Bulldogs rampage wrecks Rangers

Premier Grade Cricket Publicity

16th and 17th January 2021

The Bankstown Sports Bulldogs continued their wonderful season with a decisive victory over the Northern District Rangers at Memorial Oval last Saturday. With rain halting play in the 4th Test Bankstown Cricket enthusiasts were able to view the first grade game which was live streamed on the website. Bankstown batted first and it was a diabolical start to the day although Nick Carruthers posted 22. The four inform top order batsmen, who are enjoying such a successful season, were all back in the pavilion early and the Bulldogs were certainly not barking as they slumped to 4-46. As cricket often goes there was an amazing turn around courtesy of Mitch Brown and Daniel Nicotra who celebrated a massive partnership of 142. Brown’s rescue mission took 2 hours and he rattled the pickets regularly with some superb strokeplay in his 59. However the topscore went to Nicotra who has had a magnificent season and carried all before him. The Rangers could not contain the classy rungetter as he hammered a defiant 83 which really got the Bulldogs barking vociferously driving and square cutting with great precision and the crowd roared its approval as he plundered 4 towering sixes which soared high out over the pickets. Bankstown finished with 9-218 from their 50 overs. With the Bulldogs attack being in outstanding form they were quietly confident they had enough runs on the board. Ben Le Bas controlled the ball with great accuracy and claimed 2-33 from his 10 overs. Fellow spinner Ben Taylor was also very difficult to get away and kept the Rangers guessing with 3-24. Nicotra  completed a very good day with 1-14 to wind up the innings as the visitors capitulated for 142. The fielding was good with Taylor and Nicotra accepting a caught and bowled apiece. Carruthers and Brown both orchestrated run outs which continued to apply plenty of pressure to the Rangers. Next weekend the Bulldogs take on the Sydney Tigers with the game starting on Saturday and Sunday at Bankstown Memorial Oval commencing at 10.30 a.m.

Second grade

The Northern District seconds at Mark Taylor Oval scored 6-273 which was too many for the Bulldogs who replied with 7-242. Bankstown skipper Tony Clark certainly led by example taking 4-58 and moved the ball around impressively which steadied the run spree. Niran Wijewardene was again amongst the runs and he pierced the field repeatedly in his superb 66. However the batting honours belonged to dashing opener Mansukh Singh whose strokeplay kept the Bulldogs barking hammering 3 spectacular sixes and 6 sweetly timed boundaries in his masterly display. Cameron Middleton provided some stoic resistance towards the end of the innings and his fighting 27 not out to give the Bulldogs fleeting hope. The skipper also tried hard with 17 not out but the team ran out of overs.

Third Grade

The Thirds also suffered a narrow defeat at Kelso Park North when Northern District’s 148 was just too much for the Bulldogs who fell short with 142. Muhammad Salman was the pick of the Bankstown bowlers and ripped into NDs batsmen with 4-18 from 7.5 overs beating the bat repeatedly in a devastating spell with his aggressive pace and bounce. Daniel Slane finished with 3-36 off his ten well flighted overs. Johann Perera was the best of a disappointing batting lineup keeping the Bulldogs barking with a defiant 37 but needed some support from the rest of the team as sundries was the next highest scorer with 24. 

Fourth Grade

Bankstown’s batting disappointed and obviously plenty of sessions in the state of the art Indoor Cricket Centre will be required after three batsmen got a start but all fell in their 20s and the side bundled out for a meagre 101. Bryan Handunneththi looked good scoring 20 whilst Arnav Raina compiled 24 in fine style and Zain Ali looked in good touch but falling for 22. The capitulation was all the more surprising as the opening stand was 47. Brady Polkinghorne bowled with great enthusiasm and his 3-20 raised Bulldog hopes fleetingly whilst Jehan Bilimoria took the remaining wicket. Alas the bowlers had a Herculean task following the batting failure with NDs passing the total only 4 down in the 26th over.

Fifth Grade

Bankstown’s 204 was not enough as Northern District scored an imposing 3-208 at Grahame Thomas. Again plenty of Bulldogs got a start but could not go on. Tom Ramage showed his class and defiance with 43 which included six well struck boundaries. Brad Christensen proved he had lost none of his class with a masterly 40 whilst Andrew Gotsis tried hard with a stylish 32. The visitors finished with 3-208 although Mat Kelly proved a handful with 2-6 off 6 overs.

Poidevin-Gray Shield 


On Sunday the Bankstown PG Under 21 side defeated the Fairfield-Liverpool Lions convincingly at Memorial Oval. The Lions never really took the initiative against a fired up Bulldogs attack. They fought and battled their way to 154, which was well short of a competitive total. Very good early work by talented skipper Liam Marshall silenced the Lion’s roar as he claimed 1-9 from an immaculate 5 over spell and gave no respite to the beleaguered batsmen. Very lively Brad Simpson claimed 2-15 which added to the visitor’s woes whilst Ryan Clark went wicketless with his extremely accurate offies he conceded a meagre 24 runs to apply the pressure required to stall the Fairfield-Liverpool innings totally frustrating the Lions and they never really recovered. Rhys Ward claimed 1-27 from 6 useful overs whilst enthusiastic Koby Layton was in superb form and hunted down the Lions with 3-46 in a productive 9 over spell was a masterly effort. Zeeshaan Ahmed chimed in with 1-6 which highlighted his versatility. Matt Simpson has had a great season behind the stumps and is always urging his fellow team mates on to greater efforts. The acrobatic keeper excelled on Sunday with 3 smart catches and 2 lightning like stumpings. In reply Mansukh Singh got the Bulldogs off to a flier with a dashing 37 at the top of the order hammering 6 sizzling boundaries which totally tamed the Lions. Skipper Liam Marshall is renowned for his blistering pace but guided his team to victory with the willow. When the team needed him most he took control and guided them to 155 with a brilliant 29 not out. A fine and very versatile player who delivered a delightful captain’s knock. Matt Simpson completed a wonderful weekend with a very responsible 28 whilst in form Modacer Momandi hammered 25 useful runs.