Sydney University’s First, Second and Third grades will contest grand finals in the NSW Premier Cricket League after advancing through their semi-finals at the weekend.
Having finished minor premiers in the three top grades, Sydney University had the advantage of advancing via drawn results.
And that’s how First Grade progressed to the grand final, with a draw against Sydney at University Oval, where tension built on both days.
Having won the toss and batted, the hosts found themselves 5-124 before the middle and late order batted them into a solid position.
Skipper Liam Robertson, batting at No.5, topscored with 52 and No.7 Tim Cummins posted 41 before Dugald Holloway contributed 49. The time he occupied the crease was as important as the runs he scored. The big No.9 faced 121 balls in his 169-minute occupation, limiting Sydney’s time to reel in the Students’ total of 267.
Facing a virtual run-a-ball task, Sydney began well with openers Ryan Felsch (35) and Liam Scott (24) putting on 39 before No.4 Anthony Mosca (63) and No.5 Beau McClintock (52) kept the scoreboard ticking.
But McClintock departed, the visitors were 7-199 and in trouble when No.8 Ben Manenti entered the fray. The off-spinner took the long handle approach to crack 54 in as many balls before being run out. Sydney finished 18 runs short of advancing to the Belvidere Cup season-ender.
The Students will meet Penrith in the Grand Final at Bankstown Oval on 29, 30 and 31 March, with 10.30am starts each day.
Scoreboard
Sydney Men’s Premier Grade cricket competition – Semi-Finals
First Grade: Sydney University267 off 123.2 overs (Liam Robertson 52, Dugald Holloway 49, Tim Cummins 41, Ryan McElduff 35; Ryan Felsch 3-51, Alex Glendenning 2-28) drew with Sydney 9-248 off 53.3 overs (Anthony Mosca 63, Ben Manenti 54, Beau McClintock 52, Ryan Felsch 35; Dugald Holloway 2-24, Hayden Kerr 2-37) at University Oval on Saturday and Sunday. Toss: Sydney University. Batted first: Sydney University.
Grand Final – Belvidere Cup: Sydney University versus Penrith at Bankstown Oval on 29, 30 and 31 March, with 10.30am starts each day.
Second Grade: Sydney University 234 off 104.3 overs (Max Hope 70 not out, Nicky Craze 49, David Miller 35, Varun George 26; Bradley Simpson 6-56, Tushaar Garg 2-33, Dayne Heward 2-40) defeated Bankstown 146 off 63 overs (Mitchell Hinds 49, Ben Le Bas 28; Ben Joy 3-43, Charlie Cassell 2-21, David Miller 2-28) on the first innings at Coogee Oval on Saturday and Sunday. Toss: Bankstown. Batted first: Sydney University.
Grand Final – Albert Cup: Sydney University versus Parramatta at University Oval on 29, 30 and 31 March, with 10.30am starts each day.
Third Grade: Sydney University 315 off 108 overs (Charles Litchfield 108, Matthew Moran 82, Jack Hill 47; Alexander Schipp 5-82, Wallace Marshall 3-70) defeated Bankstown 87 off 41.2 overs (Iain Ridley 29, Matthew Dedes 28; Tom Keirath 4-7, Josh Toyer 3-18) on the first innings at St Paul’s College Oval on Saturday and Sunday. Toss: Bankstown. Batted first: Sydney University.
Grand Final – Mitchell Cup: Sydney University versus Eastern Suburbs at Coogee Oval on 30 and 31 March, with 10.30am starts each day.
Fourth Grade: Manly 187 off 82.4overs (Jordan Daly 86, Andrew Somerville 40 not out; Brodie Frost 5-27, Jack Lawson 3-71)defeatedSydney University 161 off 89 overs (Liam Coelho 44, Brayden Dilley 32, Jack Lawson 20 not out; Jesse Moffatt 6-44, Joel Davies 2-16) on the first innings at Tunks Park on Saturday and Sunday. Toss: Manly-Warringah. Batted first: Manly-Warringah.
Grand Final – David Sherwood Cup: St George versus Manly-Warringah at Hurstville Oval on 30 and 31 March, with 10.30am starts each day.
Fifth Grade Grand Final – Reid Cup: Sutherland versus UNSW at Glenn McGrath Oval on 30 and 31 March.
Metropolitan Cup – Semi-Finals
Gordon 144 off 63.4 overs (Cameron Hewitt 45, Nathan Sequeira 29, Nick Astridge 27; Maxim Shanahan 5-30) and 1-42 off 10.2 overs (Cameron Hewitt 18 not out) defeated Sydney University 94 off 57.4 overs (Raphael 13, Maxim Shanahan 13; Callum Bladen 4-6, Rohan Watson 3-28) and 91 (Rakin Rahman 25; Nathan Sequeira 3-15, Kartik Khetarpaul 3-19) outright at Chatswood Oval on Saturday and Sunday. Toss: Gordon. Batted first: Sydney University.
Grand Final: Gordon versus Penrith on 30 and 31 March.
Sydney Women’s Premier competition – Under 15 Round 6 (Limited Overs)
Universities 78 off 26.1 overs (Hannah Gibson 17, Siobhan 12; Olivia McKeon 4-11, Riya Pradeep 2-7) defeated Northern District Gold 69 off 29.1 overs (Olivia McKeon 8, Kinnari Shah 8; Elizabeth 2-0, Alexandra Toshack 2-2, Liv Morrison 2-10) by nine runs at Storey Park on Sunday. Toss: Universities. Batted first: Northern District Gold. Points: Universities 6, Northern District Gold 0.
