Five things we learned from Round 3 - NSW Premier Cricket 2023-24
Jordan Gauci is a throwback
When the 50-over format was first devised, back in the late 1970s, the role of the opening batsman was very different from the one that has evolved today. Today, the job of the opener is to take advantage of the hard ball and fielding restrictions by smashing the ball all over the place and getting the innings off to a rapid start. Initially, though, the idea was that an opener should play steadily, not doing anything too dramatic but ensuring that his side had wickets in hand for an assault on the bowling late in the day. Against Blacktown on Saturday, Sydney University’s Jordan Gauci produced a classic of that genre. Although he was always positive, he didn’t reach twenty until the 16th over of the innings, and he was happy to play a supporting role to Ryan McElduff for much of their partnership of 111. But then, at the end of the innings, he cashed in so effectively that, with Oli Zannino, he took 90 runs from the last nine overs. Gauci was strongest off his pads and on the back foot through the off side, he ran hard throughout and reached his hundred by pulling Jeremy Nunan brutally for four. He was still there at the end, unbeaten on 139 from 137 balls, and proving that sometimes the old fashioned methods still work.
