Dogs take sting out of Bees / PGs home in a thriller
Premier Grade Cricket Round 9. Week 1. 14-15 December 2019 The Bankstown Sports Bulldogs batted superbly to compile 9-352 against Uni of NSW at David Phillips South last Saturday. Once again it was prolific run scorer Nick Carruthers who destroyed the opposition attack. If ever there was a candidate for the Big Bash it surely is Carruthers who scores his runs at a frenetic rate. For two and a half hours he took the sting out of the Bumble Bees as he raced to 88. Eleven boundaries and a couple of mighty sixes came from his flashing blade as he got the Bulldogs well and truly barking. Earlier “Rocky” Stoneman got Bankstown off to a useful start with a classy 30. Mr. Consistency Ben Taylor once again showed his batting prowess with a useful 35 and he always shows a broad blade in defence and inevitably puts the bad ball away. Jarred Lysaught is a real crowd pleaser and his innings highlighted this. His sparkling 48 contained 11 fours as he rattled the boundary incessantly. Lysaught is a very talented cricketer and his versatility is a big plus for the Bulldogs. Paceman Tushaar Garg also showed he was no slouch with bat chiming in with a dynamic 42 with six sweetly struck boundaries and rounded off the innings superbly. Matt Bursa was not to be denied a part in the run spree and his 20 not out completed a great day. In reply UNSW is 1/4 with that man Lysaught trapping opener Jack Attenborough LBW for a duck. Poidevin-Gray Shield
The Bulldogs secured an unbelievable win over the Ghosts at Memorial Oval last Sunday. Bankstown batted first and scored a healthy 7-298 underpinned by a magnificent 100 from first grade wicket-keeper Cameron Middleton. Amid the smoke haze and humid conditions, Middleton remained resolute and compiled a classy 100 from 98 balls. Mansukh Singh 48, NSW Metro U19’s star Zeeshaan Ahmed 51 and all-rounder Justin Felsch 50 all played terrific supporting roles in support of Middleton. In reply, the Campbelltown Ghosts were in high spirits at 2-255 and victory looked a forgone conclusion. However, the pace dynamo Dayne Heward stepped up once again to provide the miracle the Dogs had been praying for. He ripped through the Campbelltown batting like a knife through butter. Hurricane Heward captured 7-33 and turned the game right around with his magnificent spell. Zeeshaan Ahmed and Cameron Middleton claimed a handy run out to add to the chaos. The Ghosts were well and truly vanquished and finished 9-289 at the end of the fifty overs. A mighty win from the Nick Carruthers coached Bulldogs outfit that played without star bowlers Brad Simpson and Liam Marshall who were rested following the efforts for NSW Metro in winning the National Under 19 title in Perth last week.
Second grade
The high-flying seconds have a considerable run chase on their hands next Saturday. The Bumble Bees swarmed all over the Bulldogs with 324 at Memorial. Chris Stefanish was sensational despite the run spree and bowled 21.5 overs. He thoroughly deserved his 6-56 in idyllic batting conditions. Stefanish clean bowled two of his victims and had two well caught by master Keeper Matt Simpson. Ever alert Simpson claimed four fine catches and kept the fieldsmen on their toes with some timely motivation. As usual Dayne Heward bowled a fiery spell and claimed 3 wickets in his marathon 19 over spell.
Third grade
At David Phillips North the Bankstown Bulldogs swarmed all over the Bumble Bees who scored just 174. It was a wonderful concerted bowling effort from Bankstown with four bowlers each capturing two wickets. They were Blake Pearson Ryan Freeman, Koby Layton and Basit Ali. In reply Bankstown lost 3 quick wickets in rapid succession for a meagre 17 and the Bees were really humming. Fortunately for Bankstown Matt Dedes and Pearson came to the rescue with some spirited batting. Dedes was in punishing form and caused the Bumble Bees to take flight. He was in total control with 45 not out and will be looking to continue in the same manner when play resumes next Saturday with the Bulldogs 3 for 88 at the end of the day. He received stoic support from multi-talented Pearson who completed a wonderful day with a defiant 20 not out.
Fourth grade
A wonderful 89 from new recruit to the Bulldog kennel Modacer Momandi, rescued the Bulldogs at Grahame Thomas last Saturday. The classy stroke maker took the sting out of the Bumble Bees with some scintillating strokeplay. It was a majestic knock and he peppered the boundary ruthlessly with his vast array of power hitting. Daniyal Naveed Khan hammered 45 as a catalyst to the run spree. He pounded 7 delightful boundaries which really rattled the Grahame Thomas pickets. Niran Wijewardene added 41 with 6 boundaries and two towering sixes as the Bulldogs to compiled 253. The Bulldogs swarmed all over the Bumble Bees when they took to the crease and ended the day 2-6. Evergreen Mat Kelly claimed both wickets in a great start for Bankstown.
Fifth grade
Uni of NSW finished with 8-225 at Alexandria Park. James Cheetham was in an impressive mode and his accuracy was rewarded with 3 LBW decisions. The exuberant livewire finished with 3-51 and troubled all batsmen with some fiery bowling. Bryan Handunneththi secured a handy run out and also claimed 2 wickets from 20 hard working overs. Hayden Barrett was the epitome of accuracy with 0-30 from 16 overs which were very much on target. Liam Hewitt once again gave nothing away with 1-13 from 10 spot on overs.