Randwick Petersham Cricket Club —Best 1st Grade partnerships in its first 23 seasons to 2023-24
Randwick Petersham Cricket Club | May 23, 2024
Throughout the life of any club, its history will reveal that many of its greatest wins were the result of high-scoring batting partnerships. And while Randwick Petersham has been operating for only 23 seasons following a merger between Randwick and Petersham-Marrickville in 2001, the club has chalked up some impressive 1st Grade partnerships. Of its 10 record partnerships, nine resulted in wins while the other was in a drawn match. Here’s how the record partnerships played out.
1st Wicket 254 (also club record): Round 4, 2016-17 v Blacktown Mounties at Joe McAleer: WON 5-378 to 9-373 dec. Having sent Blacktown in to bat, the side was left to chase a huge 374 to win. The openers, Anthony Sams and Alex Kemp got away to a flyer with a score of 254 in 228 minutes for the 1st wicket before Sams was caught for 121 off 143 balls with 17 fours. Kemp was out with the total on 287 having made 122 off 197 balls with 16 fours and 4 sixes. It was the highest score run chase by the team to win in its 21 seasons. And achieved in just 71 overs.
2nd Wicket 293 (club and 1st Grade record for any wicket): Round 7, 2009 -10 v Gordon at Chatswood: WON 3-357 to 9-354 dec. Batting second, Eddie Otto and John McLoughlin came together with the score 1-9. When Otto was caught for 163 off 235 balls with 27 fours, the score was 2-302 made in 287 minutes. The partnership was worth 293. Only one more wicket was lost before the target was reached, leaving McLoughlin unconquered on 157* off 281 balls in 328 minutes with 20 fours and a six.
John McLoughlin
3rd Wicket 217: Round 1, 2016-17 v Fairfield-Liverpool at Coogee: WON 7-332cc to 323. Sent in to bat, Jake Scicluna joined Anthony Sams at 2-72. Over the following 107 minutes, the pair put on 217 to take the score to 3-289 before finishing at 7-332 off the allotted 50 overs. Sams scored 152 off 139 balls with 19 fours while Scicluna made 89 off 93 with 6 fours and 4 sixes. The Lions were all out 9 runs short off 49.4 overs with State bat, Ben Rohrer, making 205.
4th Wicket 197: Round 6, 2003-04 v UTS Balmain at Petersham: WON 6-259 to 258. It was the only 1st Grade match to be decided on day 2 after early morning rain. With 3 wickets down for 38, skipper Paul Toole and the dashing Joseph Hill put on 197 for the 4th wicket, with Toole out for 88 and Hill eventually falling for 126. The target was achieved off 73.4 overs two balls before stumps at 6.45pm in damp and gloomy conditions.
Paul Toole
5th Wicket 232: Round 12, 2010-11 v St George at Coogee: DRAWN 9-427 dec. to 9-397. Winning the toss and batting on a day with 40-degree heat, RPC was soon in trouble at 4-46. That brought Adam Semple and Adam Coyte together. Over the following 178 minutes, the pair put on 232 for the 5th wicket with Semple making 101 off 143 balls with 18 fours and a six. Coyte remained unconquered on a club record 223* off 262 balls with 28 fours and 3 sixes, when the innings was declared at 9-427. The match was drawn when Saints’ last pair held out for 31 minutes to finish with 9-397. A total of 824 runs off 197 overs were scored.
6th Wicket 235 (also club record): Round 14, 2011-12 v Campbeltown-Camden at Coogee: WON OUTRIGHT 6-392 dec. to 76 & 243: Batting first, RPC was a little shaky at 5-134 until John McLoughlin joined Adam Semple. In 196 minutes, the pair put on 235 with McLoughlin eventually out for 80 off 160 balls with 10 fours. At the declaration of 6-392, Semple remained 158* off 185 balls with 25 fours and 2 sixes. The previous 6th wicket record was 133. Campbelltown-Camden were bowled out in 18.5 overs for 76 with Jake Wilson claiming 7-44. The Ghosts made 243 in the second innings to lose outright by an innings and 73 runs.
7th Wicket 183 (also club record): Round 2, 2014-15 v Hawkesbury at Coogee: WON 7-335 to 252. The Hawks were looking good with RPC in trouble at 6-127 needing 126 to win. But the Sams brothers, Daniel batting 7 and Anthony 9, thrashed the attack putting on 183 in 142 minutes to take the match by 4 wickets. Daniel ended with 82 off 130 balls with 9 fours and a six. Anthony was much more aggressive remaining not out 105* off 113 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes when a halt was called at 7-335.
8th Wicket 191 (also club record): Round 6, 2015-16 v Fairfield-Liverpool at Rosedale: WON 348 to 152 and 4-89: 1st Grade debutant James Psarakis joined Soumil Chhibber with the score a struggling 7-144. The pair turned around the team’s fortunes with a partnership of 191 in 178 minutes with Psarakis narrowly missing a century when caught in the deep for 98 off 165 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes. Chhibber was caught 13 runs later for the same unlucky score of 98, made from 179 balls with 5 fours.
Anthony Sams
9th Wicket 102: Round 8, 2003-04 v Mosman at Rawson: WON 243 & 5-94 to 153. Nathan Rosser (61) and Rodney Stafford (58) came together with the score a perilous 8-132 on a wicket affected by rain the day before. In just 74 minutes, they smashed 102 runs before the side was all out for a competitive 243. English import Jon Lewis then produced a record bowling performance of 7-35 from 24 overs to seal a win by 90 runs.
10th Wicket 93: Qualifying Final, 2013-14 v Mosman at Coogee: WON 203 & 2-131 to 157: Sent in to bat, RPC was quickly in trouble at 5-6. A hard-fought fight-back however, saw the score edge past three figures. At 9-110, no. 8 in the batting, Jake Scicluna (then 35 off 96 balls), was joined by renowned “no 11 rabbit” Jake Wilson, who blocked 28 of the first 29 balls he received. The dire situation saw Scicluna take to the bowling with such urgency that he brought up a maiden 1st Grade century. He was caught 19 runs later for a classic 119 off 181 balls with 15 fours and a six. The pair had put on 93 for the last wicket–20 runs above the previous record set in 2008-09. Wilson remained undefeated on 7* after facing 43 balls in 76 minutes with one four.
