Dogs harpooned by Whales
The Bankstown Sports Club Bulldogs were harpooned by the Mosman Whales last Saturday at Bankstown Memorial Oval. The home side batted first and looked like amassing a very big total. However the Mosman bowlers were not to be denied and fought back valiantly. Belligerent Bulldog Daniel Solway was the pick of the batsmen with an aggressive 102 He pounced on the short ball and quickly despatched it to the boundary. Solway's cover driving was exquisite and he rattled the pickets repeatedly. A wonderful knock but unfortunately his dismissal triggered an avalanche of wickets. After being 4-235 the Dogs ceased barking and lost 6-8 in a dramatic collapse. It was a lacklustre performance by Bankstown although Brendan Smith added a top class 44 and Aaron Bird a defiant 28 as he tried to put some spirit into the lower order. Unfortunately Mosman easily chased down this disappointing target and finished with 4-244. Kyle Brockley bowled enthusiastically and was rewarded with 2-48. The pitch had a green tinge about it which made it perfect for cricket although the Whales batsmen had the Bulldogs floundering. Bankstown will take on North Sydney next Saturday in a two day fixture at Memorial Oval starting at 9.30. Second Grade The seconds lost to Mosman at Allan Border Oval last Saturday. The Whales scored a massive 5-333 whilst the Bulldogs batted well but could not match this huge total. Jacob Malcolm persevered relentlessly to halt the run spree and claimed two wickets. Stylish Chris Ridley fought back bravely with an accomplished 52 and topscore. He pounded three boundaries and three fiercely struck sixes which soared out of the ground. Jacob Malcolm showed his class and style with a defiant 50 which included two spectacular sixes. His 75 run stand with Ridley almost turned the game around. Ethan Leten plundered a fine 41 with 7 sparkling boundaries. Skipper Joel Brockley kept the crowd on its toes with four mighty sixes in his 40 but Bankstown fell well short of the target. Third Grade Jehan Bilimoria played a lone hand for the Bulldogs with 84 and was unconquered when the innings folded at Jensen. He was deprived of triple figutes when he ran out of partners with the score at 156. Barnstorming Bilimoria smashed 11 sparkling boundaries in a flurry of forceful strokes. Mansuhk Singh was the only other one to seriously trouble the scorers with a defiant 27. Mosman scored 2-159 to take the points. Fourth Grade A brilliant spell of bowling by Mat Kelly sunk the Whales last Saturday at Balmoral. Kelly launched a pace blitz on the floundering Whales who were bundled out for 203. Kelly beat the bat repeatedly to claim 4-19 in an inspired spell. Jakob Eljed did not let the Whales off the hook as he ripped through them with 3-18. Mr. Versatile Mat Kelly got the Bulldogs off to a solid start with 27. However wickets fell rapidly and the 'Doggies were not barking at 6-69. A 94-run partnership between Cameron Cotter and Ethan Debono sunk the Whales. Cotter was the stumbling block for Mosman and it was his 69 that got the Bulldogs barking. A most responsible knock from a talented youngster. Lawson Clark added a very useful 25 and hit 6 sparkling boundaries. Ethan Debono helped get the Dogs over the line with a crucial 31 in a defiant knock. Fifth Grade Bankstown compiled 9-218 at Grahame Thomas last Saturday. However it was not quite enough as Mosman scored 8-221 to get up in a thriller. Nearly all the Bulldogs batsmen got a start but Bilal Ali top-scored with a classy and defiant 41. Alex Kouventaris led by example with a belligerent 38 whilst Chris Stephanish plundered 6 boundaries in his quickfire 31. Johan Perera chimed in with a plucky 30 whilst Issac Schipp gave the side a good start with a confident 25. Blake Pearson bowled with plenty of life and control to capture 2-28 whilst Sohan Kumar impressed with two handy wickets.