From the Vault - UTS North Sydney Bears outright against Sydney University in 2019
UTS North Sydney District Cricket Club | August 25, 2025
In this match report from the vault, we return to Round 4 in 2019/20 when the Bears First Grade side effected a rare outright win over Sydney University with a clinical performance - a match ranked #2 in our Games of the Season (after the PGs Preliminary Final already reported here).
UTS North Sydney 7/163 (dec) (R Aitken 44, B Bryant 35, O Knight 35*) and 2/148 (J Avendano 78*, B Bryant 44*) def Sydney University 111 (J Aitken 3/6, J Campbell 3/26) and 196 (M Alexander 4/49 R Aitken 2/36 W Graham 2/36, J Campbell 2/55)
Day 1
The UTS North Sydney Bears had a picnic under warm sunny skies at University Oval to eventually claim first innings points against a strong Sydney University line-up which had arrived buoyant after chasing down 462 last week.
In the absence of Justin Avendano with an injury picked up while scoring 78* for the Sixers Academy during the week, skipper Tom Jagot lost the toss, and was asked to field. The Bears bowlers enjoyed the gusty conditions on a pitch that was offering plenty of sideways movement. James Campbell and Will Graham kept it tight with the Students’ first run coming in the fourth over and after several lbw appeals were turned down. Campbell made the initial breakthrough in the ninth over with a great diving catch to keeper George Lavelle. Graham backed his partner up a few overs later, splattering the stumps of the number three and it was 2/14 in the twelfth over.
Olly Knight was introduced into the attack in the 15th over and had immediate success, removing the in-form Hayden Kerr plumb lbw for four. With Matt Alexander (1/27) bowling from the other end, Campbell returned for his second spell taking two more wickets (including uprooting the middle stump of dogged opener Rory McElduff - pictured, who top-scored with 33) to finish with 3/26 and the students wobbling at 6/73. A thirty-run partnership developed between Liam Robertson and Dugald Holloway before Robbie (1/9) and James Aitken cleaned up the tail. It was James’s 250th First Grade game for the Bears and he celebrated in style taking 3/6 from 6.3 overs. Sydney University all out 111 in the 51st over.
James and Robbie Aitken mark James’s 250th First Grade appearance
UTS North Sydney had to negotiate a tricky period before tea and lost Jack James and Tom Jagot to be 2/26 at the break. Last week’s centurion, Ben Bryant, made a valuable 35, steering the Bears to 3/54 before being caught by the keeper. Robbie Aitken played aggressively for his 44, hitting a boundary to go to 21 and in doing so became just the third player in Sydney First Grade history to both take 500 wickets and score 11,000 runs, a remarkable achievement marked with cheers from his team-mates and the UTS North Sydney supporters.
Knight played as he always does, hitting 35 off 19 balls with three sixes and three fours. The Bears passed the Students’ total when five down to gain the first innings points, and with the fall of the seventh wicket, at 163, Jagot made a sporting declaration hoping for a breakthrough before the close of play. Three overs were bowled at the Uni openers who will resume next week 0/6 with the Bears knowing that a repeat of this week’s performance could bring them their second outright victory of the season.
UTS North Sydney gained maximum points in a clinical display against Sydney University on their opponents’ home ground.
Day 2
After the Students started the day at no wicket for 6, opening bowlers Will Graham (2/36) and James Campbell (2/55) wasted no time ripping through Sydney University’s top order taking the first four wickets between them to have the Students 4/37 after 14 overs. The first two were caught by young keeper George Lavelle, followed by an LBW, and then an absolute screamer taken at mid on by Matt Alexander who leapt off the ground and plucked the ball out of the air with his left hand before it had an opportunity to go to the boundary. Lavelle then grabbed his third caught behind of the day off Alexander to have Uni 5/67. An 80 run partnership developed between Ben Trevor-Jones and Tim Cummins before Trevor-Jones skied the ball off Alexander well over mid wicket and was brilliantly caught by Jack James, chasing after the ball and taking it with a full length dive. With the tail exposed, Alexander struck again claiming his 3rd wicket of the day to have the Students 7/162 and a lead of 110. Cummins went past 50 but soon ran out of partners as Robbie Aitken (2/41) and Alexander (4/49) finished off the lower order with Lavelle affecting a sharp stumping and achieving four dismissals for the day.
The Bears were set 145 runs from a minimum 45 overs to secure their second outright victory of the season. Campbell was promoted to open and lasted two balls and James looked good before copping a good ball from Charlie Cassell. However, Ben Bryant (44*) was determined to see the chase through slowly chipping away at the total, with partner Justin Avendano. Avendano finished unbeaten on 78 with 10 fours and 2 straight sixes, the second 6 to win the game, and the pair put on 131 runs.
The win elevated the Bears to 3rd on the NSW Premier Cricket table and as a side note it had been six seasons since Sydney University has been outrighted and ten years since North Sydney had achieved one outright let alone two in a season (after inflicting the same on Hawkesbury in Round 2).
The boys were joined in the change rooms by a jubilant fifth grade team to sing the team song with gusto after fifth grade had used 77 overs to successfully chase 203 for victory at St Paul Oval.
David James
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