AW Green Shield: Round seven wrap from NSW’s premier U16 cricket tournament

Wild weather led to a finals frenzy shootout in the last round of the U16s Green Shield, with the top-eight teams only confirmed after a thrilling final over. Wrap, ladder, photo gallery.

Jason Hosken

@HoskenJason

3 min read

January 16, 2025 - 10:32PM

News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom

After the rain cleared, St George needed to defeat Penrith to book a place in the Green Shield finals and this run out of Frederick Bell was well received. Picture: Sean Teuma.

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Sydney’s wild weather played havoc as sides jostled for spots in the race to make the top-eight ahead of Sunday’s U16s Green Shield finals.

Six of the 10 games were abandoned in the final round, but when play eventually got underway at four venues on late Thursday afternoon, the stakes were high.

See how the action played out and who made the quarter-finals cut.

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TOP SIX SAFE

Of the top-six sides heading into the final round, Sydney University were the only side to get on the park.

Another fine all-round performance from skipper Arnav Yadav (3/10, 47*) saw them account for Sutherland by eight-wickets, cruising to victory in contest reduced to 18 overs per side.

Northern District maintained their unbeaten record and finished the preliminary rounds as minor premiers after their clash with Mosman was abandoned without play.

In the final wash-up, Sydney Uni, UNSW and Parramatta all maintained their spots behind NDs in the top four. Wests slipped down a spot to sixth, while in a hectic afternoon the Whales dropped to eighth after looking odds on at one point to miss the finals altogether.

Arnav Yadav has been in a rich vein of form over the closing rounds. Picture: Sydney University Cricket Club

SIMPLE EQUATION

In theory, the equation for St George and Gordon was simple. Find a way onto the park and pocket another win.

Sitting in ninth spot and in the pavilion for much of the day at Harold Fraser Reserve, Saints could easily have dropped their collective heads and moved on.

But when Penrith eventually faced the first ball of a 23-over shootout, the fireworks began.

Penrith’s Ryan Burfitt survives a run out attempt from Amav Kandari. Picture: Sean Teuma

Playing for pride, the Panthers applied the blowtorch with openers Jacob Thompson (29 off 45) and Riley Killeen (38 off 28) racing to 59 in nine overs.

Ronan O’Neill (2/22) made the initial breakthrough in an over that flipped the script with three wickets. But Ryan Burfitt returned serve, striking 39 not out from 40 balls as the visitors reached a competitive 6/129.

If Saints’ finals hopes looked cooked with the rain tumbling down in the morning, then at 3/21 in reply, they’d practically gone up in smoke.

What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. Having failed to reach 30 in his previous five Green Shield starts, Rishab Shah went from zero to hero in the space of 51 deliveries.

In a punishing knock, Shah cracked five sixes to finish unbeaten on 84 as Saints rocketed past the target and into the finals inside 18 overs.

Jacob Thompson got Penrith away to a brisk start. Picture: Sean Teuma

Gordon found the going much easier against Blacktown. In a 15-over per side slogfest, Aarav Ahluwalia plundered an unbeaten 50 off 40 in the Stags’ 37-run victory.

With the victory, Gordon jumped from 10th to 5th in the blink of an eye.

BITTER PILL

For all the finals permutations and what-ifs leading into the last round, you wouldn’t wish an exit like Randwick Petersham suffered upon any side.

Looking comfortable in seventh spot with fours wins from six starts, Randy Petes looked finals specials when they arrived at Coogee to tackle a struggling Hawkesbury.

When play eventually got underway after almost six hours, the home side were bowled out for 94 in a 16 overs per side match.

With four overs remaining in reply and at 4/63, the Hawks were bereft of momentum and still an unlikely 32 shy of victory.

What followed next with be remembered by Sameer Kukade and his Hawkesbury teammates for years. After taking the new ball and finishing with 3/19, he then delivered when it mattered most. After scoring two from the opening delivery of the 14th over, he then crunched the next two balls over the boundary.

After a strong campaign, Randwick Petersham crashed out of the finals race. Picture: Sean Teuma

Kukade was out next ball for 38, but the damage had been done and Hawkesbury went on to win with four balls to spare.

With the loss, Randwick Petersham slipped to 10th. In a sign of how close the competition is, with a victory they would have climbed to fourth spot.

In more heartache, the rain didn’t do Sydney any favours at Drummoyne. Entering the final round in eighth, they shared the points with Manly only to be bumped out following wins to Saints and Gordon.