Match Reports 12 & 13 December 2020

PREMIER GRADE CRICKET : ROUND 8 2020-21

12-13 DECEMBER 2020

FIRST GRADE

The Bulldogs and Dragons are locked in a tight tussle in the Belvidere Cup match at Hurstville Oval. The visitors batted first in good conditions and openers Daniel Solway and Zeeshaan Ahmed looked comfortable until Ahmed was caught for 13 with score on 27. Things took a turn for the worse when NSW Representative Solway was LBW to Nic Stapleton, the Dogs looking vulnerable at 2-59. The reliable pair of Jake Cormack and Nick Carruthers steadied the ship with a 57-run 3rd wicket partnership before Cormack was bowled by Evasio MacMillan for 27. When Daniel Nicotra (0) and last week’s hero Ben Taylor (1) departed cheaply the Bulldogs were in real strife at 5-122. Through the chaos one player stood tall in the form of Nick Carruthers whose innings of 72 off 96 balls gave the Bulldogs effort respectability. Despite losing partners regularly, Carruthers persisted with his attacking style and his strike rate of 76 in such a challenging situation, speaks volumes for his talent. Ben Le Bas (35) and Liam Marshall (21 not out) each contributed gutsy individual rear-guard efforts to steer the side to 220, a modest total by Bulldogs standards but at least it’s a target the bowlers and fieldsmen have a shot at defending. Just before stumps Liam Marshall claimed the prize wicket of St George opener Simon Chu to leave the home side at 1-11 and setting up an intriguing finish next Saturday.

Poidevin Gray Shield

The Under 21 side took on the Parramatta Eels last Sunday at Memorial. What a thriller it was. The Bulldogs batted first in great conditions and posted 304 runs. The home side were confident of victory, but the Eels almost proved too slippery with 302. Bankstown batted first and the top order clicked straight into top gear. Mansukh Singh hammered the ball from the outset and was a delight to behold in full flight. Nine boundaries came from his flashing blade and two sensational sixes were the icing on the cake. Zeeshaan Ahmed is enjoying his season in the top grade and scored 29 on his favourite batting track. However, the day belonged to a rampaging Ethan De Bono who was at his dynamic best with a superlative 126. When he reached the treasured triple figures the crowd rose as one. His innings reminded some older players of the day when Mark Waugh smashed the ball repeatedly over the fence. It was tagged ‘the day it rained sixes’ and whilst it seems to be drawing a long bow in comparing the pair, both innings were most meritorious. De Bono batted for 105 minutes in an innings he will always remember. ‘Keeper Matt Simpson compiled 36 and ran beautifully between the wickets with De Bono. This could have been crucial as the game developed. The Bulldogs were very confident with 300 plus in the bank and Liam Marshall added to that with his usual breakthrough. Blake Pearson chimed in with three poles, however Parramatta fought valiantly and it came down to the last ball and the Doggies scraping home in a memorable victory.

SECOND GRADE

In seconds the Bulldogs have an iron clad grip on the match and at least six points. Saints won the toss and elected to bat in perfect conditions. They soon regretted that decision as wickets tumbled at a rapid rate. Strongly built Gurinder Hara devastated the downtrodden Dragons with some very incisive bowling. He struck first for the home side when he toppled the castle of Chalker with an absolute gem. It was just the start as Hara ripped through the visitor’s top order. The persevering paceman took five of the top six Dragons as they capitulated for 174. It was great to see Bulldog Daniel Burns back in the kennel again. The left arm spinner claimed 2-28 from 15 containing overs and showed he had lost none of his flight and guile. In reply the Bulldogs cruised to 4-147 in a powerful batting display. After an early breakthrough Joel Brockley hammered the Dragons with 8 punishing boundaries. He fell for a crowd pleasing 43 and the Doggies were barking jubilantly. Mitchell Hinds was even more devastating, much to the crowd’s delight. His attacking 58 included six forceful boundaries and two dynamic maximums which soared high above the fence. Hinds is a very enthusiastic cricketer and can destroy an attack in the blink of an eye. A spirited 29 from Mansukh Singh was the icing on the cake and his three sixes were stunningly powerful blows. Ethan De Bono chimed in with 10 not out as the Bulldogs kept barking loud and clear.

THIRD GRADE

At Kelso Park North the Bulldogs fought back to take 7 points which included a bonus point. This all seemed most unlikely as Bankstown capitulated for just 160. This proved more than enough as Randwick collapsed for a paltry 76. Even that total was boosted by 20 sundries in a devastating Bulldogs bowling display. Only 2 batsmen reached double figures with 10 and 12 for the visitors. Skipper Alex Kouventaris showed the way with a fighting 41 at the top of the order. Anthony Melnyk was next best with a defiant 26 (run out), whilst Blake Pearson added a handy 19. Talented Brady Polkinghorne ripped into Randwick’s top order with great enthusiasm and his 4-18 was a matchwinner indeed. Koby Layton continues to impress and claimed 3-17 to add to the visitors’ woes and ensured there was to be no Randwick revival. Bilal Ali had the amazing figures of 2-11 from his 7 overs and dried up the runs with four well bowled maidens.

FOURTH GRADE

The fourths crushed Randwick at Petersham Oval last Saturday. Bulldogs skipper Jehan Bilimoria won the toss and elected to field in ideal conditions. It proved a wise decision as the home side were never out of trouble totalling just 142. The bowling credits for the Bulldogs were shared with two wickets to Prashanthan Sivapragasam, Hayden Barrett, James Cheetham and Bryan Handunneththi with Daniel Slane and Jehan Bilimoria snaring one wicket each. The Dogs were never in trouble in the run chase with Johann Perera (47), Ethan Prideaux ( 59) and Ali Bilal (29 not out) seeing the Dogs to 2-143.

FIFTH GRADE

The Dogs had a great win over Randwick Petersham in Fifth Grade at Grahame Thomas Oval, spearheaded by a wonderful knock of 90 by Arnav Raina. The young opener was in superb touch playing shots to all parts of the ground in a dominant display that underpinned the home sides total of 179. Raina received some support from Subtain Shahid (28) but 4 ducks in the lower order meant the Dogs early superiority was quickly eroded. The visitors looked set for a comfortable victory at 5-139 before the amazing feats of Harjapan Singh turned the match on its head. Singh was simply too clever as he spun a web of indecision around all batsmen to snare 5-45. The visitors collapsed to all out for 167 after losing their last 5 wickets for 9 runs thanks to Singh’s heroics.