When Sutherland chased down Sydney - Kingsgrove T20

Anthony Caruso | May 30, 2024

2HHH have been covering the Kingsgrove T20 Cup for 9 years, starting at Manly Oval when the Match Days were Triple Headers. That day saw Manly-Warringah, Sydney and North Sydney do battle. From that day on, it has been an amazing competition to cover, which has seen all sorts of matches and some of the best in NSW Cricket walk out to represent the clubs in the best Club T20 Competition in the World.

We have seen some truly incredible moments in the competitions as well. From Jay Lenton earning the Moniker of the Prince of Manly Manly to watching Brett Lee dismantle the Gordon Top Order at Chatwood Oval, even the heroics of Northern District scraping through this year in an intense Super Over against Western Suburbs. The fierce nature of the competition means that the players are better equipped when they take the step up into the Big Bash League, none-more-so than Grand Final Day, when it was held at the SCG. But one match stood out in terms of sheer star-power and excitement and it all took place at a typically picturesque day at Drummoyne Oval on 10 December 2018.

Sydney finished the regular season with 4 wins from their 4 matches and a Net Run Rate at 4.181, 4 times the next highest (being St George) in the Sydney Sixers Conference. On the other side, Sutherland scraped into the finals with a 3-1 record and a 0.3 Net Run Rate, getting in over Newcastle. This would count for nothing as Finals Cricket is a whole new ball game.

Setting up at Drummoyne Oval as the NSW PWC 1st Grade Competition match between Sydney and Gordon concluded with a thumping win to the Mighty Reds (and one A. Healy popping by to say hi), we set up at the old Grandstand under a beautiful summer sky. Our anticipation grew even further when we learned that both teams would be running their full lineouts up for this match. We knew that this was going to be an amazing line-up

Sydney Tigers

Dan Smith ©

Ryan Felsch

AJ Mosca

Steve Eskinazi

Zac Crawley

Beau McClintock (WK)

Ben Manenti

Nathan Sowter

Ryan Corns

Nic Bills

Ben Mitchell

Sutherland Sharks

Peter Saroukos

Jarryd Biviano (WK)

Steve Smith

Jamie Brown

Tom Doyle

Chris Williams

Ben Dwarshius ©

Dan Rixon

Dan Fallins

Jake Wilson

Tom Pinson

For Sydney, they were running the same line-up that had seen them destroy teams in the lead-up matches. For Sutherland, they would be without their young guns in Aidan Bariol and Austin Waugh, who were away on Australia Under 19’s Duties. But with so much International, National and Big Bash Experience on hand in this match-up, at a flat and Adelaide Oval-Like Pitch on a beautiful summer’s day, the stage was set for an incredible match-up. We knew it would be an amazing game but we had no idea what we were in for.

Dan Smith won the toss and elected to bat, opening with himself and Ryan Felsch while Jake Wilson took the new ball. Any thoughts that the pitch might be bat-friendly was confirmed as Smith blasted Wilson for 12 off the first over. The situation didn’t get much better as Sydney Sixers rising star Ben Dwarshuis came in for similar treatment. It wasn’t until the 3rd over when Sutherland finally got their breakthrough with an out-of-sorts Ryan Felsch trying to his out on Tom Doyle and only ended up holing out to Dan Fallins. 1/36 after 3.

Anthony Mosca was next in and he took an initial liking to the conditions. But then came 2 overs of madness. Tom Pinson, being hammered to all areas, had Dan Smith trapped in front for 38 off 21 before WA Import Steve Eskinazi was sensationally run out by Steve Smith for a Diamond Duck in the very next over, with Dan Fallins bowling superbly. 3/57 at the end of the Power Play.

But, from that moment on, the match then shifted in favour of Sydney, as English Import Zac Crawley took control of the match and, with support from AJ Mosca and Beau McClintok, proceeded to crash Sutherland to all areas en-route to a brilliant 100 off only 42 delivers, with 9 shots clearing the boundary. With Sydney finishing their 20 overs at 5/198, the pressure was well and truly on the Sutherland Batsman, especially given how true the pitch was playing.

Zak Crawley

Sutherland did manage to get off to a solid start, with Peter Saroukos and Jarryd Biviano putting on 50 for the first wicket and laying the platform for the run-chase. It took a brilliant piece of wicket keeping by Biviano off the spin bowling of Nathan Sowter to break the partnership, removing Biviano for 27 off 11. The change of pace immediately to spin paid off as the big-hitting Saroukos was then bowled by Ben Manenti for 29 off 16 soon after. But then Sutherland had their moment of madness as Jamie Brown was bowled by Manenti off the very next ball. 3/69. Two Overs later, it was Tom Doyle who fell victim to the off spinner, caught in the deep by Nic Bills for 4. 4/79 and the screws being turned by Sydney.

Through all of this, there was one consistent force keep the Sharks together and it was SPD Smith. The exiled Australian Captain showed pure class and control as the middle order re-established themselves in support of their talismanic batsman. But with the score at 142, it took a brilliant piece of fielding from Steve Eskinazi to dismiss Steve Smith for 61 off 33. As had been the case all day, wickets fell in pairs as Nic Bills snared Chris Williams for 21 off 25, well caught by Nathan Sowter. With 53 runs needed off 25 balls, Sutherland still had a lot of work to do to get over the line as Dan Rixon and Ben Dwarshuis came together.

From there, it was one-way traffic as the pair cleared the fence 5 times on their way to an amazing 4 wicket win with 2 balls in hand, with Dwarshuis ending 28* off 14 while Dan Rixon finished on 27* off just 13 deliveries, with the winning runs hit off Nic Bills, one of the better bowlers for Sydney on the day, while Ben Manenti walked away with 3/31 off his 4.

This wasn’t your regular T20 Match. There was a Test Match feel about it, as the match went through what amounted to a jousting match, as both Sydney and Sutherland thrust and counterthrust their way through 3 hours of pulsating cricket. It was a match worth of a Kingsgrove T20 Final. It would have been incredibly difficult to pick a man of the match, from Steve Smith’s 61 off 33 and Dan Fallins the only bowler to concede less than 6 runs an over to Zac Crawley’s century off the last ball of the innings or Ben Manenti taking 3 wickets. This was a clash of the titans and 2HHH was there to call every ball of it. There were times that you would have thought one team had the ascendency or were looking like not winning, only for the match to swing in the opposite direction.

This match showed the real strength of the Kingsgrove T20 Cup and why people should get right behind this competition.