Green Shield cricket 2021/22: Round one fixtures, results, top players
The apple clearly doesn’t fall far from the tree as Brett Lee’s son showed all the class of his father in an epic innings to see his side home in the Green Shield competition. Keep across all the round one action:
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Sharing the last name of one of Australia’s favourite former Test cricketers would bring a whole different level of pressure for any young cricketer.
But for Preston Lee, son of fast bowler Brett, pressure was no obstacle as he helped guide his Manly-Warringah team to an opening round win against his former Mosman club in the A.W Green Shield on Thursday.
The teenager arrived at the crease at 5/103, chasing a target of 139 with the best part of 30 overs to get there.
With time on his side Lee took his time to get his bearings, getting off the mark on the 30th delivery he faced but watched on as his fellow batters lost their wickets to the point the match hung in the balance, with four runs needed and three wickets in hand.
For the best part of three overs, Manly supporters held their breath as Mosman’s William Nutt celebrated the wicket of Sean Thompson before Mosman’s skipper Will Adlam bowled Nathan Pryke to really spice up the contest.
Now, with Lee still at the crease, Manly had three runs to get without losing a wicket.
After a couple of tense overs celebrations rung out across the ground when Manly’s Toby Laughton hit the winning runs.
Lee finished unbeaten on seven runs from 51 balls, a valuable contribution praised by coach David Gainsford.
“I mentioned at the end of the game how valuable that innings was in the whole scheme of things,” he said.
“The game was in the balance. We were going on all right but then we started to lost wickets and Lee just remained composed and determined to not get out.”
Gainsford said he was pleased for the team the tournament had got off to a winning start.
“I said to the boys at the end of it, it might have been an ugly win but sometimes they are the most satisfying.
For those wondering, the younger Lee is a technically sound batter and medium pace bowler.
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KONSTAS RUNS FOR TEENAGE SKIPPER
In last summer’s Green Shield campaign, opening batter Sam Konstas averaged a whopping 71.17 by scoring 427 runs across eight innings.
Returning to St George as captain for the 2021/22 edition, the teenager didn’t miss a beat by carrying his bat every step of the way when chasing down Hawkesbury’s total of 207 in the opening round of the AW Green Shield at Owen Earle Oval.
The 15-year-old skipper scored an unbeaten 141 runs (the highest score in the competition so far) off 149 balls in a knock which included four sixes and 13 fours.
St George coach Peter Jackson said it was an extremely mature innings by Konstas, who navigated some classy opening bowlers before getting on with the task at hand.
“He built the innings well and played some really nice shots through the off side and anything short he just capitalised on,” he said. “We all know he is such a talented cricketer.
“He wanted to see it through – it wasn’t like he wanted 70 or 80, his job wasn’t done until we reached 208.”
Konstas also contributed in the field with a bowling partnership with Edward Anderson which triggered a Hawkesbury collapse mid innings.
All rounder Anderson, typically a leg spinner but on this occasion bowled off spin, celebrated three wickets in seven deliveries with the Hawks going from 3/178 to 7/185, with a run out included.
Jackson said Anderson, aged 14, bowled consistently with good flight after being hit for two sixes earlier in the day.
St George will return to Hurstville Oval on Sunday to take on Sydney University, who lost to Penrith in their opening match.
PENRITH’S SPINNING SKIPPER’S MATCHWINNING SPELL
The boys from the west were under pressure deep in the opening round match against Sydney University, with The Students cruising at 1/92 as they chased down Penrith’s total of 177.
Penrith coach Shannon Finemore felt his team’s total was about 20 to 30 runs short at the innings break and knew a big performance in the field was required, yet University opening bat Lukas Boorer was threatening to spoil the party.
At the first drinks break the team spoke about building pressure and captain Ethan Haldane began bowling spin during the middle overs, his first spell in some time following a back injury.
With Haldane, a no. 3 batsman, failing at the crease in the first innings he more than made up for it with the ball with three wickets falling off four consecutive deliveries.
TheSydney University collapse from 1/92 to 6/101, including the prized wicket of Boorer (62 off 85 balls), ultimately led to the team being all out for 147 after 41.1 overs.
Finemore said Haldane’s spell helped swing momentum back to Penrith.
“He just drove it home from that point (as wickets began to fall) – a real captain’s effort in that sense.”
Penrith will take on the victorious UNSW on Sunday.
COUNTRY QUICK’S OPENING SPELL CLAIMS FOUR VICTIMS
For Narrabri quick Sid Harvey it was a six hour journey to Drummoyne Oval to take part in the 2021/22 Green Shield tournament for Sydney Cricket Club.
It took less than an hour to make his mark on the competition, with a stellar opening spell resulting in four Blacktown Mounties batters retreating to the sheds for not many runs.
The opening spell, which saw both opening bats bowled, had a major role in the match with Blacktown ultimately being all out for 106, a total Sydney chased down in 29 overs for a bonus point victory.
Sydney Cricket Club first grade coach Daniel Smith was pleased with what he saw from the young cricketer.
“He bowled extremely well. He swung the new ball and challenged the stumps and did extremely well to get a few early wickets. It is a shame he didn’t end up with five,” he said.
Smith said an opening win is critical in a short tournament and was pleased for the team.
Sydney will play Fairfield-Liverpool at Rosedale Oval on Sunday.
TEAM OF THE ROUND
1. Sam Konstas (St George) – 141* (149)
2. Sam Weir (Northern District) – 91 (118)
3. Sid Singh (Gordon) – 95* (123)
4. Jake Smith (Bankstown) – 98* (118)
5. Jordan Segal (Randwick-Petersham – 84 (64)
6. Kyle Wheeler (Hawkesbury) – 73 (61)
7. Daniel Louka – 5 catches and 25 runs
8. Ethan Haldane (Penrith) – 4/27
9. Evander Herbert (Sydney University) – 4/21
10. Sid Harvey (Sydney) – 4/20
11. Matthew Toohey (Gordon) – 5/19
AS IT HAPPENED
MANLY CELEBRATE ONE WICKET WIN OVER MOSMAN RIVALS
– 4.30pm
The Manly-Warringah Cricket Club is celebrating a victory of the narrowest of margins with a one wicket win against Mosman at Allan Border Oval.
The home side set a modest target of 139 after wickets tumbled with regularity across the innings. However, the same pattern continued with Manly at the crease.
Manly, with seven wickets down, reached 136 to be a mere four runs from the target with more than 10 overs to get there but the match was far from over.
For the best part of three overs, Manly supporters held their breath as Mosman’s William Nutt celebrated the wicket of Sean Thompson before skipper Will Adlam bowled Nathan Pryke.
The match hung in the balance for nine balls with Manly having a single wicket in hand and three runs to get, before Toby Laughton hit the winning runs.
SINGH NARROWLY MISSES CENTURY – 2.30pm update
Seven batters have raised the bat so far in the opening round of the A.W. Green Shield, with Gordon captain Sid Singh going agonisingly close to the tournament’s first century.
The talented batter finished his innings 95 not out after facing 123 balls against Campbelltown-Camden, with his knock only including two boundaries at Raby Oval.
At Coogee Oval it was a different story with Randwick-Petersham’s Jordan Segal blasting 84 runs off 64 balls, with 11 boundaries featured in his powerful knock.
Coach Sanjiv Dubey said Segal, playing in his last eligible Green Shield campaign, was a happy and expressive cricketer.
“He plays freely and just wanted to express himself and we don’t stop him. He hit sixes, he hit fours – he was a standout,” he said.
Other top scores so far in the AW Green Shield include Northern District’s Sam Weir (91), Jordan Netto (68) and Jack Slater (54), Hawkesbury’s Kyle Wheeler (73) and Tanay Tripathi (53), Parramatta’s Rajeev Navaratnam (65) and Gordon’s William Sutton (63).
FIRST HALF CENTURY TO JORDAN SEGAL – 12pm update
Gordon opening bat Will Sutton is looking comfortable at the crease at Raby Oval, closing in on one of the first half centuries of the 2021/22 A.W Green Shield at 45 runs off 90 balls.
Alongside first drop Sidhant Singh, Gordon is well-placed with 1/111 off 30 overs.
After a first over wicket, Randwick-Petersham has fought back into the contest against UNSW with Charlie Tink (37* off 81 balls) and Jordan Segal (60* off 44 balls) building a competitive total.
Manly-Warringah have enjoyed a constant flow of wickets against Mosman, having the hosts at 5/103 after 29 overs.
Blacktown Mounties are struggling against the Sydney Cricket Club, sitting at 7/73 after 31 overs. No. 3 batter Raakin Rahman is holding the innings together with an unbeaten 36 off 91 balls.
Bankstown’s Jake Smith also raised the bat after passing 50 runs against Eastern Suburbs.
WICKETS, WICKETS, WICKETS! – 11am update
Hungry quicks took charge of the opening hour of A.W. Green Shield action with three pace bowlers securing a wicket in the first over of play.
UNSW’s Will Walker bowled a Randwick-Petersham opening batter off the final delivery of his first over, while Sutherland’s Max Carr-Mccarron impressed with a double wicket maiden against UTS North Sydney.
Sydney Cricket Club’s Sid Harvey had an opening spell to remember with four Blacktown Mounties swiftly returning to the grandstand off his bowling.
Parramatta was the only team to not lose a wicket in the first hour of play with Rajeev Navaratnam (14*) and Abhinav Kamsali (16*) unbeaten after 15 overs.
ROUND ONE FIXTURES:
Campbelltown-Camden v Gordon at Raby Oval
Eastern Suburbs v Bankstown at Waverley Oval
Fairfield-Liverpool v Parramatta at Rosedale Oval
Hawkesbury v St George at Owen Earle Oval
Mosman v Manly-Warringah at Allan Border Oval
Northern District v Western Suburbs at Storey Park
Penrith v Sydney University at Bill Ball Oval
Randwick-Petersham v UNSW at Coogee Oval
Sutherland v UTS North Sydney at Glenn McGrath Oval
Sydney v Blacktown Mounties at Drummoyne Oval
*all matches begin at 10am
How golden Green Shield summer boosted BBL player’s career
Wicketkeeper-batsman Baxter Holt, 22, has enjoyed a collection of highlights in his short professional career; such as bombing former Test cricketer James Pattinson twice in an over during his NSW one-day debut, featuring in a Sheffield Shield final and taking a NSW record six catches on his first class debut.
However, in terms of pure cricketing joy it would be hard to go past the summer of 2015/16 when a 15-year-old Holt dominated the A.W. Green Shield for Northern District with the bat, accumulating 594 runs at an average of 198.
Speaking from the Sydney Thunder camp, the Carlingford product and The King’s School old boy recalled that summer to be a special time when “everything fell into place”, leading to him leaving the tournament with the belief he had what it took to be a professional cricketer.
“It was more the mental shift – after being successful that year I felt was good enough to be at that level,” he said.
Holt trained the house down in preparation for his third Green Shield campaign after missing out on selection for a national under-15 squad months earlier, leading to his mammoth runscoring efforts.
However, the Sydney Thunder and Cricket NSW-contracted player said the tournament gave him much more than a statistics boost.
“I think the greatest thing about cricket, at any level really, is the amount of people you meet,” he said. “All my best friends over the years, and now, have been through cricket.
“Green Shield gives you an opportunity to have fun, make those lifelong friendships and hopefully push your case for achieve something greater.
“My advice is to just enjoy it. It is a short and sharp tournament but it is an incredible tournament to look back on.
“You get life experiences out of tournaments like Green Shield – dealing with failure, dealing with success.
“For me looking back, I’ve realised how far I’ve come and how much I’ve grown since so it’s a nice stepping stone as a cricketer but also your life.”
The 2021/22 A.W Green Shield will begin on Thursday with NewsLocal to bring coverage of each day’s play.
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