SJC secures 22nd First XI Cricket Premiership

St Joseph’s College secured its 22nd GPS First Cricket premiership, defeating Sydney High in the final round of the highly competitive 2011-12 competition.

The win topped off an already very successful season for the team, with wins in the inaugural 20/20 GPS tournament and the Marist Cricket Carnival in Bunbury, Western Australia.

The final GPS match proved a nail-biter for players and spectators alike. With St Joseph’s chasing 109 for victory in a rain-reduced limited overs match, the boys were in trouble at 4 for 39. Under tremendous pressure, Year 11 student Andrew Deegan and Year 12 student Jackson Watts led the Joeys fight-back, putting 66 runs on the board. The winning runs were scored by Year 12 student Lachlan Cairns when he drove a boundary through the cover field.

St Joseph’s is renowned for its tight-knit community and this was evident as the supporters left the grandstand to surround the winning team and sing one of the College’s iconic songs, ‘Sub Tuum’. This spirit continued through to the evening when, at the College’s summer sports rally, Captain Declan O’Donahue (Year 12) and vice captain Hamish Bartlett (Year 12) raised the shield to the cheers of the entire school.

Five members of the SJC First XI team were selected for the Combined GPS squad for the NSW Schoolboys Championships, with Declan O’Donahue given the honour of captaining the representative team. Hamish Bartlett was also chosen in the NSW Schoolboys team.