Green Shield - Round 1
Round 1 AW Green Shield - Sydney Premier Cricket
Bankstown v Sydney University at Kelso Park North
Thursday 17th December 2020
Bankstown Bullpups go so close yet so far in first up AW Green Shield match
The most competitive Under 16 cricket competition in New South Wales commenced this Thursday with the Bankstown Bullpups taking on Sydney University at Kelso Park North in the premier AW Green Shield Competition. Winning the toss and electing to bowl, the young side were expecting the ball to move around in the very steamy conditions. However, despite bowling good lines and lengths, there was little the Bullpups could do except chase leather around the magnificently prepared Kelso North outfield as the Sydney University openers settled in to their game plan.
Indeed, University had reached 106 runs before the first wicket fell although this was at a modest run rate. Ilyan Raza was the pick of the Bankstown bowlers with 3 for 33 off his 10 overs taking the the first three wickets of the match including the top two batsmen along with a lbw duck to number 4. But by now, much of the damage had been done and a very solid platform had been set for University. Bankstown toiled well and Raza was well supported by Charlie Fitzjohn with 1 for 21 and Bailey Penna with 2 for 39. Bailey is the younger brother of WBBL local women’s cricket star Maddie Penna, and so continues the Penna family cricketing ability of playing at the highest standard. Sydney University closed their innings after their allotted 50 overs at 6/182 setting up a challenging but achievable run chase in the afternoon heat.
The Bankstown Bullpups’ chase got off to a less than desirable start with opener Roshan Bhat on his way back to the sheds with score on just 5 runs. This brought Lachlan Malcolm to the crease and he did his utmost best to steer the Bullpups home. Unfortunately, wickets fell in regular intervals, despite decent partnerships being formed with Malcolm who was providing the backbone of the team’s innings. Opener and wicketkeeper Rohin Patel (15) and Malcolm added 40 runs before Patel was run out.
In a similar vein, captain Manoj Weerasingham and Malcolm added 26 runs until Weerasingham (10) was bowled with the score now at 3/71. Unfortunately, the remaining batting partnerships were adding similar runs before wickets fell and so the run chase was almost solely in Malcolm’s hands with support from Daniel Louka (14), Jake Smith (11) and Bailey Penna (11).
All middle order batsmen were getting starts but not going on well enough to help Malcolm chase down University’s total. While Malcolm truly stamped his class as a genuine all-rounder as he remained unbeaten on a well-grafted 76 runs, including 3 boundaries, the Bankstown Bullpups fell an agonising 9 runs short of victory after their 50 overs.