From The Vault: 2019/20 - UTS North Sydney Bears tame the Fairfield Liverpool Lions
UTS North Sydney District Cricket Club | September 16, 2024
It was one of the games of the season and there was plenty of drama. Let’s wind back the clock and relive the UTS North Sydney Bears' final day taming of the Fairfield-Liverpool Lions under the haze of the infamous bushfires.
UTS North Sydney 325 (T Jagot 156, T Reynolds 41, O Knight 38) def Fairfield-Liverpool 285 (J Campbell 3/47, W Graham 2/55, M Alexander 2/65)
The UTS North Sydney First Grade boys showed amazing ticker completing a miraculous win as the elements conspired against them. The Bears were in a Lion’s den of pain as they entered the field for a 9am start with temperatures already nearing 30 degrees and a light smoke haze filling the lungs of every player.
The lads made a terrific start thanks to the ever-reliable James Campbell (3/47) grabbing a wicket in the third over to have Fairfield 1/5. Campbell has made a habit of taking a wicket in his first spell in most games this year and sits third in the bowling aggregate for NSW Premier Cricket at the half way point with 21 scalps.
(Above) Tom Jagot scored a brilliant century to set up a fantastic total.
The quicks toiled hard in short spells on a pitch that resembled the Hume Highway. Keeping the boundaries to a minimum, forcing the batsman to run twos and threes. This sapped energy from the batsmen and prolonged the chase for the opposition.
It took 25 overs and 76 runs for the next wicket to fall as the set batsman Matt Critchley tried to launch Robbie Aitken (1/31) over mid-on, but found the safe hands of Mac Jenkins instead. This brought former NSW 2nd XI batsman Luke Ohrynowsky to the crease as the Lions moved to 2/81. Ohrynowsky combined with his captain, and current NSW 2nd XI player, Param Uppal (59), to put on a further 52 runs before Olly Knight (1/28) claimed Uppal’s wicket with George Lavelle standing up to the stumps. It was a brilliant catch that required the quick hands that George is becoming renowned for in the Premier Cricket competition.
Fairfield put together another 50-run stand for the fourth wicket with Will Graham making the breakthrough thanks to another great catch by Lavelle diving forward and snaring the ball millimetres from the ground. It is a testament to the determination of the team that they remained chirpy and continued to chase balls, cutting off boundaries and charging in to prevent singles to support their bowlers in the midst of a heatwave.
(Above) Matt Alexander in action.
Play continued to 4/205 as the players took lunch at 2pm. A few overs after the lunch break, with Fairfield building on their total, play was interrupted for an air quality break. With the air quality deemed hazardous by the umpires, the players waited over three hours until 5:30pm for play to resume. Upon the resumption, Fairfield needed just 98 runs from a further 31 overs and where very keen to get back onto the ground as they knew they had the upper hand. However, the long break was more of a benefit to the tired Bears outfit and gave the boys an opportunity to recharge in the change rooms.
The Lions crept to within 80 runs of the Bears’ first innings score when Campbell took the key wicket of Ohrynowsky on 75, opening the door for an unlikely victory.
It turned out to be the catalyst for an amazing win as wickets fell regularly in the hot and smoky conditions. Current leading NSW Premier Cricket wicket taker, Matt Alexander (2/65), chimed in a few overs later to remove the fresh man and reduce Fairfield to 6/246, again caught by Lavelle. With the new ball looming and after a tidy first spell, Jack James (1/10) was thrown the ball for his second spell. James did not disappoint claiming the set left hander Atharva Patil thanks to a catch on the second grab by George Lavelle. Lavelle’s catch was his fifth of the innings and at 7/158 the odds were turning heavily in the Bears’ favour.
The introduction of the new ball allowed the Bears bowlers to rip through the Lions’ tail with wickets to Graham, Campbell and Alexander who finished the job in fading light. The ninth and final wickets were ones to savour as Lavelle ran back hurdling the helmet to take a fine diving catch, and he followed up with another five overs later to finish the match and complete seven catches for the game.
The seven-dismissal haul by Lavelle is the most by any NSW Premier Cricket keeper this season and only the tenth time (at the time of publishing) in First Grade history that the feat has been completed. George has also entered the record books for the number of dismissals by a North Sydney wicket keeper in an innings, equalling the record set by Nigel Taylor in the 1996-97 season. The 40-run win has elevated UTS North Sydney to second on the NSW Premier Cricket table heading into the break.
- David James
