R1 v Easts : MATCH REPORTS

Bulldogs runs not enough against Dolphins, but Hinds shines with century in 2nd grade

First grade v Easts at Waverley Oval, Sat 6 Nov 2021

In the first match of the COVID-affected Sydney Premier Cricket season, the Bankstown Sports Bulldogs found the going tough at Waverley Oval. WIth the recent rain across Sydney, it was going to be an important toss to win in a one-day match — but unfortunately captain Daniel Solway lost the toss and the visitors were sent in to bat on a new wicket. Losing the top order early, the Bulldogs were reeling at 3 for 26. However, replicating his form from last season, Jake Cormack started to bring both stability and runs to the Bulldogs’ innings. Jake rattled the fence frequently and sent one flying into the outer at Waverley with seven fours and a towering six. New Bulldog Ethan Deal partnered Jake and they enjoyed an 84-run partnership with clever running and deft placement and pushed the score along. Jake again showed his class today but stood alone. Indeed, once Ethan (27) and Jake (75) departed, the tail barely wagged and the Bulldogs only scrambled together a total of 150 off their 50 overs.

In reply, the Bankstown bowlers struck early and had the Dolphins at 2 for 20. This had the Bulldog supporters hopeful as Tyler Van Luin - another new recruit from ACT - was also applying pressure. Unfortunately, the Easts batsmen stabilised their innings and were methodical in what was a modest run chase and so achieved the win 3/156 in the 42nd over.

Next Saturday, the Bulldogs return home to Bankstown Oval in the local derby in another one-day game against St George starting at 10am.

Second grade

At Bankstown Oval, second grade won the toss and captain Tony Clark sent the Dolphins in to bat in their one-day encounter. Opening bowler Muhammad Salman beat the outside egde of the bat frequently and was very difficult to score off early. The Bulldogs bowlers all shared the wickets but Salman was the pick of the bowlers. While the Dolphins’ batsmen all got good starts, it was consistent pressure by the bowling unit and good fielding that kept some control on the score with good outfield catching by Joel Brockley, Tony Clark and Niran Wijewardene that slowed the scoring down at crucial times. Nevertheless, Eastern Suburbs posted a very competitive 7 for 265 after their allotted 50 overs.

The Bulldogs batsmen showed how well the wicket was playing after the moisture had evaporated and put on a master class of big hitting. Mansukh Singh took the lead and was heading for a quick-paced century. Falling just short at 96 runs off 86 balls, he shared a 192-run stand with Mitch Hinds which paved the way for Bulldogs’ victory. Singh was stunned as he absolutely belted a ball back to the bowler who unbelievably managed to take the catch.Singh stood there in disbelief it was hit that hard. This gave Mitch Hinds the cue to lift his scoring and he did so with class and aplomb. Hinds was just as happy to sneak a cheeky single to close cover as he was sending them into or over the fence. The batting display by Hinds was simply superb and he was well supported by Matt Simpson (21no) and Wijewardene (18). Scoring a brilliant 111 runs before being bowled, Hinds had set up the Bulldogs win and deserved to carry his bat. The Bulldogs reached the target with over 3 overs to spare when chasing a sizeable total and have started their season in fine form.