Cricket News

Thankfully, the good weather has continued and cricket fixtures have gone ahead unimpeded. On Saturday 5 November, all teams competed against St Aloysius’ College, with the exception of the 8C team who played Shore. The 8B are to be congratulated on registering their first win of the season, while the 2nd XI is in a dominant position going into day 2, thanks to several significant contributions from their lower order. Please read the match reports below for more information on how the games unfolded.

Neil Smallfield | Acting Cricket Co-ordinator

2nd XI

The 2nd XI turned up to No.1 Oval hoping to redeem themselves from a couple of disappointing performances in previous weeks. Winning the toss we confidently elected to bat and set a total on what looked like a good pitch. Yet the first hour did not go to plan. After 13 overs we found ourselves in trouble at 6-34 through a combination of some bad luck, good bowling and poor shot selection. What followed was an outstanding lower-order fight back that saw the team finish the day at 9-236, with J. Skuse (10Ar) scoring 45, T. Dawson (10Ta) 25, P. Thomson (9Sc) 49, A. Stone (10Ho) 51 not out and L. Demark (10Sc) 16 not out. We are now well-placed to defend our total and secure our first victory of the season.

Nigel Cowell | 2nd XI Coach

10A

The 10A arrived at the gorgeous TGS No.1 on a beautiful morning. The boys were keen to impress after a very close encounter with Barker the previous week. Skipper E. Fouracre (9WH) lost the toss and Trinity was put into the field. On what looked like a slow, consistent deck, also missing a few key bowlers due to injury and sickness, the boys knew it would be tricky going but they were determined to give it their best shot.

Unfortunately for Trinity, joy in the field came rarely, despite a hearty bowling performance in tough conditions. First to strike was N. Chun (9Ho), with a beautiful inswinging delivery targeting the front pad of the opposition, St Aloysius’ 1-51. To their credit, the remaining batsmen batted very well, being patient in defence and powerful in punishing our tiring bowlers. Trinity’s next wicket came to a leg-spinning ripper from H. Clegg (9Du), and a sharp reflex catch from Harry McLean (9Yo), the score now 2-279. St Aloysius’ then declared after a safe caught and bowled with the final score 3-304.

Trinity was left with an hour to bat in the afternoon. Enjoying the same favourable batting conditions, Trinity batted well and with positive intent to reach stumps 1-26. J. Prodigalidad (10Ar), the hero from the week before, was unlucky to be dismissed before the close of play. Trinity will be looking to enjoy some precious time in the middle of the No.1 Oval Freeway next week! The boys will need to apply themselves just as the St Aloysius’ batsmen did to capitalise and maximise their opportunity.

Jordan Gupta | 10A Coach

9A

The 9A struggled to recapture the success of last week on the first day of their match against St Aloysius’. There was much excitement heading into the match. Trinity was full of confidence after claiming their first-ever win the previous week. The boys knew that they had a good chance to earn their second win against a St Aloysius’ side who only narrowly beat them last season.

After losing the toss, Trinity was sent into bat. It was immediately evident that the pitch would not be easy to bat on. Opening batsmen, K. Huang (8Du) and S. Narayanan (8Hi) displayed focus and composure to endure the early overs and see off the opening bowlers. For the second consecutive match, these two laid a good platform that could be built upon by the middle order. However, unlike last week, a batting collapse squandered Trinity’s chances of posting a high total. Some resistance was provided by H. Turner (8Ta), who ran hard and sent the ball to the boundary multiple times. He ended with an important 25 runs. Although, with little support, it was not enough. Trinity was dismissed within two sessions for 89 runs.

Given the small total, Trinity would require early wickets in order to be a chance to win the match. Signs were promising early as opening bowlers, J. Tsang (8We) and A. Yee (8Ta), claimed one wicket each. Ashton’s wicket came with a stunning catch from L. Luzzani (8Ta). He flew through the air like he was Steve Smith playing against New Zealand in the 2016 ODI series. Had the match been filmed, it is possible that Lorenzo could have become a viral internet sensation too.

Momentum swung again, and Trinity failed to capitalise on this early momentum. The bowling dropped short, and intensity withered in the field. A 113-run partnership got St Aloysius’ over the line and has them placed well in their attempt to claim an outright win.

A highlight came from J. Henry (8Ta) who got the breakthrough and began to reel in the opposition’s scoring rate. He ended with figures of 2-13 off three overs. He was well accompanied by S. Narayanan (8Hi), who had 1-1 off three overs.

At the end of day 1, St Aloysius’ was 6-144 in response. Trinity should not become disheartened because there is still a job to be done come next Saturday. The boys should find optimism in knowing that they can play with a degree of freedom and that the return match next term will provide a chance to demonstrate a large degree of improvement. This is something that they should work towards in the coming months.

Thomas Thorpe | 9A Coach

8A

On a sunny morning with a slight breeze at Tunks Park, Trinity won the toss and elected to bowl. St Aloysius’ built an intimidating platform for their innings to be 2-102 after 16 overs. Nevertheless, St Aloysius’ didn’t have it all their own way with F. Byrne (8Mu) bowling well to finish with figures of 3-31 off 6 overs. T. Blackman (8Du) toiled hard with his leg spinners to finish with 1-36 off his six overs. St Aloysius’ eventually finished with 7-221 off their 32 overs.
Trinity started gingerly, losing a wicket in the 3rd over but A. Patel’s (8Ta) well-compiled innings of 36 runs and T. Blackman’s (8Du) innings of 86 runs gave Trinity some hope of achieving their 222-run target. T. Blackman’s (8Du) innings was a masterclass of patience. He played good balls with respect and hit bad balls to the boundary. His innings included 14 fours and two sixes. Unfortunately, the Trinity 8A team fell short of their target finishing with 5-169 off 32 overs.
This was a reasonable performance from the 8A, but the team will need to continue to work on their fielding.

Don Kesby | 8A Coach

8B

The 8B beat St Aloysius’ convincingly on the weekend, bowling them out for 24. A. Germanos (7La) had his best game of the season taking 3 wickets in seven balls! Our opening bat pair of A. Henderson (7Ho) and A. Fudeh (7Yo) were superb, playing smart and patient and getting the runs required without a loss of wicket. A great win by the boys!

Liam Fletcher | 8B Coach