Farewell to our General Manager

Dear SUCC Community,

It is with sadness that I advise that our General Manager, Dale Bryant, has decided to move on from SUCC after 5 seasons in the role.

Dale joined the Club in 2014. His passion for both cricket and the role was obvious during his interview when he flew down from North Queensland to spend the afternoon watching the SUCC 1st Grade team crumbling to be all out for 37 runs in the 1st Innings of the 2013-14 GF (which Uni went on to win in a thriller). Somewhere overlooking that spectacle at Hurstville Oval, an interview took place with Matt Phelps, James Rodgers and Rob Smithies.

Dale went about servicing the Cricket Club with both professionalism and dedication over the ensuing five seasons.

During his tenure, the Club has seen considerable success both on- and off-the-field.

On-field, the Club has won a Club Championship (2018-19) and seven premierships across the grades (all but 5th Grade). Off-field, he has overseen the development of the Club’s strategic plan; attracted new sponsors including current major sponsor, FDC Construction; guided improvements to the club’s event calendar including the Golf Day which saw numbers triple; ensured efficiencies in operating match days; placed a strong focus on the AW Green Shield (U16) program; created improvements to the club’s website; supported the transition to a new coaching structure; recruited talented people to the Club’s admin office and set about helping them achieve success; built strong working relationships with other Clubs, NSW Premier Cricket and Cricket NSW; and overseen a complex period for ground access with the loss of No. 2 Oval and diminished access to St Paul’s during construction work.

Dale leaves us to take a well-suited position of Senior Match Operations Officer with Cricket NSW, a role matched perfectly to his skills and passion. His final day with the Club will be the 14th August.

Please join me in thanking Dale for his service over the last 5 seasons and wishing him all the best for the future.

Naturally Dale’s departure leaves a big hole, and we are now actively recruiting for Dale’s replacement.  Please be sure to pass on the below details to anyone you think would be a great fit to drive the club forward. For further information on the role or to submit your application, please visit https://bit.ly/2Za14oo.

Sincerely,

Adam Theobald

SUCC Club Chairman

The Great Cricket Debate: Ashes Edition

The Cricket World Cup has now come to its end, and with England claiming the title at home in an exciting final, our attention turns to the Ashes starting in 18 days time. Will England ride the wave of success in to the Ashes series, or will it take its eye off the prize and allow the Aussies to exact some revenge?

With that in mind, we are excited to invite you to THE GREAT CRICKET DEBATE: ASHES EDITION to be held on Friday 2nd August at The Toxteth Hotel from 5.30pm.

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Join us as debating (and cricketing) aficionados, Ed Cowan, Andrew Jones, Harry Conway and Max Bonnell clash in an entertaining battle of the minds as we prepare for the start of Day 2 of the 1st Ashes Test at Edgbaston.

Ed Cowan:
Baggy Green #427

Andrew Jones:
Former CNSW CEO

Harry Conway:
NSW Quick

Max Bonnell:
Former SUCC Chair

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Tickets start from $80 and include:

• 3-hr premium canape, beer & wine package

• An entertaining head-to-head debate battle with an Ashes theme

• An Ashes discussion panel

• Day 2 action of the Edgbaston Ashes Test on the screens

Get a group of your cricket-loving friends together and grab your tickets now. Hurry as there is strictly only 100 tickets available to this iconic event. You do not want to miss this Ashes action.

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2019-20 Green Shield Squad Announced

It is with pleasure that we announce the Sydney University Cricket Club A.W. Green Shield squad for 2019-20:

• Luke Boyes

• Kyal Cruickshank

• Ashwin Dixit

• Hirav Gandhi

• Raphael Giles

• Owen Hartcliff

• Luke Johns

• Avikshit Lath

• Curtis Mackinnon

• Gurkeerat Mann

• Darcy Manners

• Lachlan Reid

• Aryan Rodrigues

• Kartik Sharma

• Willoughby Watson

The squad will continue under the guidance of Ryan Danne and Henry Clark over the next few months as they prepare for the A.W. Green Shield competition to commence in mid-December.

We thank all of the young players who trialed for the squad this season. There was a lot of talented players and it was a very difficult process for the selectors to finalise a squad of 15.

SUCC in History: Major John Armstrong

MAJOR JOHN NICHOLAS FRASER ARMSTRONG (SUCC 1902-04)

Killed in France 5 July 1916

Major Armstrong of the Royal Engineers  was supervising the draining of a trench on the morning of Wednesday  5 July 1916. The weather, which had been fine, closed in on 4 July and the trenches filled easily. Amidst the noise and chaos of battle, Armstrong  was hit by a shell. He died later that day and was buried in the Fricourt British Cemetery.

This was the fifth day of the relentless Battle of the Somme which eventually lasted for 141 days and which resulted in  over one million casualties. This joint attack by the British and French forces on German positions at Picardy, astride the Somme River, had a net gain of six miles of ground.

Armstrong was born in 1878  in England into a well-connected family. His father was a law graduate of Oriel College Oxford. His maternal great grandmother was Mary Reibey (1777-1855), transported to NSW as a convict but who became a successful business woman and property owner and whose image is now on our $20 notes.  John Armstrong was educated at Sydney Church of England Grammar School (‘Shore’) after his family returned to Australia. Incidentally, ‘Wisden Cricketers’ Almanac’ makes a rare mistake when it gives his school as ‘Sydney Grammar’. At Shore, he was a successful and talented sportsman, winning ‘Blues’ for Rowing (bow seat in the 1st crew), Rugby Football (a powerful scrummager and light-footed  lineout jumper) and Cricket (opening bowler, leading wicket taker, who also batted at number 3).

Leaving Shore in June 1897 with a swag of sporting prizes, he enrolled in Arts at Sydney University but discontinued after First Year 1898.

Returning in 1901, this time he enrolled in the Faculty of Engineering,  sitting and passing a demanding series of first year exams in Chemistry, Physics, Maths, Geometry, Geography and Design and Drawing. He seemed to have found his feet and resumed his sporting career with relish. He rowed in the Sydney University Eight which had an emphatic win over Melbourne and Adelaide on the Parramatta River in 1903 and opened the bowling for the University 1st XI when the Club was readmitted to the 1st Grade Competition in 1902, having been restricted to the 2nd Grade Competition for four seasons.

Graduating with a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining and Metallurgy)in 1904, Armstrong made his way to South Africa where he was Manager of one of the De Beer’s mines in the Kimberley.

When war was declared, Armstrong was already 36 years old but the patriotic call  was insistent and he enlisted in England and was immediately appointed to the rank of Captain on 23 October 1914. He had some military experience, having served in a volunteer force, the Irish Rifles, in Sydney while he was an undergraduate, rising to the rank of Captain. During 1915, Armstrong  raised and trained a new company, the 128th Field Company of the Royal Engineers and was sent to France where he was plunged into active service from August 1915.

Amidst the slaughter on the Somme and the thousands of deaths, there was no formal obituary for John Armstrong.

He had written a short account of his time in France which was published in Shore’s magazine, ‘The Torchbearer’ in April 1916 and his former schoolmates were advised of his death in the next edition of the magazine. His name is listed on the school’s substantial Roll of Honour and on that of the University of Sydney. He has a marked grave at Fricourt.

But, John Nicholas Fraser Armstrong has been all but forgotten by the Club which he once proudly represented.

When you next take out a $20 note from your wallet, pause for a moment on Mary Reibey’s image, and today, remember her great grandson, killed in France 103 years ago.

James Rodgers

Calling all coaches... SUCC Coaching Roles 2019-20

Never fully satisfied with success, even following a season such as our amazing 2018-19 one, our performance department have been busy fine tuning our coaching structure to ensure we continue to improve for the 2019-20 Premier Cricket season ahead.

With that in mind, SUCC are currently seeking to fill key coaching roles for the 2019-20 season.

The Club is looking for suitably experienced and qualified coaches to fulfill a 1st Grade Coach and/or a Club Coach role for the upcoming season. The role or roles will support the existing Director of Cricket to create an environment for SUCC players and teams to achieve greater success in 2019-20.

Check out the roles in the links below.

Please submit an appropriate cover letter and resume to info@sydneyuniversitycricket.com.au by Friday 19th July 2019.

Notice of Annual General Meeting 2019

Dear SUCC Members and Supporters,

We hereby provide notice that the Annual General Meeting of Sydney University Cricket Club is to be held on Wednesday 24 July 2019 at The Toxteth Hotel, Glebe Point Road, Glebe from 6.30pm.

This year's AGM will undoubtedly be the most important one in recent memory with a number of significant items to be discussed. We emplore anyone who feels passionate about the future of SUCC to attend.

The agenda for the meeting will be:

1. Chairman's Address

2. Annual Report and Financial Statements

3. Election of Office Bearers

4. Incorporation Update:

   • SUSF Incorporation

   • Importance of SUCC Incorporation

5. Infrastructure Needs & Funding

6. Vice-President Appointments

7. General Business

The Club will be providing libations throughout the evening to ensure we are all well hydrated during such an important meeting.

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Also, please join us for our first major event of the 2019-20 season at…

A. W. Green Shield Train-on Squad 2019-20

Despite the inclement weather, a strong turnout of 54 talented U16 players arrived for the 2019-20 A.W. Green Shield trials at Sydney Uni on Sunday.

The squad to continue on for the final trials to be held Sunday 23rd and 30th June is:

1. Luke Boyes

2. Jed Collins

3. Benjamin Crawford

4. Luca Croft

5. Kyal Cruickshank

6. Malay Doshi

7. Ashwin Dixit

8. Ben Elliot

9. HIrav Gandhi

10. Raphael Giles

11. Owen Hartcliff

12. Luke Johns

13. Karthik Anand Kumar

14. Jamie Larsen

15. Avikshit Lath

16. Olly Latter

17. Henry Lester

18. Curtis MacKinnon

19. Gurkeerat Mann

20. Darcy Manners

21. Denzel O’Brian

22. Liam Penwill

23. Gabriel Quoyle

24. Lachlan Rainger

25. Lachlan Reid

26. Aryan Rodrigues

27. Kobe Ross

28. Armaan Sharma

29. Kartik Sharma

30. Eesan Sureshkumar

31. Parth Thakur

32. Shivam Wadhera

33. Jack Walsh

34. Willoughby Watson

The next stage of the trials will be match scenarios at Robertson Road Fields on Sunday 23rd June. We will contact each of the squad above with further details.

We thank all of those that trialed on Sunday and those that were unsuccessful, many of which have another year left, we wish you all the best for the 2019-20 season.