Sydney Grade Cricket has always valued a pecking order. This week, England U19 and Somerset’s Archie Vaughan – son of Michael, taker of three first-class five-fa’s and one ten-fa, owner of multiple international wickets and considered by decent judges to be a shot at playing for England – was selected in second grade for Mosman. In doing so, he joined a long list of serious international players at one point adjudged “good enough for twos” in Sydney, like Ben Duckett, Phil Salt, and Haris Rauf (this is only the last ten years). They started Andrew Strauss in twos at Mosman, too.
Did you hear that? Those aren’t pigeons. That’s the sound several thousand ex-Sydney Grade Cricketers cooing at the decision. Not because it strangely denied a future England international a spot in the top grade, but because it permits us to nostalgically bask in the reflected glory of The World’s Best Amateur Cricket Competition™, aka Sydney “Test” Cricket – two monikers literally no one else anywhere in the world ever uses to describe it.
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