UTS North Sydney Brewer Shield 2025-26 season wrap
UTS North Sydney District Cricket Club | April 01, 2026
The 2025/26 Brewer Shield season was a rollercoaster for the Bears, marked by both highs and lows. The girls grew through the season, taking on lots of learnings from the early rounds to accelerate into the end of the competition.
Opening the season on home turf with a strong win against Greater Hunter, set an early positive tone for the group. Chasing down the opposition’s score in just 15 overs was thanks to the well executed batting plan from Sharon Julien (77* off 47 balls) and Elspeth Herbert (41 off 38 balls). The momentum continued into Round 2 against Campbelltown Camden, with another excellent performance from the same opening batting pair, and a superb century for Sharon Julien (103 off 55 balls).
Facing Penrith in Round 3 slowed the momentum, with challenging conditions contributing to the first loss of the season. Narrow and frustrating losses followed, against Sydney University and Manly in the subsequent rounds. But the tide turned in another encounter with Greater Hunter Coast. In a tight finish, the Bears held their nerve to score the winning runs in the final over.
Round 8 delivered the most comprehensive win yet. With hard work in the field, the girls were able to restrict Northern Districts to just 50 runs, and chase down the target in 11 overs.
The final match before the Christmas break ended in an unfortunate loss by 20 runs to St-George Sutherland. Even so, the girls kept their spirits high and were ready to return stronger and more determined in the new year.
Starting 2026 off on a strong note, the Bears took on Blacktown and came out with a victory by 9 wickets. In Rounds 11 and 12, the team faced two tough losses against Sydney University and Bankstown, with weather and DLS playing a factor. However, players were still putting in stand out performances. In particular, Zahra Dhillon’s 4/15 against Sydney University was just a small sign of what was to come in the remainder of her season.
Against Parramatta, the Bears displayed a strong all-round team performance. Three girls contributed notably with the bat. Eki Sidhu laid a strong foundation opening with 42 runs, including 9 boundaries. Ameera Sodhi and Lana Sredojevic continued the momentum with 32 and 30 runs respectively. With the ball, Maddy Paynter stepped in to take 2 wickets in just two overs, and Zahra remained on a roll with 3/17.
In the final round, the Bears hard work paid off with a victory against the Southern Swans. Cassie Watson led with the bat, scoring a patient 33 runs. To finish off the season well, Zahra Dhillon produced another 4-fa, along with her cousin Ameera Sodhi who also took 4/20, including 4 maiden overs.
