AW Green Shield: Quarter finals wrap from NSW’s premier U16 cricket tournament

The race towards the U16s Green Shield title intensified with dramatic scenes at all four venues on Sunday. From last ball thrillers to a hat-trick and a blazing ton – quarter finals wrap.

Parramatta’s Arhan Shah proved clutch during the final over against Gordon at Merrylands. Picture: Julian Andrews

Following the joy and heartache of a hectic closing round, the top eight sides continued the race towards the U16s Green Shield title on Sunday.

Minor premiers Northern District hosted the fast finishing Mosman at Mark Taylor Oval, while further south, Sydney University were at home to St George.

Competition surprise packets UNSW took on Wests at David Phillips, while out west, last season’s grand finalists Parramatta met Gordon at Merrylands.

Here’s how the action unfolded ahead of Thursday’s semi finals.

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CLUTCH KINGS

Parramatta enhanced their status as the clutch kings of the Green Shield after holding off an epic Gordon comeback with a nailbiting two-run victory.

Chasing 196 for victory, Sam Dillon (57* off 66) and Samuel Davis (47 off 67) rescued the Stags from a seemingly hopeless 6/91. Combining with a stand of 57, the pair opened the door to a miracle but as the pressure intensified the chase stalled in the closing three overs.

Following a couple of late wickets, Dillon and No.11 Archie Hetherington needed six from the final over but were held to three by paceman Arhan Shah.

Off-spinner Leon Cooray stood tall for Parra during a tense finish. Picture: Julian Andrews

“We got out of jail to be honest,” said relieved Parramatta co-coach Luke Dempsey, who was forced to fly solo amid a rollercoaster of emotions.

“There were some big moments towards the end, and we were fortunate to win them when it mattered. Off-spinner Leon Cooray (1/34) bowled the second last over and picked up a crucial wicket before Arhan held his nerve to secure the win.

“It was very stressful. We’ve now had three games go down to the last ball. Our other coach, Nick Bertus, was playing first grade and got lucky because he didn’t have to sit through it.”

On a tricky wicket, the home side won the toss and quickly slumped to 4-47 before Charlie Akle chose the perfect moment to deliver his best return of the season. With 60 from 76 deliveries, the wicketkeeper chipped away in several crucial partnerships alongside Evan David (26 off 45) and hard hitting 13-year-old Reyansh Sharma (26 off 40).

“We won the toss, and looking back we probably wouldn’t have batted given the amount of movement in the wicket,” said Dempsey.

“Charlie played in last year’s team but he didn’t really get many opportunities. So it was good to see him step up when we were under the pump – he did really well.”

Archie Hetherington took a hat-trick for Gordon. Photo by Warren Gannon Photography.

With the ball, David backed up his timely knock with a superb spell of fast bowling. In eight overs, the quick decimated Gordon’s middle order with 3/29.

As for hard luck stories, Hetherington takes the cake. While unable to get his side across the line with the bat, the tall paceman still made it a day to remember.

Bowling the last over off the Parra innings, he finished in style, landing a hat-trick with the final three balls.

UNI SINK SPIRITED SAINTS

Sydney University have brushed aside a horror start and a nervous finish to book a home semi final after they eliminated a gutsy St George.

Saints paceman Oska Astuy (4/34) had the ball on a string in the early exchanges as the home side crashed to 3/11. After a wayward first delivery, the right-armer then nicked-off the dangerous Archie O’Hara and Arnav Yadav in his first over, leaving Xavier Quoyle to pick up the pieces with a crucial knock.

Scoring 62 off 95, Quoyle and Nicholli Thompson (47* off 64) guided Uni to a respectable 188.

St George paceman Oska Astuy was unplayable in the early overs. Picture: Sean Teuma

In reply, any chance of a Saints upset looked to have evaporated when round seven hero Rishab Shah and keeper Arnav Kandari both departed in quick succession to make it 5/39.

Replicating Uni’s recovery with the bat, Thomas Wells (48 off 49) reached his best score of the campaign before departing at 8/117. In a fine captain’s performance, after taking 2/23 with his leg-spin, Ronan O’Neill struck 31 at No.10 before he was the final wicket to fall on 163.

Still smarting from a third ball duck, Yadav returned serve with his leggies. Finishing with 4/34, the Uni skipper bowled with discipline and removed four of the top six.

BLAZING BARTLETT

A ruthless Lachlan Bartlett turned on the fireworks for Northern District at a wet Waitara, hammering a hapless Mosman attack to finish with a match-winning century.

With the start of play delayed by four hours due to a damp square, Bartlett had plenty of time to prepare for the 24-over-per-side shootout, which his side would eventually win by 19 runs.

Watching on as opening partner Zachary Haddin departed in the first over, the right-hander immediately went into overdrive – dominating a second-wicket stand of 102 before Joshua McDowell was bowled for 25 in the 18th over.

After reaching his fourth fifty of the tournament, Bartlett (108 off 83) kicked on to bring up his ton from 78 balls in a knock that featured 11 fours and two sixes.

In all, ND’s raced to a commanding total of 3/184, with Rubeindranath Gobinath (22* off six) closing out the innings in style when he smashed 20 runs from the first four balls of the last over.

Mosman responded with a courageous 7/165, but their chase lost momentum when captain Noah Quayle departed after a dashing 49 from 29.

Lachlan Bartlett backed up his century with 1/24. Picture: John Appleyard

FINALS UPSET

In the only match where the lower ranked side advanced to Thursday’s semi finals, Wests proved far too strong for UNSW at David Phillips.

While a seven-wicket loss is a tough way for the third placed Bees to bow out, they can be well pleased with their campaign. With just two losses from seven starts, they unearthed a wealth of talent and entertained with every outing.

In a quirky parallel, both sides were missing key players to the Northern Territory side competing at the U17s Nationals in Launceston. Neel Patel, the competition’s leading run scorer, was a big out for UNSW, while Wests had to make do without inspirational captain Rehaan Shyamsundar.

Opener Baldip Singh top scored for Wests with an impressive 78. Picture: Sean Teuma

Blessed with quality spin options, Wests covered the loss of Shyamsundar to knock over UNSW for 172. Acting captain Martis Johri broke the back of the innings with 5/28 from 10 overs and was well supported by left-arm ACT recruit Joseph Mendis (3/28).

In an innings littered with starts, Samuel Haynes top scored with 48 off 67 and was one of five of the top six to reach double figures.

With runs on the board in a final the Bees weren't without a chance. but their hopes quickly faded as Baldip Singh (78 off 93) and Jack Jobson (52* off 93) put on a second-wicket stand of 103 before Rajveer Masrani (19* off 21) hit the winning run in the 40th over.

SEMI FINALS: THURSDAY, JANUARY 23

Northern District (1) v Western Suburbs (6) at Mark Taylor Oval

Sydney University (2) v Parramatta (4) at University Oval No.1