Graham Croker
Sydney University Cricket Club will field four teams in the finals series of the 2009-10 Sydney Grade Cricket competition, with First Grade scraping into the mix in sixth place.
Indifferent performances in the second half of the season saw First Grade slip from second place on the ladder to finish on 60 competition points, behind minor premiers Sutherland (86), Eastern Suburbs (70), St George (69), Manly-Warringah (66) and Northern District (64).
The Students will meet Sutherland in a qualifying final this weekend at Glen McGrath Oval in a must win match.
Sydney University Second Grade finished third on the ladder on 72 points, behind St George (80) and Sutherland (73). Bankstown (59), Northern District (56) and Randwick-Petersham (56) make up the top six. The Seconds will meet Bankstown at Sydney University No.1 Oval.
Sydney University Fifth Grade also snuck into the finals in sixth place on 55 points, behind Campbelltown-Camden (69), St George (65), Western Suburbs (61), Randwick-Petersham (60) and North Sydney (59). Fifths will meet Campbelltown-Camden in a qualifying final at Raby Oval.
And, not to be outdone, Sydney University Sixth Grade finished joint leaders with North Sydney in the Metropolitan Cup competition, although Norths claimed the minor premiership by being ahead 0.5 on ratio.
The Students will host fifth-placed Blacktown in a qualifying final.
With Third Grade finishing eighth and Fourth Grade finishing 10th, Sydney University dropped out of contention in the Club Championship after being at the helm midway through the season.
St George won the 2009-10 Club Championship with 1562 points, ahead of Sutherland (1553), Manly-Warringah (1328) and Sydney University (1313).
In other cricketing news, Universities Alex Blackwell was named NSW Women’s Cricketer of the Year at the annual awards night in Sydney.
Scoreboard
Sydney Grade competition – Round 15 (Limited overs)
First Grade: Gordon 8-252 off 49-4 overs (Harry Evans 93, Elliot Richtor 43, Iain Beverly 30 not out, Reece Bombas 29; Tom Keirath 3-49, Josh Toyer 2-37, Greg Mail 2-46) d Sydney University 5-251 off 50 overs (Will Hay 82, Ian Moran 74, Greg Mail 46 not out; Elliot Richtor 2-40, James Campbell 2-45) at Sydney University No.1 Oval. Toss won by: Gordon. Batted first: Sydney University. Points: Gordon 6, Sydney University 0.
Second Grade: Sydney University 5-191 off 38.1 overs (Ben Larkin 61, David Miller 47 not out, Nick Larkin 43, Matthew Morgan 28 not out; Joshua Poysden 4-40) d Gordon 190 off 49 overs (Hamish Angus 60, Damon Livermore 41, Robert Edwards 29; Shashi Keshar 5-39, Tim Ley 4-30) at Chatswood Oval. Toss: Gordon. Batted first: Gordon. Points: Sydney University 7, Gordon 0.
Third Grade: Gordon 1-83 off 16 overs (Michael Dalrymple 34, Leon Gulaptis 31 not out) d Sydney University 82 off 24.2 overs (Nick Dowsley 3-11, Adair Durie 3-14, Charlie Bangs 2-24, James Kidd 2-28) at Sydney University No.2 Oval. Toss: Gordon. Batted first: Sydney University. Points: Gordon 8, Sydney University 0.
Fourth Grade: Gordon 258 off 50 overs (Mitchell Kleem 90, Hugo Anderson 38; Josh Lawrence 3-50) d Sydney University 208 off 45 overs (Daniel Bragg 42, Ben Joy 31; Iqbal Ahmed 4-48, Tim Fulton 2-37) at Killara Oval. Toss: Gordon. Batted first: Gordon. Points: Gordon 6, Sydney University 0.
Fifth Grade: Sydney University 6-241 off 47.2 overs (Charles Cull 69 not out, Justin Younes 57, Virosh Poolagasandrum 32; Thomas Bangs 4-47) d Gordon 6-240 off 50 overs (Andrew Chapman 57, Mark Fonseka 53, Tom Cockburn 44) at St Paul’s College Oval. Toss: Gordon. Batted first: Gordon. Points: Sydney University 6, Gordon 0.
Sydney Grade Women’s competition – Round 17 (Limited overs)
Universities 5-156 off 33 overs d Sydney 155 off 44.2 overs at Drummoyne Oval. Toss won by: Sydney. Batted first: Sydney.
