Sutherland have relinquished top spot on the NSW Premier Cricket first grade table after slipping to a surprise defeat to Western Suburbs.
Sutherland welcomed Wests to Glenn McGrath Oval for the round 12, two-day match on Saturday looking to maintain their excellent recent form having won seven of their last eight games to surge to first place.
The visitors won the toss and elected to bat, only for Jake Wilson’s five wicket haul to see them bowled out for 209 in 62 overs.
Wilson (5-78), Daniel Fallins (3-58) and Jayden Brown (2-56) made light work of Wests with none of their batsmen reaching 50.
But Sutherland’s run chase started poorly, losing Jarryd Biviano (1) and the in-form Jamie Brown (5) early on to be 2-13.
Captain Chris Williams (14) was next to fall before Peter Saroukos (45), Daniel Rixon (23) and Luke Hawksworth (30) got Sutherland back on track.
But when Fallins fell for 3, the hosts looked a long way from home at 7-125. It was then Wilson’s chance to shine with the bat. But with Wilson stranded on 48, Sutherland lost their final two wickets for one run to be bowled out for 197.
The 12-run loss saw Sutherland slip to second behind Sydney University on quotient, with competition tight for finals places with Parramatta, Campbelltown-Camden and Sydney all three points behind the leaders.
Sutherland travel to Owen Earle Oval to face struggling Hawkesbury on day one of their two-day, round 13 fixture on Saturday.
