Bulldogs' Smith and Taylor tame Warriors

The Bankstown Sports Bulldogs surged to victory at Memorial Oval versus the Blacktown Warriors last Saturday. Ben Taylor and Brendan Smith overpowered the Warriors with superb performances. Bankstown took the field and restricted the visitors to just 243. Blacktown found Ben Taylor with his probing spinners extremely hard to handle in the hot conditions. The Warriors batsmen were all at sea against Taylor who beat the bat repeatedly in a sensational spell. The crafty young spinner claimed 4-20 in his masterly 10 overs and is having a great season. A late rally got the Warriors to a useful 243 but the Bulldogs soon got barking in reply. All-rounder Mitch Brown always seems to be in the action and as usual was right on target. He moved the ball around aggressively to claim 4-57 in his handy spell. Ethan Leten quickly tamed the Warriors and plundered 58 from just 45 deliveries. The masterly stroke maker rattled the pickets repeatedly with 9 sparkling boundaries and a powerful 6. It was just the start Bankstown needed. Talented Brendan Smith kept the Dion Bourne scoreboard rattling along at a rapid rate with a belligerent 77. Smith’s master class of attacking stroke play entertained everyone with 8 sparkling fours. He really brought the crowd to its feet with 3 stunning sixes including one which soared high over the iconic Bankstown Sporting Hall of Fame building. The very much in form Chris Ridley chimed in with a majestic 45 from a mere 35 deliveries. He was at his aggressive best in a most entertaining knock. Skipper Michael Stretton finished 22 not out in a classy knock whilst evergreen all-rounder Aaron Bird thumped 22 not out as Bankstown cruised to victory. Next week the Bulldogs take on Northern Districts in a two day match at Mark Taylor Oval starting at 10:30am, while all other grades play a one-day match. Second grade Bankstown wilted in the heat and were rolled for a humble 129 which was very disappointing. Liam Marshall provided a resilient rear-guard action with a fighting 27. Former Dragon Matt Dedes added 23 in solid fashion but the rest of the Bulldogs batting was well below standard. The Bulldog bowlers fought back defiantly as the Warriors scraped home with 9-133. A crucial last wicket stand of 36 got Blacktown up when the Bulldogs were well on top. Wallace Marshall spearheaded the Bulldogs fightback with 3-37 in a superb spell. Tushaar Garg claimed 2-18 to keep Bankstown firing whilst Ben Le Bas was on target with 2-24. Third grade Bankstown’s batting woes continued and they totalled just 183 at Joe McAleer Oval. Jacob Malcolm top scored with a defiant 39 which kept the Bulldogs hopes alive. Luke Docherty chimed in with a hard fought 33 whilst talented Andrew Deitz looked in good touch with a handy 29. As often seems to happen with Bankstown the bowlers made up for the disappointing batting. Alex Schipp moved the ball around incisively to claim 3-19. He was right on target in his superb spell and clean bowled two of his victims. Connor Wilkinson took an early wicket and also brought about a crucial run out. Docherty claimed two top order batsmen and finished with 2-27 to complete a great match. Fourth grade Blacktown’s 155 proved just too many for the Bulldogs 148. The Warriors batted first and struggled to 155. Chris Stefanish was once again in fine form with 2-20 but Jackson Isakka took the bowling honours with 4-28. The latter beat the bat repeatedly in a deceptive ten over spell. The Warriors never came to terms with Isakka’s accuracy and determination. Mohammed Hussain claimed 2-32 which kept the pressure on Blacktown. The Bulldogs disappointed in reply and capitulated meekly. Mat Kelly started confidently with 30 whilst Ryan Malcolm also posted a useful 30. The rest of the batting was poor and the Bulldogs lost narrowly. Fifth Grade Bankstown batted first at Grahame Thomas and a magnificent 130 from Skipper Alex Kouventaris got the Bulldogs barking. In a glorious captain’s knock, he plundered 19 boundaries and a stunning six as Bankstown raced to 6-314. Lawson Clark joined in the run spree with a majestic 64. The talent laden youngster rattled the pickets 10 times as the Warriors wilted in the heat. Clark shared an explosive 110 run stand with the skipper which kept the Bulldogs barking. Tom Ramage contributed a quick-fire 46 off just 42 deliveries. Earlier Brendan Clark scored a solid 23 at the top of the order. Dean Bennett grabbed two wickets and his incisive spell had the Warriors wobbling. Brendan Clark hammered home the advantage with 2-37 in a very accurate spell. However, Isaac Schipp took the bowling honours with 4-28. His control was admirable and he beat the bat repeatedly in a super spell.

A.W. Green Shield On the 4th January Bankstown’s 168 was not enough as Mosman rattled up 5-172. The Bulldogs batted first and Nivethan Radhakrishnan started off solidly with a handy 20. Skipper Cameron Cotter added a useful 23 but was disappointed not to make a much bigger score. Sanjiv Weerasingham put together a stylish 36 whilst Dean Bennett compiled a very classy 44 and looks a most promising player. He topped off an impressive match by taking the bowling honours with 2-34 from 10 well controlled overs. Poidevin-Gray Shield Bankstown scored a healthy 8-278 in the P-G clash on 7th Jan at Bankstown Oval. Skipper Brendan Smith hammered 81 in a sensational innings which got the Bulldogs barking. The prolific run scorer plundered 6 boundaries and 6 sensational sixes in a top knock. Smith smashed the Blacktown attack relentlessly and the crowd was disappointed he was dismissed short of his ton. Ever reliable Ben Le Bas chimed into the run spree with a quick-fire 70 which kept the Dion Bourne scoreboard ticking over at a furious rate. Run machine Matt Simpson was all class with 39 at a run a ball whilst Nivethan Radhakrishnan completed the run spree with a forceful 30. Blacktown’s batsmen put up a real fight for victory but ended seven runs short with 7/272 after their 50 overs. Best of the Bulldog bowlers was paceman Dane Heward with 3/58, continuing his strong run of form this season. Heward received good support from Tush Garg, Wallace Marshall, Tommie Sowden and Nivethan Radhakrishnan who each snared one wicket apiece.