Bankstown travelled to Kensington to take on UNSW at David Phillips South and after captain Daniel Solway lost the toss, the Bulldogs were sent into bat.
However, the Bulldogs stood up with the willow and were led by Solway, who showed why he is one of Sydney’s best opening batsmen with a majestic 113 runs – 40 runs of which were fence-rattling boundaries.
The Dogs’ Australian Indigenous player, Brendan Smith, partnered Solway and the pair put on a massive 108-run partnership to really get the Bulldogs barking.
Smith fell on a well-deserved 55 but they had provided a very solid base for the Bulldogs’ bowlers and fielders to defend. But Solway took the overall batting honours and his captain’s knock underpinned the team’s final score of 6 for 246 off their allotted 50 overs.
With ball in hand, the Dogs’ bowlers were earning wickets in sets, with Liam Marshall, Dayne Heward and Tyler Van Luin all taking two wickets apiece. Two Bees’ wickets fell at 35, then two more in the 70s – so 246 seemed a long way away.
Similarly, three wickets in the 150s saw the Dogs look like cruising home as UNSW were 8 for 156 and still needing 90 runs for victory. In what is normally reserved for movie endings, the Bees needed 4 runs off the last ball of the day – and got a six – stealing victory from the Dogs with 8/249.
Next Saturday the Bulldogs play local rivals Fairfield-Liverpool at Rosedale Oval starting at 10am.
Snatch match on day’s last ball
THE UNSW Bees stole victory from Bankstown on the last ball of the match in the Indigenous round of the Sydney Premier cricket competition.