Cricket Report
Saturday 1 March 2025
Cricket Wires
Brilliant catching from the BBQ boys out at The King’s School (King’s) saw another fantastic win for the Fifths, Neo Pressley, Will Penney and Austin Petty all taking screamers, with Neo also smashing five 6’s on his way to 43 no.
Another BLUE WASH for the U14 Teams, with all three winning well against Sydney Grammar School (Grammar).
Half-centuries to both openers in the 16As, with Hugo Lloyd (60) and Lachlan Boys (51*) setting a competitive total but not quite enough as they went down in a close one.
Was that Hugh Campbell or Sam Konstas ramping for fun multiple boundaries in the 15A’s win?
Further evidence that D-Ground should be changed to T-Ground with Toby Smith continuing his fine form on the ground, scoring 49, while Xavier Simmonds batted maturely for his 55 in setting up the 15A’s win.
Ollie Buckley, after a month off with a broken finger, took 4/16 in the 15As.
Allrounder Aidan Curtis took his maiden Second XI 5-wicket haul (5/16) as the Second XI kept their premiership hopes alive with a huge double bonus point win.
Exceptional fielding and tight bowling saw the 14As eventually cruise to victory after they enabled an Grammar collapse to lose 9/37 to win by 39 runs.
Ollie Lyle with a wicket in his first over and then 4 wickets in 4 balls in his last to finish with 5/16, a double hat trick! Then Ollie batted well at the end to partner Archer Lingard (40no) to a close last-minute, last-wicket victory!
Well bowled Cooper Inches (13Cs) who took 5/4 off three overs. His 18 deliveries included five wickets, one boundary and 12 dots to set up a huge victory for the 13Cs.
Spirit of Cricket awards go to the 13Cs, particularly Tom Beeforth, who took two great catches… for the opposition as a sub-fielder while helping out a short-staffed Grammar.
With another dominant victory for the 13Cs, the Grammar Coach commented on the great sportsmanship shown by our Shore boys.
Mr Brett Hunter
Head of Cricket
Second XI Match Report
Shore travelled to Rushcutters Bay on a mission; not only to secure victory against Sydney Grammar but also to claim crucial bonus points to keep their title hopes alive. Grammar won the toss and elected to bat first, but Shore struck immediately. On the very first ball of the innings, Julian Harrison forced a top edge, which was safely taken by Gus Manchee at mid-wicket. James Mathur continued his stellar form this season, delivering another excellent spell and picking up an early wicket with his pinpoint accuracy. The momentum remained with Shore as Henry Benecke and Aidan Kurtis formed a formidable bowling partnership. With Grammar struggling at 4/60, securing the all-important bonus points became increasingly difficult. However, Aidan stepped up with an outstanding display of bowling, claiming a crucial caught-and-bowled dismissal before ripping through the Grammar tail. His exceptional five-wicket haul ensured Grammar were bowled out for just 98 runs in 37 overs—a commanding bowling performance that set Shore up for success.
With a target of 99 and the goal of reaching it within 25 overs to secure the bonus points, Shore’s innings began with intent. Openers Monte Cairns and Josh Evans got off to a flying start, with Monte’s aggressive stroke play putting Grammar under immediate pressure. Despite losing a couple of wickets, Cooper Glanville and Gus Manchee steadied the innings with a composed and well-paced partnership. Coopers’s superb batting, featuring crucial boundaries, brought Shore closer to the target. Julian Harrison then joined him at the crease, providing valuable support. Fittingly, it was Julian who struck the winning boundary, sealing victory in the 21st over.
A dominant all-round performance ensured Shore not only claimed the win but also secured the vital bonus points, keeping their championship aspirations well and truly alive.
Player of the Match – Aidan Kurtis
Fifth XI BBQ Boys Winning Match Report
The Fifths recorded another win on the weekend. Winning the toss and electing to bowl, Shore got off to a good start with a wicket off the second ball of the game. Despite one of two expensive overs at the start of the game, the Shore boys stayed on top of the King’s batters, Will Penney (1/4), Sam Harris (3/1) and Bede Clout (2/0) bowled incredibly well to keep the run rate down and dismiss the opposition for just 79. The real story of the day was the catching. The Shore boys took three or four incredible catches that were only ever half-chances, with Neo Pressley and Will Penney both taking diving chances at mid-off and mid-on, respectively, and Austin Petty taking a great caught and bowled to a ball that was hit back at him with a lot of pace.
With the form the Fifth batting lineup is in, chasing down 79 wasn’t ever really going to be a problem. The King’s opening bowlers were quite fast and on the spot, but their fielding let them down. Bede was dropped in the first over and went on to make 19, while Sam Harris was dropped twice on his way to 23. Neo Pressley was the pick of the batters, finally showing the form in the game that he has been showing in the nets as he made 43*, including five 6s.
A dominant result in the end against the only team to have beaten the Fifths this year.
15A Match Report
The 15As bounced back with a huge win over Grammar. After winning yet another toss Shore elected to bat on a cloud-covered morning. Toby Smith, who is becoming increasingly known for dominating D ground, came agonisingly close to a half-century when he was caught on 49. Xavier Simmonds went one better with 55. Hugh Campbell delighted the crowd with two ramps that led to boundaries, and Max Cawood ran well between the wickets at the finish to help Shore put on a decent total of 166.
The 15As then applied maximum pressure in the field to get the win. Xavier Simmonds set the scene with a direct hit run-out to send one of the Grammar openers to the sheds in the third over. Oscar Buckley and Daniel Wyborn took two excellent catchers in the deep. The game was still evenly poised, however, until Ollie Buckley, returning after 4 weeks off with a broken finger, took four wickets for 16 runs. Grammar finished the day all out for 116.
13C Match Report
Shore batted first and set off again at a cracking pace, hitting 0-25 from the first three overs. Archie Smith was the pick of the batsmen today, reaching 45 before retiring, much to the relief of the opposition. He was more than ably supported by openers Gideon Waker (21 retired) and Tom Beeforth (16), while Josh Yates also chimed in with a quickfire 16 as well. At the end of their allotted 20 overs, Shore was 6 for 153, scoring at nearly 8 an over. Interestingly, Grammar needed two Shore fieldsman, due to lack of numbers; Tom Beeforth “guilty” of excellent catching, sending two Shore batsmen, a third of our total dismissed, back to the sheds.
This week, Shore was pinpoint accurate with its bowling; Cooper Inches was lethal in capturing 5/4 from his three overs, backed up by Beau Hockey, who snared 2/4. The fielding was mostly sharper as well and Shore restricted Grammar to 20, ending their innings in their 10th over.
Once again, it was an outstanding result from a dominant team, now four out of four with two more to play. What was most pleasing was the Grammar Coach’s words to our players after the match, praising the Shore team for their sportsmanship and positive encouragement for both our players and the opposition. The way victory is treated is just as important as how defeat is. They were, as always, wonderful representatives of their School.
14A Match Report
A tight affair at the highly-esteemed F Ground, with possibly the smallest boundary I’ve ever seen. A very even contest with both sides down to 9 batsmen from the get-go. Shore opened the batting, the openers seeing out the openers on a wildly unpredictable wicket. Rishab Reddy (38 from 76) lead the charge, and the rest of the team built the innings around him, with cameos from Andrew Bell (28 from 36) and Harry Koch (20* from 11) getting us to a frankly anaemic 141. A big second innings was needed, however at drinks, things were looking dire, with Grammar scoring 1/75 off of 16 overs. Some excellent bowling from our captain, Harry Klineberg (3/20 from 6) and Harry Koch (2/9 from 3.3), saw nine wickets fall for less than 40 runs in less than 10 overs. A resounding team effort with some exceptional fielding showing up. These boys may need to fund a new heart for Mr Dudley come the end of the season, given the stress they put him through week-in and week-out.
Results
| Team | Result | Scores |
|---|---|---|
| First XI | Loss | Grammar 8/132 (Matt Melville 3/17, Toby Robinson 2/21) defeated Shore 10/107 |
| Second XI | WIN | Shore 4/101 (Cooper Glanville 31*, Monte Cairns 26) defeated Grammar 10/98 (Aidan Kurtis 5/16, James Mathur 3/12) with 2 x bonus points |
| Third XI | Loss | Grammar 128 (Jeremy McKindley 4/28, Cameron Newton 3/2) defeated Shore 76 (Brian Thorpe 40) |
| Fourth XI | WIN | Shore – 9/124 defeated Grammar – 5/89 |
| Fifth XI | WIN | Shore 3/82 (Neo Pressley 43* inc. 5 x 6’s) defeated King’s 10/79 (Sam Harris 3/1, Bede Clout 2/0) |
| 16A | Loss | Shore: 4/163 (Hugo Lloyd 60, Lachlan Boys 51*) were defeated by Grammar 5/164 (Alistair Nieland 2/16 off 5) |
| 15A | WIN | Shore 4/166 (Toby Smith 49, Xavier Simmonds 55) defeated Grammar 10/116 (Ollie Buckley 4/16) |
| 15B | WIN | Shore 2/222 defeated Grammar 111 |
| 14A | WIN | Shore 8/141 (Rishab Reddy 38, Andrew Bell 28, Harry Koch 20*) def Grammar/112 all out (Harry Klineberg 3/20, Harry Koch 2/9) |
| 14B | WIN | Shore 1/84 (Jackson Harris 33no) defeated Grammar 9/83 (Liam Matthews 2/11). |
| 14C | WIN | Shore 7/101 (Archer Lingard 40*) defeated Grammar 7/97 (Ollie Lyle 5/16) |
| 13A | WIN | Shore – 10/160 (Jaiyan Dey: 19, Ed Holmes: 26, Ollie Keatinge: 40) defeated Grammar – 9/148 (Joe Reidy: 5/26). |
| 13B | WIN | Grammar Forfeit |
| 13C | IN | Shore 6-153 (Archie Smith 45 ret., Gideon Waker 21 ret.) defeated Grammar (Cooper Inches 5/4 off 3 overs, Beau Hockey 2/4 off 3 overs) |
| 13D | Winning Tie | Internal Game |
| 13E | Winning Tie | Internal Game |