Sydney Grade: Bankstown news, Round Nine

Round 9

First Grade

"Bulldogs Blast out Bears"

Fired up Bulldog pacemen Wayne Holdsworth and Greg Trevena combined to rip through the North Sydney batting lineup and set up victory last weekend at the newly refurbished Bankstown Memorial Oval. Bankstown skipper Kevin Roberts won the toss and invited the visitors to bat on a lively pitch. The Bankstown Sports Club sponsored Bulldogs were given a magnificent start by veteran paceman Wayne Holdsworth who snared a wicket with his very first delivery then claimed another victim with the opening delivery of his second over. He broke the back of the Norths batting with yet another wicket in his third over and when Greg Trevena rammed home the advantage with two quick wickets Norths had crashed to 5-26. The Bears clawed their way back with some hard hitting and went to lunch with a much healthier total of 5-132. However Bankstown fought back strongly after the interval courtesy of Trevena and David Freedman and the Bears were bundled out for 182. Holdsworth finished with the well deserved figures of 4-62 from 14 overs whilst fellow destroyer Trevena snared 4-59 from his 14. David Freedman took 2-33 in his tidy spell. In reply Bankstown suffered a couple of setbacks with the dismissal of the in form Anthony Smith and an irritating groin injury to prolific rungetter Vaughan Williams. However Williams struggled on valiantly with a runner to compile a hard hitting 25 whilst the stylish Paul Maraziotis put together an elegant 33. Hard hitting allrounder Matt Betsey plundered 44 in quick time and with talented Kym Beazleigh not out 21 the Bulldogs finished the day in a very sound position with 5-164. When play resumed on Sunday Beazleigh pushed on to score a delightful 42 and ensure the 'Dogs captured first innings points. Allrounder Greg Trevena and Ken Hall then launched a savage onslaught with a whirlwind 120 run partnership in just 71 minutes. It was a record first grade partnership for the eighth wicket surpassing the previous record of 102 set by Scott Thompson and Terry Davies in the 1990-91 season against Uni of N.S.W. Trevena plundered four huge sixes in his quickfire 52 including a ferociously struck straight drive which smashed into the sightboard. Hall powered his way to 63 with two sixes and four boundaries and delighted the crowd with his audacious hooking. With two men posted on the fence behind square leg he responded to the challenge by going over the top, bisecting the gap or pulling the ball wide of them to the fence as he raced to 63. Kevin Roberts declared the innings closed at 8-327 and in reply Norths narrowly avoided outright defeat as they struggled to 8-169. Matt Betsey took the bowling honours for the 'Dogs with 3-21 in a lively spell but the highlight of the innings was that when Ken Hall bowled Hinchey "Emu" notched up his 700th wicket in first grade --- a remarkable achievement. The irrepressible legspinner finished with 2-27 and after a quarter of a century in the top grade still amazes everybody with his enthusiasm and determination. In his whole career he has only conceded an average of 1.5 runs per over which is true testimony to his accuracy and guile. On Saturday Bankstown will travel to Raby to take on the Campbelltown Ghosts in what should be a spirited clash.

Second Grade

A brilliant 74 from prolific rungetter Daniel Moy helped the seconds to a matchwinning total of 9-222 against North Sydney last Saturday. Despite the difficult conditions Moy was at his brilliant best in a defiant knock which held the Bulldog batting together. Even so Bankstown still looked like being rolled well short of 200 when the side slumped to 9-178 but some enterprising batting from pacemen Hilal Dannaoui and Clintin Price proved extremely valuable. The pair put on a quickfire unfinished partnership of 44 with Dannoui unconquered on 23 and Price not out 22. Dannaoui brought the crowd to its feet by dancing down the pitch and lifting the Bears paceman back over his head for a huge six whilst Price also threw the bat around with plenty of vigour. Fresh from his successful first grade debut before Christmas paceman Hilal Dannaoui continued to dominate ripping the heart out of the Norths batting with a devastating 5-40. He received good support from the probing Jason Deitz whose deceptive drifters enabled him to beat the bat repeatedly and capture 2-32. As a consequence the Bears were bundled out for a paltry 159 to give the Bulldogs another badly needed victory.

Third Grade

A magnificent 97 from powerful opener James Bourne paved the way for a decisive Bulldog victory over Norths last Saturday at Jensen Oval. Bourne was the mainstay of the Bankstown innings easily holding the Bears attack at bay despite the idyllic bowling conditions. Unfortunately he was totally oblivious to the fact he was so close to his century and was stumped trying to add quick runs for his team. His defiant innings enabled the locals to reach a healthy 7-254 with the help of a hard hitting 38 from Leo Taylor and a punishing 36 from the versatile Grant Roden. Skipper Geoff Spotswood was also in good touch with 27 whilst promising allrounder Michael Bright added a positive 29.Ironically Bourne's 97 equalled the total that Norths scored in their innings as they slumped to an ignominious defeat. Matt Smith broke the back of the Norths batting with three wickets whilst Troy Brown snared two and Geoff Spotswood cleaned up the tail with three wickets.

Fourth Grade

A stunning hat trick from Bankstown skipper David Drew was not enough for the Bulldogs to hold out North Sydney last Saturday. The Bears scored 279 with Drew capturing the bowling honours taking 4-40 with his slow mediums. Normally known for his wicketkeeping the versatile allrounder etched his name in the record books with his hat trick, shattering the stumps of his final victim to complete the unusual feat in a spectacular manner. Andrew Sidie bowled tidily to take 3-57 whilst Matt Doab gave good support with 2-29. The Bankstown batting was far less inspiring and the 'Dogs collapsed to be all out for 198.Darren Ettridge proved his allround worth to the side with an accomplished 49 whilst Cameron Cook held the Bears attack at bay with a stubborn 27 not out at the end. Peter Dugmore compiled a useful 27 whilst Matt Doab also showed some defiance but the rest of the batting was a disappointment.

Fifth Grade

Peter Moy's fifths tumbled to defeat against Norths scoring only 144 in reply to the Bears 188. Brett Sweetnam was the spearhead of the Bulldog attack capturing 4 -47 in a great spell. Promising paceman Jarrad Way provided good support with 1-8 whilst Michael Poulson conceded only 13 runs in his most accurate 10 over spell. The Bankstown batting was very disappointing with Scott Jamieson notching a hard fought 23 and Brent Mills a solid 21.

(Reproduced with the kind permission of Michael Stephenson.)