JAS Cheema scored his maiden first grade century for Hawkesbury Cricket Club at the weekend, as he helped put the team in a strong position against the University of New South Wales.
Cheema opened the batting in the fifth round of the NSW Premier Cricket Competition along with Josh Clarke.
Cheema scored 133 from 214 balls for Hawkesbury, which included 15 fours.
Hawkesbury, who won the toss, declared at 5-392 after batting for 92 overs, and then in reply UNSW was 0-9 at stumps at Owen Earle Oval.
While Cheema was the headline of the day, three handy half-centuries from Hawkesbury batsmen helped add to the big total.
Arjun Nair made 73 from 104, including nine boundaries.
Corey Lowe made a quickfire 54 from 57 and Jordan Gauci was not out on 55 from 80 balls, while Ryan Mizzi hit a four and six in the only two balls he faced before he was called back at the declaration.
Hawkesbury has also had two Pakistani players join the club this week, with the pair being inserted straight into the top grades.
Usman Qadir was in the first grade side, and bowled one over before stumps, while in second grade Salman Irshad made an immediate impact, taking 5-46 off 14 overs.
Second grade was bowled out for 220 in just under 50 overs after winning the toss on Saturday. In reply, UNSW was 7-189, setting up what should be a close finish to see which team takes a first innings victory, with only 32 runs needed to win.
Tim Wilson, who opened the batting, scored a rapid 73 off 58, in a knock which included five balls over the fence and nine boundaries, before being caught.
Unfortunately, despite a couple of starts, no other second grade batsmen were able to go on and make another big score, with Kain Flynn-Duncombe’s 38 the next highest score.
With the ball in hand it was the above mentioned Irshad who did the damage, while Abdul Kherkhah also took two wickets.
In third grade, UNSW won the toss and after 80 overs of play was 9-229 at stumps.
Shane Mott took four wickets for Hawkesbury, while Matt Williams had a brace.
Fourth grade was a near identical scoring situation, with UNSW winning the toss and finished on 9-232 at stumps after 81 overs.
Ethan Franke took three wickets as did Manmit Bedi, while Jeremy McFadden had two.
Fifth grade had a rough Saturday, after winning the toss toss, they were bowled out for 135. In reply, UNSW was 1-40 after 17 overs.
In the under-21s Poidevin-Gray Shield, Hawkesbury took two losses on Sunday against Campbelltown-Camden. Hawkesbury has a 2-2-2 record after six rounds of PG Shield cricket and as the competition moves into the 50-over format, as opposed to T20.
Round five matches continue on Saturday, while on Sunday, Hawkesbury will play a T20 match against Campbelltown-Camden.