, no matter what bowling combination Tom Jagot tried. Nathan Hinton and Harry Dalton put on 129 off 107 balls to take the score to 153 in just the 22nd over, before Dalton was well caught by Knight off Jack James (1/55) for 76. But this didn’t slow the onslaught, with Matt Moran picking up where Dalton left off. Alexander (2/58) finally dismissed Hinton thanks to a catch in the deep by Reynolds, but Moran and Matt Calder saw Mosman home in the 36th over.

Despite some bright moments, it was a disappointing showing to be outplayed by our well-drilled local rivals, and sees the Bears drop to 11th on the ladder. Our final round before Christmas will be a big one – against Sydney University, who sit one place above us due to a quotient of just 0.01 above ours. Last time we played the Students, two seasons ago, it was one of the best performances in living memory to secure an outright win, so we hope to channel those memories, as well as the energy from Sunday’s brilliant T20 Cup win – more on that later!

2nd Grade Round 6: UTS North Sydney v Mosman at Bon Andrews Oval

UTS North Sydney 128 (37.2 overs) (L Stewart 44, G Aitken 26) def by Mosman 258 (cc) (F May 5/36, B Wilson 2/44)

Second Grade turned up to an overcast - but more importantly - dry Bon Andrews Oval to take on Mosman in a Military Road Derby. Mosman came in confident, having won all five of their fixtures this season. Captain Glenn Aitken (GA) won the toss and decided to bowl on what looked to be a typical Bon wicket which was offering a bit early. That decision seemed to pay off, with Fletcher May (5/36) striking not once but twice in the first over, dismissing former Bear Max Papworth and their number three batsman in consecutive deliveries. Brad Wilson (2/44) joined the party with our third wicket of the innings, well caught by John Nevell to leave the Whales beached at 3/3.

Fletch, Kobe Allison (1/50) and Harri Lee-Young (1/36) maintained the momentum, each taking another wicket and leaving Mosman at 6/70. However, the tide turned when Brad dropped a difficult chance on the boundary off their Number 8, Venianakis, who joined Colgan in the middle. As the sun came out from behind the clouds and the pitch started to flatten out, the pair began to score more freely, pushing singles and eventually opening their shoulders against our bowlers, who, while working hard, found no luck. Venianakis played his way to a century and was eventually dismissed by Adam Cavenor (1/47). At the death, Fletch came back and took his fifth for the innings, caught in the deep by Cavenor, for an impressive five for, his fifth for the Bears.

At the innings break, 259 seemed chasable, but the early wickets of Jacob Graham, Mac Jenkins, Johnny Nevell and Adam Cavenor had us reeling at 4/31. Ray Alexander and GA looked to rebuild, until Ray was caught at mid on by Papworth. Joining GA at the crease, Lachie Stewart (44) looked fantastic, hitting three sixes down the ground, giving the boys hope. However, a double breakthrough of Stewie and GA (26) with the score on 117 once again put the Bears on the back foot. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be: bowled out for 128.

The boys will look to go one better next round against a strong Sydney University side.

Women's 2nd Grade Round 5: Gordon / UTS North Sydney v Sydney at Chatswood Oval

Gordon / UTS North Sydney 6/271 (cc) (S Mitchell 122, J Maclaine 37) def by Sydney 3/272 (48.5 overs)

After having played the mighty Sydney team in the first game of the season in the T20 format, GNS had to front up and face Sydney again in the first 50 over match. What ensued was an epic battle over 99 overs with GNS bravely pushing Sydney right till the end.

GNS won the toss and batted first reaching 6/271 largely due to an outstanding 122 by Samira Mitchell and ably supported by Jessie Maclaine (37) and Grace Keating (24). Once Samira settled in, she batted with flair and confidence, stroking the ball stylishly to the boundary on 20 occasions. Our middle order made useful contributions, including a sparkling 15 off 13 balls from India Keating.

With the pitch hard and flat and the outfield lightning fast, Sydney set about their task methodically, determined to chase down the impressive total. However, GNS were always in the match with tight bowling by Emma Ridley and the Keating sisters, all going for under 5 an over. Chloe Day and Anushka Dongre beat the bat on several occasions and were unlucky not to pick up more wickets. With star batters Grace Bryson Smith and Samira Dimeglio being contained and back in the pavilion, victory was in sight for GNS. But as our fielding dropped off in the first hot afternoon of the summer, Shannon WebB was able to steer Sydney home with an impressive 99*.

Despite the loss, this was a wonderful match, played in great spirit and producing an exciting finish. It was made even more special by the fact that many of the girls on both sides are friends through cricket and also have a special connection with coach Michelle Goszko. Well done to Jessie who led the side admirably throughout the day and to the team, who are starting to play some seriously good cricket. On this occasion, it is fair to say cricket really was the winner!

3rd Grade Round 6: UTS North Sydney v Mosman at Rawson Oval

UTS North Sydney 7/213 (48.4 overs) (J Greenslade 79*, H May 39*, F Nixon Tomko 28) def Mosman 9/212 (cc) (EJ Oxenham 4/38, J Hedges 2/30)

Your Third Grade side made the trip out to Rawson Oval for what would be the first match played at the venue during this season. Some last-minute work on the outfield by the opposing skipper and some muddy patches at the takeoffs from both ends resulted in the game start being delayed till 10:30.

Mosman won the toss and chose to bat in what seemed to be bowler-friendly conditions. However, we were unable to exact the same kind of early wickets that had been a feature of previous rounds. Mosman trudged along through the first two sessions before counter-attacking in the final third of the innings. Chris Savage (0/30 off 9), Jaimeson Hedges (2/30 off 9) and Everett Oxenham (4/38 off 10) all did an excellent job of curtailing the Whales’ run rate.

Unfortunately, a number of dropped catches and missed opportunities allowed the home side’s total to approach the 200s in the final five overs. A few too many bowling extras and some powerful hitting from one of the Mosman openers (92) helped the score along to 9/212 at the end of the 50 overs.

Finn Nixon-Tomko (28) and Ben van der Merwe (24) helped the Bears along to a reasonable start to the chase. A tight run-out and a contentious caught behind decision saw the score reach 4/73, still 140 in arears.

Once again, the Bears’ saving grace came in the form of former Whale, Jimmy Greenslade. Another fantastic innings, paced to perfection, brought the total closer and closer within hope. Cameos from Baran Kumar and Jaimeson Hedges saw the score to 7/141 with 10 overs remaining.

From there, the innings cruised along. Harrison “The Big Horse” May cantered to the centre of the wicket and calmly dispatched the Mosman bowlers to all parts. His 39* was the perfect foil for Jimmy, who swapped between pulling the opening bowler into the old canteen and running his former club mates ragged. To their credit, the Whales showed an unbelievably good knack for hitting the stumps directly from their fielding, a fact which resulted in a few close calls and one botched run-out that may have changed the final course of events.

After requiring 7s with only the final power play left in hand. Jimmy and Harrison had the rate down to 5s with six overs remaining and powered their way home. Back-to-back lofted drives from the Big Horse brought the win within a single stroke and Jimmy delivered the following delivery, dancing down the wicket and slapping the opening bowler over wide mid-off. Come On!

It was perhaps a victory made harder by some missed opportunities and stray bowling at times, but this was a gritty win! The kind of win we need to know you can get the job done when it’s tough going.

It was outstanding again by Jimmy, who backed up his 80 last round against St George and moves into third place on aggregate in the third grade competition. The Bears love to see our young players having success and growing in confidence. Not to mention, it’s always a treat going big against a former club and getting the six points for the boys.

This round’s success secures a spot in the top six for the Third Graders. With one game left before the Christmas break against Sydney University, the lads will be looking forward to playing at home and hoping to consolidate some of the early season form.

Women's 3rd Grade Round 5: UTS North Sydney v Sydney at Ryde Oval

No play due to rain

4th Grade Round 6: UTS North Sydney v Mosman at Tunks International Sports Park

UTS North Sydney 3/91 (30.3 overs) (MJ Cole 34*) def Mosman 90 (45.4 overs) (B Revai 3/12, P Lindsay 3/23, H Reynolds 2/8, J Thomas 2/22)

Fourth Grade were back at familiar territory at Tunks Park for Round 5 vs Mosman. Heavy rain on Thursday and Friday left the outfield positively sodden, however, the wicket was hard and dry and both teams were keen to play. The 4s boys showed their prowess on the super stopper to mop up the surface water and, after some deliberations from the umpires, the game started as a 47 over per side fixture.

Mosman won the toss and elected to bat, and it was clear early that whilst the wicket was a belter, scoring was very difficult due to the heavy outfield. The Bears adjusted accordingly, setting straight ring fields and bowling tight lines, making it very difficult for Mosman to score. The Bears put in a top fielding performance and restricted Mosman to 90 as they were bowled out in the 46th over.

There were some outrageous bowling figures offered with Hamish Reynolds 2/8 off 10 and Ben Revai 3/12 off 7 the pick of the bowlers. Pat Lindsay also snared 3/22 and currently sits atop the bowling averages for the Reid Cup with 11 poles at an average of 15.

The outfield was still heavy in the afternoon and the Bears needed to be focussed to see out the job. Skipper Lindsay (19) promoted himself to open and saw off the new ball. Matt Cole (34* off 48) was the most fluent bat as the Bears chased down the total in the 31st over.

All in all, a comprehensive victory for 4s - the first of the season. Special thanks to Trav McKenna who sub fielded for much of the day after Sol injured himself.

5th Grade Round 6: UTS North Sydney v Mosman at Balmoral Oval

UTS North Sydney 2/91 (26.2 overs) (A Nigul 44*, D Johnson 26*) def Mosman 89 (44.3 overs) (O Jennings 4/3, C Fursman 2/22, A Perry 2/27)

Continuous rain throughout the week left the Round 6 clash between local rivals North Sydney and Mosman in doubt, and this was further compounded when players arrived at Balmoral oval to see the two astroturf pitches (located within the field of play) under water. The far one resembled a kiddie pool for those not comfortable swimming at the beach... despite this, the playing wicket was dry as a bone, and perfect for play.

With some great sportsmanship from the Mosman team, the collaborative attitudes of both umpires, and the willingness to assist from the North Sydney side, the game was scheduled to start at 11am, with no loss of overs.

The toss was done at 10.30am as the Bears were midway through their warm up routine, Perry winning the toss and electing to bowl, with the aim of making the most of the conditions.

Alex MacGill and James Edwards took the new ball for the Cardiac Kids, both bowling tightly, building the pressure as the Whales scored at a rate of between 1 and 2 per over through the first 8 overs. Finally, the pressure broke the Mosman openers, with Edwards picking up the first wicket after a catch was spooned to Perry at cover. This was followed closely by a caught behind, with Ben Champion taking his first snare of the day off MacGill, whose opening spell ended economically with 1/8 off 8.

Jed Collins continued the trend, bowling tightly in tandem with MacGill, until Perry introduced himself one over prior to drinks, with Mosman 2/24 after 17. Dots and pressure were constantly building after drinks, and Perry eventually removed Mosman's second opener, caught by MacGill at cover.

Callum Fursman was introduced into the attack for the first time, and bowled with great patience, following the blueprint of building pressure. Fursman picked up his first for the day when the Mosman number 4 played a shot in frustration and was caught by Perry at cover. Fursman picked up another, after Champion collected his second snare behind the stumps. Fursman now sits third on the bowling aggregate in the David Sherwood Cup – a reward for consistently taking wickets in the early rounds.

The theme of the day was caught at cover, with Perry removing the dangerous Mosman number 6, caught by MacGill again in front of the wicket.

As Perry finished his spell, Olly Jennings came into the attack, and the young leggie cleaned up the tail in style, taking an unbelievable 4/3 off his 4.3 overs. Two were again caught by MacGill, Champion picking up a stumping and Edwards taking a sharp catch at 45 to finish the innings off as Mosman were bundled out for 89 in the 45th.

The energy in the field throughout the innings was outstanding, with veterans Charlie Rose and Luke Smith leading the way and setting the standard with energy and chat. This set the tone for the bowlers, giving them the confidence to bowl to plan.

Smith and Jennings set out to make quick work of the 89, with a bonus point being earned if the score was passed prior to 30 overs being completed. Unfortunately, Smith's eyes lit up, when he received a full toss first ball, and it was too good to be true, creaming it straight back at the bowler, and being caught.

Adi Nigul in his first game back post-HSC came to the crease and steadied the ship with Jennings, milking singles and twos on the slow Balmoral outfield. The two were going comfortably and in control until one kicked up off a length, and Jennings was caught at slip, out for 15.

Nigul was then joined out in the middle by the hero from last weeks victory, Dylan Johnson. The youngster again showed maturity beyond his age, batting with patience and poise, rotating the strike, as Nigul dealt blow after blow to the Mosman side with boundaries and expansive shots. The pair saw the total off in the 27th over, Nigul 44 unbeaten, and Johnson 26, the score finishing at 2/91, securing the bonus point for the Bears.

No heart-stopping chases or defences this week for the Cardiac Kids, with what turned out to be a clinical victory.

With other results going North Sydney's way, the Bears now sit atop the Fifth Grade ladder heading into the last game before Christmas. They will face off against fourth placed Sydney University at Tunks International Sports Park, and the Bears will look to extend their win streak heading into the break.

Round 5 Kingsgrove Sports T20 Cup: UTS North Sydney v St George at North Sydney Oval

UTS North Sydney 1/208 (cc) (J Avendano 100*, BS Atherton 89*) def St George 121 (15 overs) (S Alexander 3/21, LA Pope 3/35, M Alexander 2/17)

In the final round of the Kingsgrove Sports T20 Sixers conference the Bears took on first placed St George in a must win clash.

Injuries have already taken its toll on our bowling stocks with regular first graders Mac Jenkins (thumb) and James Campbell (appendix) missing in recent weeks. However, it was the batting line-up that took a hit today with captain Thomas Jagot ruled out with an elbow injury and in-form batsman Tim Reynolds injuring his knee in the earlier PGs game.

This meant that Kobe Allison would play his third T20 match and Mac Jenkins would return out of necessity – playing as a batsman. And out of nowhere was the big inclusion of Sydney Sixes contracted player and leg spinner Lloyd Pope, who would debut as a Bear.

Captain Justin Avendano won the toss and elected to bat first on hard, flat wicket with just a slight tinge of green. In a reshuffled order, it was Jack James (17 off 14) and Brent Atherton who would open the innings for the home side. The opening pair got off to good start, deflecting several singles, a few boundaries and a bomb each to move the score to 31 before James was bowled in the 4th over.

Atherton was joined by Avendano – the A team -and, without giving the story away ,they caused some destruction. It took Justin six balls to get off the mark with a single and after 14 balls he was on 6 runs. However, a timely six hit into the O’Reilly Stand on the final ball of the eighth over moved the score to 1/55 and provided a preview of the damage to come. Brent kept going at better than a run a ball and was growing in confidence as he moved to 45 by the 11th over and looked a sure thing to beat his captain to fifty, who had moved to 28. Justin had other ideas as he plundered three sixes and a four to take 23 individual runs from the off spinner in the 12th over to secure his sixth T20 fifty for the Bears. This massive over took the score to 1/115 and accelerated the run rate to almost 10 per over.

The St George response was to bring back the opening bowlers in overs 13 and 14 and this did slow the rate with the opposition conceding only 12 runs. Brent made his milestone during this period completing his second fifty in the T20 competition for the club. With six overs remaining ,the small but vocal crowd were egging the boys on to clear the rope from every ball. Over 17 started well for St George with a dot ball but then it started raining sixes as Justin destroyed the bowler’s figures with five consecutive bombs, predominantly into the Macartney Stand at the southern end, as he moved to 93.

Once again, the St George opening bowlers were brought back and did a good job in over 18 and 19 of containing the two Bears batsmen. The final over started with Brent on strike on 81 and Justin on 98 and the team total 197. Brent deposited the first ball into the Bob Stand to go to 87 and, with more of the same, perhaps 100 was not out of reach. However, a wide, a dot and then a firmly struck single moved him to 88, with three balls remaining. This brought Justin onto strike, but in an anti-climax he lofted the ball towards mid-on, short of the fielder on the rope and could only manage a single to sit on 99 with two balls remaining. Brent hit a single to set up a last ball milestone opportunity. Brent finished with 89* off 53 balls (incl 8 x 4 and 5 x 6). Justin got back in his crease and slashed the ball to the cover fieldsman and, despite almost being run out, he collected the single to take him to triple figures for the first time in the Kingsgrove Sports T20 Cup. His hundred came of 53 balls with 4 boundaries and 10 sixes. In celebration, Brent ran to embrace his captain at the other end – with the keeper taking off the bails. Thankfully the appeal was retracted and called a dead ball. In a further milestone the partnership netted 177 runs and is the second highest second wicket partnership in the history of the T20 competition. A final total of 208 was going to take some chasing.

Left arm quick Matt Alexander opened the bowling from the Bob Stand end with his brother, Sam, taking the second over from the Macartney Stand end. The St George openers got away to strong start, taking 13 from the first over, but an excellent catch low down at forward square by Avendano off Samoz resulted in the first wicket going down – 1/17. Olly Knight bowled the third, with another good over by the visitors taking the score to 28. Jack James bowled a tight fourth for just four runs placing the pressure back on St George. Olly (1/22) took some early stick in the fifth but came back to get his man with Avendano in the action once again to take the catch. In the next over, Samoz created more trouble for St George trapping the number 4 in front and by the end of the powerplay St George were 3/49.

There was a buzz around the ground as our leg spinning import, Lloyd Pope, was given his first opportunity with the ball. Perhaps not the over we were all hoping for with 12 coming from it but a fair initiation to bowling spin on North Sydney Oval in a T20. With an abundance of quality spin options available to the captain, Robbie Aitken was next cab off the rank at the southern end. Robbie bowled several dots going for just 5 runs and keeping the visitors to 3/66 after 8. Pope must have learnt something from his first over because he struck immediately on the first ball of his second, bowling a perfect wrong-un that pitched outside off and spin between the gate of the batsman, allowing Aiden Bariol to do the rest and dislodge the bails for a sharp stumping. He then totally confused the new batsman who was none too pleased to be adjudged lbw, expecting the ball to turn rather than go straight on, and suddenly the Dragons were 5/66 after 9 with the run rate increasing to 13.

Aitken (1/22) made the task even more challenging by dismissing the new man going straight through his defences splattering his stumps as he attempted to thrash the ball to the hill. Pope (3/35) then made the job near impossible for the Saints by dismissing the set opener, Nikitaras, at the start of the 11th to leave St George 7/72. It was an excellent leg break that landed wide of the left hander and then turned sharply back towards the stumps to give Bariol his second stumping. The tail got onto a couple of balls from Aitken and Pope in the next two overs to give the opposition some hope at 7/106, but the Alexander brothers soon put an end to the innings, cleaning up the tail to have St George all out for 121 in the 15th over. Sam (3/21) got some extra bounce creating a pop-up catch to Brent Atherton, while Jack James took an outstanding catch off Matt (2/17) in front of the canteen at deep mid-on for the ninth wicket. The final wicket was clean bowled.

The win elevated the team to fifth place, ahead of Manly who lost to Mosman, but with wins by Randwick and UNSW, the team just missed out on semis.

Poidevin Gray Shield (T20) Round 5: UTS North Sydney v St George at North Sydney Oval

UTS North Sydney 6/148 (cc) (TL Reynolds 31*, H Reynolds 25*) def by St George 3/149 (19.5) (HP Lee-Young 2/40)

PGs played the last game of the season against a strong St George side at NSO #1 on Sunday. UTS North Sydney won the toss and chose to bat on a typically great wicket.

The side started off strongly before Tim Reynolds was struck down by a beamer off the Saints’ leg-spinner, causing him to twist awkwardly and retire hurt with a knee injury (fingers crossed we can see him again this season).

There were contributions from all players with both Hamish Reynolds (on debut) and Harry L-Y finished the batting innings extremely well getting the team to a competitive 6/148.

St George were cruising with a lot of singles and the odd boundary to be no wicket down after 15 overs and 107 on the board. In over 16, Nic Hay grabbed the first St George wicket courtesy of a classic catch by 12th man Jamieson Hedges. One wicket led to two and two to three as Harri Lee-Young took two wickets in the 18th over to give the home side a chance. This left St George needing 19 runs from the final two overs. Lee-Young stepped up to bowl the last 6 balls with St George still needing 11 to pass our score. The over was going to plan with three singles from the first three balls followed by a wide which didn’t help our cause, but the damage was done on the fourth ball which was hit for 6. One more single allowed St George to achieve victory on the second last ball.

A win would not have been enough to make finals in any case, but lessons will have been learnt. There were a number of new fresh faces in this year’s squad and the experience will put them in good stead for the 2022 campaign.

U18 Brewer Shield Round 5: UTS North Sydney v Sydney at Birchgrove Oval

UTS North Sydney 96 (33.4 overs) (S Kuncham 34) def by Sydney 154 (35 overs) (S Fischer 2/11, S Kuncham 2/10, E Buckley 2/24)

For the first time this season we arrived at a ground where nobody was rugged up in blankets, no Ugg Boots, or umbrellas in sight. Instead we saw a ground bathed in sunshine with no sign of rain on the radar, with a beautiful view of North Sydney skyline across the water. The girls were upbeat and positive about their chances of beating Sydney, after much thought and chat about tides and pitch conditions, coach Robbie Aitken rightly pointed out the pitch was very damp and still soft from recent rain and we decided we should bowl first. We promptly lost the toss and were asked to have a bowl; it’s almost better than winning the toss.

Charlotte Moss (0/27 off 6) opened the bowling and got us off to a good start with a nice couple of opening overs, while fellow opening bowler Liz Buckley was a little wayward in her first over and was given a break. This allowed our captain, Mabel Oxenham, to throw the new rock over to Sam Kuncham (2/10 off 6) who bowled fast and tight, taking advantage of some variable bounce and having last year’s Grand Finallists at 2/47 off 12.

Mayher Singh (1/17 off 2) and Maddie Winslow (1/20 off 5) then bowled well in tandem, keeping the wickets falling regularly and the game was finely balanced at 4/81 off 20. A sharp piece of fielding from Charlotte Moss at short fine leg and some great glove work from Karman Jawanda saw the fall of the fifth wicket for 99, the girls seemingly gaining the ascendancy in the match.

In a calculated move, Mabel then threw the ball to her earlier wayward opening bowler Liz Buckley (2/24 off 5) who was seeking redemption. Liz rewarded her captain’s faith with two quick wickets, the home team teetering at 7/105.

Unfortunately, given the depth of the Tigers’ women’s system which has been their strength in recent years, they bat deep, have a strong tail and were able to counterattack with some lusty blows before a peach of a ball from Georgia MacDonald left them at 8/126 off 30. Again, the Tigers counterattacked, pushing on to 152 before Sophie Fischer (2/11 off 3) ended the innings with a great spell of bowling, taking the final two wickets in the 34th over.

After a good performance with the ball, the team was in a strong position, knowing they just needed to bat out the overs to be in with a strong chance at the W. Unfortunately, due to the lack of a second opener, we were forced to push everyone up a spot. We stumbled at the first hurdle and got off to a catastrophic start, losing three wickets in the first over.

With a that certain level of panic setting in that ensues after three wickets in the first over, people scrambling for pads and to get some throwdowns, Charlotte Moss (11) strode out with clear instructions not to worry about scoring, just to protect her wicket for four or five overs. Both Charlotte and opener Sam Kuncham (34) showed an extraordinary level of calmness, poise and maturity to rebuild the innings and put us back in the match with the next wicket falling in the 16th over on 41. This allowed the rest of the team to gather their thoughts and regain composure.

The girls fought on bravely throughout the afternoon, but every time we were working our way back into the game an untimely wicket set us back. Some better decisions with our shot selection and our running between the wickets will have us competing for a win next week.

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