2020-21

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ROUND WRAPS – First Grade

ROUND 12 – On Saturday at Drummoyne Oval, First Grade had some work to do following up from Sydney Club's rain affected day 1 score of 4-250. An improved performance saw the Saints pick up some vital with Sydney eventually declaring at 7-313. This left St George 84 overs however rain delays would alter that but with a bit of life in the the Saints never got going. They were bundled out for a disappointing 92 with NSW legend top scoring with 33 .

The team now drops out of the top 6 to 10th but a win against the 1st place Sydney University will see the team back in the hunt with two rounds remaining before the finals.

ONE DAY QUARTER FINAL Vs Syney University - There wasn't much time to recover from the humbling defeat with St George having to back up the next day in the Quarter Final of the NSW Premier Cricket One Day competition. A tall order after the Saints qualified in 8th position and were up against last seasons champions, Sydney University who were in 1st place. The game was played at the picturesque Sydney Uni No.1 Oval.

The Saints got off to a flyer with the pitch looking like it was going to get tougher as the day progressed. Openers Nick Stapleton (52) and Matt Hopkins (49) saw the team to 107 before once again things went South. St George were all out in the 48th over for 191 losing its remaining 9 wickets for just 84 runs.

Sydney University themselves got off to a flyer before a double strike from Peter Francis had both dangerous openers back in the pavilion with the score at 2-39 after just 4 overs. This gave the Saints the boost they needed as they applied quality pressure through some intensified bowling and fielding. When Copeland struck for the third wicket followed by the huge wicket of NSW opener off the bowling of Joey Graham the game was well and truly there for the taking. Graham proved the key taking 3-28 from his 10 overs whilst Leg Spinner Joshua Moors claimed 4-18 from 4.3 overs in a memorable first grade debut. He became St George first grade player No.457 in the year of the Saints First Grade centenary.

Sydney University were all out in the 38th over for 136 to now see the Saints march through into the Semi Finals to ironically play Sydney CC once again. Despite the heavy loss to Sydney the previous day, Skipper Nick Stapleton was upbeat about taking on the Tigers this Sunday in the One Day Semi Final despite the heavy loss to them on Saturday. "We take a heap of confidence out of our victory against Sydney Uni and the Semi Final is a brand new day and a fresh slate". Stapleton said.

ROUND WRAPS – Second Grade

It was another unbelievable get out of Gaol for the St George 2nd Grade side against Sydney at Hurstville Oval on Saturday. Day one was declared a washout leaving 120 overs of play for Day 2. first St George may have been left feeling disappointed with their score of 139. With their run of 19 games unbeaten about to unfold with Sydney at 3-110 the Saints took 7-29 to tie the match. The last 4 wickets fell for only 13 runs whilst Sydney actually had 2 wickets in hand when the scores were tied. Andrew Walsh claimed 4-32 and was the triumphant bowler to take the final wicket whilst Tom McKenzie took 3-19. The unsung hero of the show was Max Farmer behind the stumps who claimed 5 great snares including the final wicket, a sharp inside edge to tie the game.

They are now firmly set in 2nd position on the competition table with three rounds remaining.

ROUND WRAPS – Third Grade

After a 3 game winning streak The Saints had a disappointing loss against Sydney at Birchgrove Oval. There was no play on Day 1 because of rain so the following week became a 120 over game.

St George won the toss and sent Sydney into bat. Nathan Anderson 1 for 49 got Saints off to a great start when he had the Sydney opener out for a duck with the score on 11. However after that there was no joy for the Saints bowlers who toiled hard without any reward or luck. Sydney piled on the runs scoring 244 for the second wicket then declared at 1 for 255 after 59 overs.

In reply Saints top order batsmen all got good starts with only Blake Newport 40, Joel Rush 66 and Lochie Willmore 24 going on to make an impact with the bat. The Sixth wicket 89 run partnership between Joel Rush and Lochie Willmore held the key to the game but when both batsmen were dismissed with the score on 187 any chance of winning was made more difficult but not impossible. Saints kept on fighting to the end with our lower order batsmen sacrificing their wickets in an effort to score quick runs but unfortunately coming up short by 59 runs. St George were all out for 196 in 55.4 overs. Solid Effort under difficult circumstances! Report by Alan Pandelis

ROUND WRAPS – Fourth Grade

St George 4th Grade went to the top of the ladder with a convincing outright win against Sydney at Harold Fraser Oval.

Groundsman Jimmy and his team did a fantastic job getting the wicket ready for play after all the rain we had all week on Day 1. Saints won the toss and had no hesitation sending Sydney into bat. Play was delayed for an hour before the demolition of Sydney began. Tom Kennedy 6 for 13, Steve Wark 3 for 17 and Shiven Chaturvedi 1 for 5 put on a Masterclass exhibition of bowling to have Sydney dismissed for 37 in 26.2 overs. Josh Appleton was outstanding in the field taking 3 catches.

St George went into bat and passed Sydney's score in just 10 overs. Saints batted aggressively in the quest for quick runs, scoring at just over runs 5 per over. Jarrod Brown 30 and Sahil Pathania 20 were the pick of a very good batting display. St George declared at 6 for 112 after 19.5 overs. Sydney in their second innings lost early wickets and were 2 for 9 in the 8th over. At stumps on the first day Sydney were 2 for 38 after 18 overs.

Play resumed the following week after a rain delayed start. Sydney made steady progress with the bat losing their third wicket with the score on 71. Soon after they lost 2 more wickets and were 5 for 96 after 47 overs. All the Saints bowlers were economical and performed well with Shiven Chaturvedi 5 for 54 and Josh Appleton 2 for 34 being the pick. The fielding was once again very good with Blake Kenworthy the standout with 3 catches, a stumping and an assisted run out. Sydney lost their last 5 wickets for 57 and were all out for 153 in 83 overs. St George went into bat and were set a target of 79 runs in 17 overs. Saints paced their innings to perfection to chase down the required runs with 7 balls to spare. Jarrod Brown 28 was once again the pick of the batsmen and he got great support from Josh Appleton 14. Tom Kennedy 10 hit the winning runs with a mighty 6 over long on and the victorious Saints ended up 7 for 84 after 15.5 overs. Outstanding Team Effort! Report by Alan Pandelis.

ROUND WRAPS – Fifth Grade

In another rain affected match the mighty 5’s held on for a gritty draw against Sydney. Sydney batted first and declared after 60 overs with the score at 8-152. Sohan Kumar once again coming to the fore with a great spell of leg spin that yielded the figures of 4-25 off 10 overs. He was aided by another young leg spinner in Shuv Banerjee who took 2-23 from 13 overs.

The game hung in the balance for most of the Saints innings with the Saints batting the remaining 38 overs to finish up with 9-137. Billy Arena top scored with 37 off 36 balls.

ROUND WRAPS – Poidevin-Gray

Quarter Final Vs Manly. The Saints took the early assendency ripping through the Manly top order leaving them at one stage 4-48 before Manly tried to claw their way back in the game but yet another spate of wicket saw them go for 4-77 to 8-86 before Manly showed their usual fight to recover to a final score of 145. It was a terrific effort in the field with the spinners Josh Moors (3-22 from 10), Rory Russo (2-17 from 9.2) and Kaleb Phillips (2-35 from 10) doing the lion share of the damage.

The Saints innings was disrupted by rain but when play was suitable The Saints were on point passing Manly after just 22.1 overs for the loss of just 1 wicket. Josh Moors star continues to shine as he finished with 56 of 69 ably supported by Kaleb Phillips with 28 off 29.

GALLERY

Congrats to Josh Moors seen batting here in his 1st Grade debut at Sydney Uni. Josh is 1st Grade Player No.457. Just reward for an outstanding season thus far.

Trent Copeland graceful in the quarter final triumph against 1st ranked Sydney Uni.

Harold Fraser Oval looking a million dollars as Thomas Kennedy sets up for one of his 6 first innings wickets against Sydney.

Shiven Chaturvedi with 5-54 off 26 overs in the 2nd innings of the 4th Grade outright victory against Sydney.

It is with enormous pleasure that I write to advise that a date has now been confirmed for our postponed Annual Dinner. With the relaxation of Covid 19 restrictions we have booked Club Central, Hurstville for Wednesday 17 February. As you’ll see from the program below this promises to be another wonderful celebration in the proud history of our Club.

Former Australian and now internationally recognised commentator, Ian Chappell, has generously accepted our invitation to be the guest speaker. There is no doubt that Ian’s stories, insights and opinions will be entertaining and forthright.

On the night we’ll also be announcing and presenting the next group of Inductees to our recently unveiled Hall of Fame. In this, the Centenary year of our participation in the First Grade competition, these inductees will create enormous interest.

In addition, as part of the night’s entertainment we’ll be launching a book detailing the stories of members of the1921/22 team. Our first representatives in the First Grade competition and the foundation of our Club’s wonderful record in this competition.

Details of the Annual Dinner are as follows and I sincerely hope you are able to join us and perhaps organise a group of friends (tables are of 10) for what is always a highlight of our Club’s calendar.

Date: Wednesday 17 February - Venue: Club Central Hurstville (cnr Cross St and Crofts Ave) Dress: Ladies After 5 Men Coat or tie - Cost: $125 Bookings: by 8 February to [email protected] or 0407 291 872 Kevin Greene - Hon President

IN BETWEEN BALLS….

The Saints welcomed a new player with first grade experience to the lineup for the 2020-21 season. Let’s go in between balls and get to know …

IN BETWEEN BALLS WITH : Josh Appleton

OTHERWISE KNOWN AS : Apps

YEARS ON EARTH : 24

BIRTHPLACE : Camden

TEAMS SUPPORTED : West Tigers

FIRST CRICKETING MEMORY : Playing my first game of club cricket in literal knee high grass at an oval in Picton

PREVIOUSLY PLAYED FOR (Jnr & Snr) : Played all of my junior career at Camden District Cricket and the early years of my senior career at Campbelltown-Camden Ghosts

HIGHEST LEVEL PLAYED : 1st grade

GREATEST CRICKETING MOMENT : Probably getting reverse swept by Sam Billings at Howell Oval when he played some games for Penrith a couple years back. Funnier because I'm a (extremely medium) fast bowler.

WORST MOMENT : Refer to previous answer.

BEST CRICKETER PLAYED WITH : Not played with, but was around Monty Panesar when he played a season for Ghosts - he coached our PGs side on and off. Extremely rare human

BEST THING ABOUT CRICKET : Singing the song.

WORST THING ABOUT CRICKET : Not singing the song.

HOW DID YOU END UP AT THE SAINTS : A great man named Edmund Zelma

WHAT MOST EXCITES YOU ABOUT PLAYING FOR THE SAINTS : The positive culture the club is known for.

FAVE. SAINTS PLAYER : Andrew Pandelis - what a man.

OTHER SPORTS PLAYED : Soccer, tennis, swimming

HIGHEST LEVEL IN OTHER SPORTS : Not very high

FAVE. SPORTS COMMENTATOR : The late and great Richie Benaud

FAVE. BEVERAGE : Water (before cricket)

FAVE. FOOD : Spaghetti chilli marinara or servo sandwiches

FAVE HOLIDAY DESTINATION : Hurstville Oval

WORST INJURY : Stress fractures in the lower back.

HOBBIES : Swimming/beach-going

DREAM DRAGON LADY : Andrew Pandelis

IF YOU WEREN'T PLAYING CRICKET HOW WOULD YOU SPEND YOUR SATURDAYS : Beach- going

IF YOU WERE DOWN TO YOUR LAST $50 HOW WOULD YOU SPEND IT : Spaghetti chilli marinara or servo sandwiches

DID YOU KNOW THAT MOST OF OUR HOME GAMES ARE NOW LIVE STREAMED