SIX FROM SIX AND FIVE BONUS POINTS

Premier Grade Cricket Round 5 v Campbelltown-Camden 16th November 2019 The Bankstown Sports Bulldogs vanquished the Ghosts at Raby Oval last Saturday as the Club’s stellar season opening continues. The locals have gone from strength to strength and won all five grades and Poidevin Gray Shield Under 21 over the weekend. The NSW Premier Grade Cricket Club Championship is an indicator of overall depth and Bankstown has now increased its lead in this prestigious competition. Whilst it is early days with the completion of Round 5, the Bulldogs are certainly barking vociferously. Master Coach Gary Crowfoot is the Club’s inspiration and there is no better tactician in the game. The Australian Test side has their champion run getter by the name of Steve Smith whilst The Bulldogs are blessed with the indomitable Daniel Solway. The run machine opener blitzed the Campbelltown Ghosts with a powerful 122 which enabled Bankstown to reach 8-245. Solway is relishing the extra responsibility of captaincy which seems to have made him even more determined. Never in Bulldogs history has a batsman repeatedly savaged opposition attacks and last weekend he continued the run blitz. To watch him bat is an absolute pleasure with his stylish elegance and insatiable appetite for runs amazing. Solway was very well supported by Nick Carruthers who blasted 45 in another delightful knock, but just as he was ready to provide some fireworks he was run out by former Bulldog Jarrad Burke. Chris Ridley chimed in with a handy 18 before being caught by Burke. Ben Taylor raced to 20 before he too was another run out victim. The Bulldogs skipper was confident that his bowlers would prevail. His optimism was rewarded as the Ghosts’ hopes plummeted to be 4-45. Importantly former Bankstown batsman Phil Wells was a victim. He was very well caught by Ben Taylor from ever reliable Mitch Brown. Stubborn resistance prevailed and the Ghosts looked a rough chance. However, Ben Taylor and lively Tushaar Garg vanquished the dispirited Ghosts and they were bundled out for a meagre 144. Taylor weaved his spinning web of magic with 4-26 and Garg crashed through the home side with 3-32 beating the bat repeatedly with persistent pace and is enjoying the promotion to the top grade. The irrepressible Solway certainly leads by example and even pulled off the vital run out of opening batsman Glynn. Next week the Bulldogs play very strong Manly side at Bankstown Memorial Oval starting at 10 a.m. Second grade Bankstown batted first and got off to a flyer with Joel Brockley pounding seven boundaries in a quickfire innings of 35. His straight driving was delightful and he kept the Dion Bourne scoreboard ticking over rapidly. Zeeshaan Ahmed carried on the good work with 7 fours and one six in his entertaining 48. Mansukh Singh was even more aggressive and smashed 9 boundaries in his 48 which took a mere 40 minutes. Ryan Clark kept the Bulldogs barking with a stylish 32 whilst Justin Felsch was left 28 not out after the 50 overs. Daniel Nicotra was the stumbling block for the Campbelltown bowlers and he raced to 73 with a flurry of boundaries. He peppered the fence on nine occasions and sent the ball soaring out of the ground with a stunning 6. It was a most impressive power display and Nicotra looks an exceptional talent. In reply Tony Clark ripped through the top order with 3-22 and the Ghosts never recovered clean bowling two of his victims in a spectacular effort which kept the Bulldogs barking. Matt Bursa added to the ghostly woes with 3-26 and beat the bat repeatedly in a productive spell. Justin Felsch completed a fine game with 2-25 confirming his all-round status. Third grade The thirds scored a resounding win at Raby over the Ghosts. Campbelltown scored 151 and Bankstown replied with 7-152. Chris Stefanish produced another incisive spell and claimed 3-24 to get the Bulldogs barking. Tom Sowden again proved very hard to get away and finished with 2-12 whilst ever reliable Daniel Slane bowled very well to take 2-19. In reply Bankstown looked in all sorts of trouble at 7-79 but recovered to take the points. The only top order batsman to fire was Tom Sowden who was unfortunately run out for a top class 33. The partnership that won the Bulldogs the game was the 8th wicket between Ethan Debono and ever reliable allrounder Daniel Slane. Both batsmen were not out and their 73-run stand enabled the Bulldogs to take the points. Debono plundered 45 very valuable runs and kept the Ghosts attack frustrated with some decisive stroke play. Slane supported him to the hilt with a determined and very valuable 25. Fourth Grade Bankstown scored 9-193 at Kelso but it was far too many for the dispirited Ghosts who collapsed for a meagre 39. Rahid Alam contributed a valiant 39 but was blissfully unaware his score would equal that of the Ghosts. Paceman Blake Pearson showed his all-round value with a defiant 61 which kept the Bulldogs barking. It was an inspirational innings which totally tamed the hapless Ghosts. Pearson was even more lethal with the ball and exploded through the Ghosts with sheer pace claiming 5-19 as the Campbelltown players struggled to lay bat on ball. Fellow quick Mat Kelly chimed in with the amazing figures of 3-6 from 10 immaculate overs. Anthony Melnyk took 2-5 and the Ghosts were humiliated. Fifth grade The Fifths completed a great Bulldogs Saturday with a decisive win at Grahame Thomas. The Ghosts scored just 126 in good conditions on Saturday. Brady Polkinghorne had them back-pedalling in his fiery spell. Max Clissold, who recovered from a nasty fielding accident last week, gave the Ghosts no respite, with 3-23 in an impressive effort. James Cheetham bowled very well finishing with 2-34. In reply the Bulldogs cruised to 1-128 and victory. Bryan Hannduneththi was amongst the runs as usual. The stylish opener hammered 52 not out and got the Bulldogs barking. Ethan Prideaux scored freely with a stylish 34 whilst Johann Perera entertained the crowd with 6 boundaries in his 25 not out. Poidevin Gray Shield To complete an unbelievable weekend the Bulldogs under 21 side were way too slippery for the Parramatta Eels at Memorial Oval last Sunday. The Liam Marshall led Bankstown scored a reasonable 8-211 from their 50 overs. Mansukh Singh got the home side off to a flying start with a superb 55 in good time. The stylish opener peppered the boundary with 7 fours to give Bankstown just the start they needed. Prolific run getter Zeeshan Ahmed was again in excellent touch with a fine 48 and he too hit the boundary seven times. Cameron Middleton hit a polished 33 and the lower order added A few more. In reply the Eels were devastated by some excellent Bulldogs bowling. It was spearheaded by the hostile Liam Marshall who claimed 4-23. The fiery speedster claimed the first three Parramatta wickets and the visitors never recovered. Brad Simpson took 2-17 as the Eels were dismissed for 70.