Cricket: Greater Illawarra, Riverina make Country Bash final, Newcastle, Central Coast in Country Championship rematch
There was some devastating big hitting and destructive bowling on show as the men’s country cricket rep season kicked off. See who starred for their team.
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Some of the regional NSW’s best cricketers have put their best feet forward as the men’s Country Bash and Country Championships kicked off across the state.
Central North, Greater Illawarra, Newcastle and North Coastal all took part in the opening rounds of both tournaments as part of Pool A in Tamworth.
Meanwhile the Central Coast, Riverina, Southern Districts and Western faced off in a heavily rain-affected weekend in Orange.
All teams were scheduled to play two T20s and three 50-over fixtures, with the winners of both tournaments move onto the country final later in the summer.
Catch up with a wrap of the action below.
Country Bash
Riverina will take on Greater Illawarra in the Country Bash final in January after some huge hitting and devastating bowling saw it take out Pool B.
There were some big performers in both of the team’s wins, with Riverina recording a 94-run victory over Southern Districts in its first game, before wiping away the Central Coast by 52 runs in the Pool A.
Against Southern Districts it was the team’s batters that came to the fore as Riverina smashed 5-185 from its 20 overs.
Opener Ethan Bartlett got the innings off to a blistering start with a brilliant 44 from just 16 balls. After losing a couple of wickets, skipper Josh Staines then held the innings together with an excellent unbeaten 45 from 36 deliveries.
While these performances were impressive, the best was yet to come.
Coming out with his team at 5-97, Beck Frostick belted 57 not out from just 27 balls to take his team to a very healthy total of 185.
In reply, Southern Districts were never really in the hunt, losing early wickets to fall to 3-18.
While Jack Whitfield (37) and Andrew Knight (25 not out) offered some resistance, the team was bowled out for 91, a whopping 94 runs short of the total.
For the bowling side, Nic Whitelaw, Hamish Starr and Ben Mitchell all picked up two wickets each for Riverina.
The team then took on Central Coast in the Pool B final, with some excellent early innings bowling and a rampaging late-order spell helping the team book its spot in the country final.
Batting first, Riverina struggled to gain the momentum of its first game as it lost key wickets in the top and middle order to finish its 20 overs on 8-124.
Whitelaw top scored with 33 from 42, while Bartlett once again got the team off to a flyer, scoring 31 from just 19 balls.
Despite having posted a very chaseable total, Riverina got off to a magic start with the ball, with Ryan Brown (2-15) and Luke Docherty (105) ripping through the Central Coast top order to leave the side reeling at 3-10.
While Brett Russell somewhat steadied things with 15 from 13 balls, Central Coast kept losing wickets cheaply before suffering an almighty middle-lower order collapse.
Coming on in the 11th over, Riverina quick Jake Scott took an incredible three wickets in four balls to take the Central Coast from 5-48 to 8-48.
He followed with another wicket in his next over to finish with figures of 4-9 as the Central Coast was bowled out for just 72 at the end of the 16th over.
The win ensures that Riverina progresses through to the Country Bash final against Greater Illawarra, to be played at Spotless Stadium in Sydney before a Big Bash game on January 17.
Country Championships
The Central Coast will take on Newcastle in a repeat of last year’s Country Championships final after the Pool B games were rained out over the weekend in Orange.
Just 47 overs were played across the weekend, with none of the six planned games being completed due to consistent rain.
As the highest-seeded team in Pool B, the Central Coast progress to the final, where they will have a chance to atone for last year’s nailbiting loss. The game is expected to be played at Newcastle’s No.1 Sportsground on December 10.
The unfortunate circumstances mean that the the Central Coast side qualify for the final after playing just eight overs of cricket in the competition.
Pool A
Country Bash
Greater Illawarra has advanced to the Country Bash grand final after emerging as Pool A victors with wins in both of its T20 games.
With plenty of excitement and fresh energy in the new-look Greater Illawarra line-up, some inspiring individual bowling and some steady knocks with the bat propelled the side into January’s decider.
Kicking off their tournament against Central Northern, Greater Illawarra’s bowling line-up overcame a strong opening stand from Central Northern openers Simon Norvill (36) and Steven Abel (38) to restrict the team to 130 from its 20 overs.
University of Wollongong spinner Angus Cumming was the pick of the bowlers with figures of a 3-20 from four overs, while lethal Wollongong District pace bowler David Wood also picked up a couple of wickets.
With 130 runs to chase, some consistent boundary hitting from the likes of Ethan Debono (44), Jack McDonald (34*) and Ben Phillips (24) was enough for the side to eclipse the total in the 18th over with seven wickets remaining.
This set up a juicy semi-final matchup with Newcastle, who edged past North Coastal in the final over of their opening match.
It was the Newcastle Blasters who took out this competition in 2022/23, with this year’s squad featuring a number of champions from last season looking to add another medal to their collection.
However Greater Illawarra didn’t back down as young gun Bailey Abela stole the show. Newcastle didn’t have an answer for the NSW Country under-19s rep star, who batted through the innings to score an impressive 84 not out, which featured five fours and four sixes to push his side to a total of 158 from its 20 overs.
The next best performer with the bat was Jack McDonald (32), who also went on to star with the ball, decimating the Newcastle batting line-up with a massive five-wicket haul.
Newcastle showed glimpses of being able to pull off the chase through the reliable hands of Jeffrey Goninan (43) and Adrian Chad (26), but Greater Illawarra’s McDonald-inspired bowling performance ultimately saw the Hunter side dismissed for 137 in the 20th over, 21 short of the required total.
Greater Illawarra now take on the winner of Pool B in the Country Bash grand final, to be played on January 17 at Spotless Stadium in Sydney.
Elsewhere, North Coastal picked up a dramatic one-run win on the final ball to defeat Central Northern in the playoff final.
Central Northern looked to have put themselves in a great position to take the win, setting a total of 5-174 thanks to knocks from Josh Trappel (84) and Shannon Threlfo (48*).
However North Coastal were able to chip away at the total with damaging stints from openers Sam Powell, who blasted 67 from 36 balls, and Shannon Connor (34).
With the match in the balance Thomas Byrnes kept pace with the required total with some solid middle-order hitting, ultimately scoring 39 not out and guiding his side home with a single on the very last ball of the match to finish on 4-175.
Top-five batters:
Josh Trappel (Central Northern): 101 runs at 50.5
Bailey Abela (Greater Illawarra): 99 runs at 99
Jeffrey Goninan (Newcastle): 93 runs at 93
Sam Powell (North Coastal): 96 runs at 48
Jack McDonald (Greater Illawarra): 66 runs at 66
Top-five bowlers:
Jack McDonald (Greater Illawarra): 5 wickets at 6
Aaron Bills (Newcastle): 4 wickets at 10.5
Angus Cumming (Greater Illawarra): 3 wickets at 14.3
Ryan Kernaghan (North Coastal): 3 wickets at 21
Jett Lee (Central Northern): 2 wickets at 10.5
Country Championships
Newcastle has kept its hopes of winning a fifth-straight Country Championship alive after finishing top of Pool A in Tamworth.
The Hunter side continued the form that has seen it claim the past four titles, winning all three games to progress to the final, which will be played against the winner of Pool B next month.
The team owed much of its success to its top order, with openers Daniel Arms and Aaron Wivell and number three Logan Weston all putting in outstanding performances with the bat to set the side a solid platform.
Wivell finished with 160 runs at an average of 53, Arms with 154 at 51, while Weston topped the count for the team, belting 194 runs in the three 50-over games to finish with an average of just under 65.
They were well supported by skipper Nick Foster, whose off-breaks picked up eight wickets, and all-rounder Adrian Isherwood, who put in some clutch performances with both the bat and ball, taking six wickets and scoring key runs to finish with an average of 51.
After losing the Pool A final in the Country Bash to Greater Illawarra on Thursday night, Newcastle hit back in its first 50-over match against Central North on Friday.
Set 258 to win, some incredible middle-order hitting from Isherwood saw the defending champs claim victory by five wickets with 3.1 overs to spare.
While the team opened their chase well with Arms (42), Wivell (50) and Weston (37) all getting starts, three quick wickets left Newcastle in a slightly tricky position at 4-156 midway through the chase.
However Isherwood took control of the game, smashing 10 boundaries as he scored an unbeaten 64 from just 37 balls to guide his side home.
The second game against Greater Illawarra loomed as a defacto Pool A decider and Newcastle saved their best for the occasion with a crushing 88-run win.
The victory was set up by Weston, who scored a brilliant 122 from 133 deliveries to help Newcastle to a total of 292.
In reply, Greater Illawarra had no answer to the Newcastle attack, with Isherwood (3-29), Foster (2-30), Josh McTaggart (2-30) and Adrian Chad (2-43) all taking multiple wickets to bundle the South Coast side out for 204 in the 42nd over.
Having taken the lead in the pool, Newcastle celebrated a successful weekend in the Country Championships with a dominant 122-run win over North Coastal in its final 50-over clash.
Once again, the victory was set up by the top order, with Wivell (90) and Arms (78) putting on 165 for the first wicket as Newcastle finished on 7-278.
In reply, North Coastal never looked like coming close to the total, with Newcastle quick Josh Bennett removing both openers early to put the champions firmly on top.
Isherwood continued his strong weekend, taking 3-31, while Foster finished with figures of 3-9 as North Coastal were bundled out for just 156.
Newcastle will now take on the winner of Pool B in the final next month.
GREATER ILLAWARRA
Greater Illawarra will be left to a rue a disappointing loss to Newcastle after what was an otherwise impressive weekend of cricket in Tamworth.
Having booked a spot in the Country Bash final after some excellent T20 displays on Thursday, the South Coast team recorded crushing wins against North Coastal and Central North either side of its loss, with the top order batters in particular dominating the opposition in their two victories.
In fact, the team only lost 14 wickets across the three matches, the fewest of any side in Pool A. They chased down North Coastal total of 260 with eight wickets and 14 overs in hand, and equally only lost two wickets as the team chased down Central North’s 231 inside 42 overs.
In particular, openers Ethan Debono and Bailey Abela starred for Greater Illawarra, with the former finishing with a weekend-high 220 runs, including 150 against North Coastal, and the latter coming in second with 194.
With a 245-run opening stand against North Coastal, the pair put on the second-highest opening partnership in Country Championships history, just 20 runs shy of the record.
The team also had plenty of strike power with the ball, with quick Justin Weller finishing as the leading wicket-taker with nine, including 5-40 against central North.
He was well supported by David Wood, who claimed five scalps.
CENTRAL NORTH
It was a mixed weekend for Central North, who after going down in both their T20 games, finished with a record of one wins and two losses in the 50-over fixtures.
The team was competitive against Newcastle in its first match, setting 257 to win and pushing the defending champs before the score was chased down with just over three overs remaining.
They then followed this up with an excellent win over North Coastal.
Batting first, the team was bowled out for 252, highlighted by 65 to Josh Trappel and 51 to opener Steven Abel.
They then turned on the fireworks with the ball, bowling their opponents out for just 166, with both Jye Paterson and Nathan Trindall taking three wickets each.
The weekend then finished on a disappointing note with a heavy eight-wicket loss to Greater Illawarra. While Simon Norvill (88) and Adam McGuirk (82) helped get the team to a total of 231, that was never going to be enough to defend against the South Coast side, who cruised home with eight wickets and more than eight overs to spare.
McGuirk was the pick of the batters, scoring 131 at 43.7, while Trappel also played well with 116 runs at 38.7. In a tough carnival for the bowlers, Paterson was the pick with five wickets at 26.4.
NORTH COASTAL
It was a difficult weekend for the North Coast side, losing all three matches in the 50-over format.
With various difficulties with both the bat and ball, the team was unable to put together a complete performance.
Despite posting a respectable total of 260 against Greater Illawarra, the team was unable to place pressure on their opponents with the ball, taking just two wickets as their opponents went past the total with 14 overs to spare.
North Coastal then had issues with the bat in its final two matches, being dismissed for 166 and 156.
Alec Williams was clearly the standout with the bat, scoring 156 runs at an average of 52 as he finished fifth in the runscorers’ list.
Meanwhile Thomas Byrnes also impressed, picking up five wickets to be the team’s leading wicket-taker while also scoring a half-century against Greater Illawarra.
Top-five batters
Ethan Debono (Greater Illawarra): 150, 14, 56: 220 runs at 73.3
Bailey Abela (Greater Illawarra): 97, 54, 43: 194 runs at 64.7
Logan Weston (Newcastle): 37, 122, 35: 194 runs at 64.7
Daniel Arms (Newcastle): 42, 40, 78: 160 runs at 53.3
Alec Williams (North Coastal): 88, 5, 63: 156 runs at 52
Top-five bowlers
Justin Weller (Greater Illawarra): 2-53, 2-63, 5-40: 9 wickets at 17.3
Nick Foster (Newcastle): 3-37, 2-30, 3-9: 8 wickets at 9.5
AJ Isherwood (Newcastle): 0-46, 3-29, 3-31: 6 wickets at 17.6
David Wood (Greater Illawarra): 0-27, 4-14, 1-28: 5 wickets at 13.8
Thomas Byrnes (North Coastal): DNB, 3-38, 2-55: 5 wickets at 18.6
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