U19 National Champs: Winners NSW dominate Australian World Cup squad bound for South Africa
Following NSW Metro’s victory at the U19 nationals in Albury, captain Rafael MacMillan and five teammates have been named in the Aussie squad for next month’s U19 World Cup in South Africa. FULL SQUAD
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After winning last week’s under-19 national cricket championships in Albury, the NSW Metro side have been rewarded at the selection table with six members named in a 15-man squad to travel to South Africa for next month’s 15th edition of the ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup.
Successful Blues mentor Anthony Clark will coach the squad that includes Metro captain Rafael MacMillan and player of the final Sam Konstas.
Joining them for another stint in the U19 national squad are fast bowlers Charlie Anderson and Tom Straker, and Harjas Singh and wicketkeeper Ryan Hicks.
Left-arm orthodox bowler Cameron Frendo joins three others on a list of non-travelling reserves.
Full squad.
AUSTRALIAN SQUAD FOR ICC MEN’S U19 WORLD CUP
- Lachlan Aitken (QLD - Gold Coast District Cricket Club)
- Charlie Anderson (NSW - Northern District Cricket Club)
- Harkirat Bajwa (VIC - Melbourne Cricket Club)
- Mahli Beardman (WA - Melville Cricket Club)
- Tom Campbell (QLD - Western Suburbs District Cricket Club)
- Harry Dixon (VIC - St Kilda Cricket Club)
- Ryan Hicks (NSW - Mosman Cricket Club)
- Sam Konstas (NSW - Sutherland Cricket Club)
- Rafael MacMillan (NSW - St George District Cricket Club)
- Aidan O’Connor (TAS - Greater Northern Raiders)
- Harjas Singh (NSW - Western Suburbs Cricket Club)
- Tom Straker (NSW - Sutherland District Cricket Club)
- Callum Vidler (QLD - Valley District Cricket Club)
- Corey Wasley (WA - Rockingham-Mandurah Cricket Club)
- Hugh Weibgen (QLD - Valley District Cricket Club)
Non-travelling reserve players
Xander Buxton (VIC - Melbourne Cricket Club)
Cameron Frendo (NSW - Fairfield Liverpool Cricket Club)
Ollie Peake (VIC - Geelong Cricket Club)
Cody Reynolds (QLD - Gold Coast District Cricket Club)
CLINICAL BLUES CROWNED CHAMPIONS
In a rematch of last season’s decider, NSW Metro have broken Queensland hearts to once again be crowned under-19 national cricket champions.
The seven-wicket victory was set up by a clinical performance with the ball, before a Ryan Hicks boundary just before 7pm took the Blues past a rain-reduced target at Albury’s Alexandra Park.
Coming off last week’s Sheffield Shield debut, Sam Konstas capped off a massive fortnight with an unbeaten 63, while paceman Tom Straker (3-28) had the Maroons chasing their tails from the get-go.
Now, with all eyes on next month’s Under 19 World Cup in South Africa, NSW Metro can expect to be heavily represented when the Australian side is announced in the coming days.
Final day action, full wrap.
GRAND FINAL WRAP
After coming up trumps at the toss, it wasn’t long before Queensland must have been questioning their decision to bat.
Under heavy cloud cover, NSW’s battled hardened quicks dominated from the outset as the Maroons slumped to 5-55 in the 13th over.
Charlie Anderson was largely unplayable, swinging the ball both ways in a mesmerising opening spell that saw the right-armer strike the first two blows.
Timing his build up through the preliminary rounds to perfection, the Northern District paceman hit the crease hard and by the fifth over had undone both openers with an extra yard of pace.
Then at the other end, it was Tom Straker’s turn.
Tournament leading run scorer Tom Campbell looked in good touch for Queensland before Straker trapped him on the crease, and then the Sutherland tearaway made it 4-40 after Cameron Tunks held on to a hot chance in the 10th over.
Fairfield-Liverpool’s Yuva Nishchay found the edge of Rex Tooley’s bat for the fifth, but Queensland rallied to 6-116 when rain delayed play after 29 overs.
No overs were lost, and with a defiant knock of 42, Alexander Procopis helped guide the score to 9-173 from 50 overs.
More rain delayed the NSW reply. But once on the park, openers Sam Konstas and Riley Kingsell brushed aside any nerves in pursuit of a revised 159 from 41 overs.
Their confident opening stand ended when Kingsell departed in the 12th over for 31 with the score 1-67.
Persistent showers led to three more delays, and following the departures of Harjas Singh and Tunks, Konstas and Hicks eventually saw the Blues reach a revised 138.
Queensland 9-173 (Tolhurst 43, Procopis 42; Straker 3-28, Anderson 2-34, Sherriff 1-20) lost to NSW Metro 3-138 (Konstas 63*, Kingsell 31; Pullar 2-28, Reynolds 1-30) by seven wickets (rain reduced target), at Alexandra Park, Albury
Player of the final: Sam Konstas (NSW Metro) – 63 not out
Player of the Tournament: Aidan O’Connor (Tasmania) – 204 runs at 68.0
COUNTRY END ON DISAPPOINTING NOTE
The final-day emotions couldn’t have been more contrasting for NSW Country as the team finished its national championships campaign on a disappointing note, going down by 152 runs to a rampaging South Australia in a consolation match at the Kiewa Cricket Ground.
Country were second best with both bat and ball on the final day of competition, with the defeat meaning that they finish the tournament with a record of two wins and four losses.
After being sent into the field, Country made early breakthroughs as opening bowlers Charlie Howard and Riley Keen removed South Australian danger men Kane Halfpenny and Jack Matchett cheaply to leave the side at 2-23.
However the NSW side failed to capitalised on its strong start, with Tegas Gill and Kyle Adams rebuilding the innings and lifting the run rate as Country failed to create chances.
The pair lifted the score over 100 before Gill was dismissed by Bailey Lidgard for 33.
Just as he has done throughout the tournament, Country’s left-arm orthodox spinner helped to dry up the runs and put pressure back on the batsmen.
He had a second shortly after when the dangerous Adams spooned one to mid-on for a well-made 55 and then a third when he trapped Rudransh Sharma in front for 18 to leave South Australia at 5-174 from 35 overs.
Unfortunately that didn’t stem the flow of runs, with South Australia’s Hamish Case taking to the Country attack.
He belted 10 fours and three sixes in a brutal knock, bringing up his ton in the final over as he smashed 12 from it to take South Australia’s final score to 6-292.
With a daunting chase ahead, Country skipper Jake Scott wanted to start with intent and struck the fourth over of the innings to the boundary. But that positive start was short lived, as he was caught on the pads and given out LBW two balls later.
Harry Scowen then fell for two and Sam Weir for a second-ball duck to leave the team floundering at 3-20 when rain hit.
Bailey Abela and Angus Campbell, Country’s best two batsmen throughout the tournament, sought to steady things and were looking good until Abela hit one to backward point for 36. Campbell was likewise starting to find the boundary until he took on one too many and was caught on the fence for 38 to leave the side at 5-91.
Then when Joey Gillard was given out LBW for 14, it triggered a lower order collapse, with Lidgard (1) and Keen (0) following shortly after.
Howard showed some resistance with some late-order hitting to score 21, but the team was ultimately bowled out for 140 in the 30th over.
South Australia 6-292 (Case 102*, Adams 55; Lidgard 3-40, Keen 1-30) defeated NSW Country 10-140 (Campbell 38, Abela 36; Case 3-34, Mcvann 2-12) by 152 runs
DAY FIVE
NSW Metro has ensured that it will be a rematch of last year’s decider after defeating Western Australia to set up a final with Queensland at the under-19s National cricket Championships.
An inspired spell of bowling helped the NSW side over the line in the semi-final, while NSW Country were involved in yet another thriller against Victoria Country.
Catch up with a wrap below.
NSW METRO ROCKET INTO DECIDER
A damp field at Rowen Park did little to ease tensions ahead of NSW Metro’s semi-final against Western Australia.
Despite the sticky wicket and an hour delay, Blues captain Raf MacMillan still opted to bat first after winning the toss.
As it had been all week, early runs were hard to come by as Sheffield Shield new boy Sam Konstas and Riley Kingsell set about laying another strong foundation.
Coming off a last start ton, Konstas’ fortunes took an about face and he was forced to make his way back to the pavilion for 10.
But just as he did the day before, Kingsell rose to the challenge to guide the Blues out of immediate danger. By the time he departed in the 18th over with the score on 2-80, the Bankstown right-hander had helped himself to 54 runs.
From there, solid contributions from Cameron Tunks, Harjas Singh and Ryan Hicks saw Metro post a competitive 6-248 from their 50 overs.
In reply, WA were bowled out for 205 in an innings where they struggled to build any meaningful momentum against a disciplined Blues attack.
After spraying several wides, Tom Straker hit the jackpot in the sixth over when the tall quick rocked back Jake Gerrans’ leg-stump. It was a crucial breakthrough, given the opener was WA’s leading run scorer.
Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, but with Corey Wasley in a menacing mood the West Aussies weren’t without hope.
Having already clubbed 164 against Tasmania, the left-hander lifted the run rate with three massive sixes. But after putting Cameron Frendo over the fence, he was stumped next ball for 67 off 63 balls.
At 5-141, there was no turning back for NSW. Frendo had the ball on a string, and the left-arm offie went on with the job to finish the innings with a personal haul of 5-35.
In another boost for NSW ahead of the grand final, Charlie Anderson found his stride and in nine miserly overs the big quick strangled the WA line-up with 1-17.
NSW Metro 6-248 (Kingsell 54; Orr 2-38) defeated Western Australia 10-205 (Wasley 67; Frendo 5-35, Straker 2-42, Anderson 1-17) by 43 runs, at Rowen Park
COUNTRY EDGED OUT IN BUSH BASH CLIFFHANGER
A brilliant opener’s knock, a mighty six-wicket haul and an inspired late-order run chase wasn’t enough for NSW Country as the side went down to Victoria Country in a thrilling consolation round match.
In what was a seesawing affair, the NSW side looked on track to chase down the total of 246 before a late flurry of wickets saw the team fall just nine runs short.
It was the side’s third thriller in a row, following Sunday’s last-ball win against the ACT and Monday’s 18-run loss to Western Australia.
Electing to bat, Victorian openers Oliver Peake and Henry Melville made a steady start to the innings, seeing off the new ball and keeping things ticking along at about three and a half runs an over.
Looking for a breakthrough, NSW Country turned to Bailey Lidgard, who did what he’s done all tournament by drying up the flow of runs.
At one stage, the left-arm orthodox spinner had figures of 0-12 from six overs as the Victorian side struggled to break the infield.
This pressure ultimately led to a breakthrough at the other end, with Melville scooping one to mid-on on 40 to give Charlie Howard his first wicket and leave the side at 1-77 after 19 overs.
Victoria Country continued to build, with Alexander Buxton combining with Peake to lift the run rate.
The NSW side was struggling to make inroads in the batting line-up and it ultimately took a mix-up running between the wickets and direct hit from Angus Campbell to dismiss Peake for 59.
But Buxton continued to play his shots and the Victorian side were well-placed at 2-197 after 41 overs until Howard came on for an inspired spell.
In just the Sawtell quick’s second ball of the spell Buxton was caught behind trying to play a paddle shot for a well-made 73 from 71 balls.
Kyle Parrott then chopped on the very next ball to leave Howard on a hat-trick.
And while there was no hat-trick, Howard struck again in his next over, dismissing Lucas Cavigan for 21 to leave the Victorians at 5-203 in the 44th over.
As Vic Country kept pushing for runs Howard picked up another two wickets to finish with the remarkable figures of 6-47 from nine as the Victorians ended their innings on 8-246.
In reply, NSW got off to a horror start, losing opener Joey Gillard with just the second ball of the innings. He was followed by skipper Jake Scott shortly after to leave the side struggling at 2-26 after eight overs.
Bailey Abela and Sam Weir went about resurrecting the chase, with Abela looking particularly dangerous.
Country’s leading runscorer so far in the tournament passed 50 and helped to lift the run rate before his teammate Weir was dismissed for 32 and with the side at 3-96.
Abela was joined by fellow Greater Illawarra cricketer Campbell, who helped to push the score beyond 150.
Then, with a ton looming, Abela failed to get on top of a pull shot and was caught in the deep for an excellent 84 from 96 balls.
This triggered a mini collapse, with a hobbling Harry Scowen run out for four and Oscar Lyons dismissed for a golden duck as Country slumped to 6-160.
From here, Campbell took the initiative and started opening the shoulders to lift the run rate. The pressure seemed to build on the Victorians, with fielding errors and overthrows adding to their frustration.
His excellent placement and running between the wickets saw singles turn into twos, with Howard and then Riley Keen doing their job at the other end to help the side to a position where it needed just 15 from 20 balls with three wickets in hand.
However just as it looked like the home side would run away with it, Campbell skied a full toss down the ground and was caught at mid-on for an excellent run-a-ball 71.
The, with the NSW team needing 10 from the last two overs, Victoria Country bowler Jarvis Harvey, who had earlier copped some stick from the batters, stood up for his team, dismissing Keen down the ground, before bowling number 11 Ryan Cattle three balls later to seal a dramatic win.
Victoria Country 8-246 (Buxton 73, Peake 59, Melville 40; Howard 6-47) defeated NSW Country 10-237 (Abela 84, Campbell 71; Harvey 4-51, Hoekstra 3-35) by nine runs
ROUND FOUR
It was the Sam Konstas show at the under-19 National Cricket Championships in Albury, with the NSW Metro young gun putting on a knock that will long in the memory as he helped guide his side into the semi-finals.
Fresh from making his Sheffield Shield debut for NSW last week, Konstas belted 150 from 138 balls as Metro proved to have far too much firepower for the Northern Territory in the team’s 96-run win.
The victory ensured that Metro finished third after the four regular rounds and booked its spot in the semi-finals.
While it was ecstasy for Metro there was heartbreak for Country, with the team missing out on the finals after going down to Western Australia by 18 runs.
Catch up with all the latest.
KONSTAS TON GUIDES NSW METRO TO FINALS
NSW Metro have charged into Wednesday’s finals on the back of a Sam Konstas century after the Blues capped off the preliminary rounds with a comfortable 96-run victory over the Northern Territory.
Needing a win and other results to go their way, Metro used the disappointment of Sunday’s loss to Vic Metro to fire up against an inexperienced Territory attack.
After winning the toss, Metro opted for first use of a wicket tinged with green.
However, the colour did little to deter Konstas and Riley Kingsell who carefully navigated the opening 10 overs at three runs per over before easing through the gears in an opening stand of 135 off 23 overs.
Kingsell was the early aggressor, and the Bankstown right-hander took a particular shine to Everett Oxenham, helping to see the North Sydney off-spinner out of the attack with 30 from his opening four overs.
Kingsell was eventually stumped for 72 off 81 balls, jumping down the wicket to the right-arm leg-spin of Arjun Sehrawat.
In the next over Konstas brought up his fifty off 64 balls and alongside Cameron Tunks the pair set about lifting the rate.
Konstas nudged Oxenham down the ground to bring up his century in the 41st over from 112 balls as the score ticked over to 1-233.
Tunks was run out five overs later for 60 off 65, bringing an end to a 147-run stand. From there, Konstas took charge, blasting his way to a final score of 150 from 138 balls as Metro set Northern Territory a formidable 4-331.
With new ball kingpins Charlie Anderson and Tom Straker rested, it was left to Yuva Nishchay and Hamish Reynolds to lead the Metro attack.
There was no early breakthrough and the first wicket came with the score on 65 following the introduction of Addison Sherriff. The second quickly followed in the 16th over when Trystan Kennedy ran out the dangerous Aiman Nadeem (34 off 50) to make it 2-72.
Charlie Bignell (69 off 98) and Joel Wright (44 off 66) then joined forces as NT stepped up the chase.
But their hopes were dashed when the introduction of spin slowed the run rate and then brought about three quick wickets.
Skipper Raf MacMillan delivered his 10 overs for 42, while the left-arm orthodox of Cameron Frendo returned 3-41 from his full quota.
Rising leggie Ryan Gupta (1-29) also shared in the spoils as the Northern Territory innings faded out on 6-235.
NSW Metro 4-331 (Konstas 150, Kingsell 72, Tunks 60; Sehrawat 2-70, Oxenham 1-75) defeated Northern Territory 6-235 (Bignell 69, Wright 44; Frendo 3-43, Sherriff 1-15, Gupta 1-33) by 96 runs, at Alexandra Park
COUNTRY FALL SHORT IN DO-OR-DIE CLASH
NSW Country has fallen out of contention for the under-19s National Championships but not without a fight, gallantly losing to Western Australia in an entertaining clash in Albury.
Set 263 to win, Country looked on track to chase down the total for large parts of the innings before ultimately falling 18 runs short as wickets fell late on.
After winning the toss, Western Australia made a strong start with the bat as openers Sean Thompson and Jake Gerrans took to the Country attack, scoring at more than six an over in the early stages.
Left-arm spinner Bailey Lidgard and Charlie Howard came on to stem the run flow of runs, with Lidgard getting the double breakthrough of Thompson and first drop Corey Wasley to leave WA at 2-87 in the 20th over.
Gerrans continued his good form, working well with Kai Orr and Jordan Roads as WA looked to lift the run rate.
While the runs started flowing, so too did the wickets, with Country quick Angus Parsons chiming in with four late wickets.
Gerrans wasn’t one of them though, with the WA opener bringing up a ton before finally being run out in the second last over for an excellent 114.
He received a standing ovation as he left the field, having led his side to a strong total of 9-262.
In reply, Country got off to an excellent start as openers Joey Gillard and Bailey Abela saw off the new ball and laid a solid foundation for the team.
The pair racked up their first century stand for the tournament before Abela chipped the ball to mid-off for a well-made 57. This left Country well position at 1-103 in the 25th over.
Gillard and skipper Jake Scott continued to build, however the momentum shifted when both were dismissed in consecutive overs for 51 and 20, respectively.
North Coast batsman Sam Weir loomed as the most likely and looked the most dangerous for Country as he batted first with Angus Campbell and then Harry Scowen to lift the run rate and take the team beyond 200.
However when he chopped on for an excellent 53 from 45 balls, it left the team needing 45 from five overs with five wickets in hand.
The wicket proved to be a turning point, triggering a late-order collapse as Country pushed hard for runs. Ultimately Country lost 5-19 in the last five overs to fall 18 runs short of the total.
The loss saw Country finish the regular tournament rounds in sixth place, meaning that it missed out on the semi-finals despite being equal on points with fourth-placed Victoria Metro, who qualified on the back of a superior net run rate.
The team will take on eighth-placed Victoria Country in Wednesday’s consolation fixture.
Western Australia 9-262 (Gerrans 114, Thompson 36; Parsons 4-42, Lidgard 2-36) def NSW Country 9-244 (Abela 57, Weir 53; Beardman 3-35, Oliver 2-47)
NSW COUNTRY IN LAST BALL MIRACLE
NSW Country batter Harry Scowen has returned from the brink to steer his side to a miraculous final ball victory over the ACT.
Chasing 220 for victory, Country’s charge towards a second straight victory appeared to have come off the rails when Scowen retired hurt in the 39th over, still 67 runs shy of the target.
While turning a ball towards the leg side, the Muswellbrook gloveman twisted awkwardly and fell to the wicket grabbing his right knee. With his departure, Country were effectively 6-153 and in need of a miracle.
And that’s exactly what they got.
Local Albury boy Oscar Lyons then struck 33 and with paceman Charlie Howard, still buzzing from his 5-38 earlier in the day, the pair took the total to 191 after 45 overs.
But it appeared to no avail when both departed to the right-arm seam of Dave Dubey in the next over.
With the score on 205, Bailey Lidgard was run out and everyone thought Ryan Cattle would be joined by No. 11 Angus Parsons for the final 15 deliveries.
Parsons would eventually come out, but it would be to join Scowen with seven needed off the final over.
Somehow they did it, Scowen bunting the final ball then arriving at the other end a fraction of a second before the bails were dislodged.
It was that type of day, one full of surprises from the get-go.
ACT won the toss and opted to bat, however, NSW Country decided to open the bowling with all-rounders Jake Scott and Angus Campbell.
ACT bounded out of the gates, and it wasn’t long before frontline paceman Howard was thrown the ball.
Following a wicketless opening two rounds, the right-armer struck the first blow in his second over with the score on 36 when Ansh Tiwary was caught at deep cover by Joey Gillard.
With his tail up, the North Coast spearhead quickly added another, clinging onto a sizzling return catch in his follow through to remove the dangerous Nicholas Allen with the score on 61.
And the wickets kept coming, this time to fellow speedster Parsons who found the edge of Akshay Joseph’s bat to make it 3-73 in the 19th over.
The runs dried up with the introduction of Lidgard. In 10 overs, the left-arm offie picked up 1-21 to keep the innings in check.
Opener Blake Faunce continued to plug away and with Jake Monie the ACT pair added 77 for the fifth wicket before Monie lofted Parsons into the waiting hands of Campbell.
At 5-175 after 43 overs, the wickets continued to fall and Howard’s toil was rewarded. After knocking over Faunce for 67 he closed out the innings on 219 with his fifth wicket in the 48th over.
Country started well in reply and appeared in control when Bailey Abela and Scott pushed the total beyond 1-70. However, wickets continued to fall in clumps and it was only the magic of Scowen that conjured one of the great escapes.
ACT 10-219 (Faunce 67, Monie 38: Howard 5-38, Parsons 4-45) lost to NSW Country 9-220 (Scowen 38*, Abela 38; Dubey 2-25, Rahman 2-30) by 1 wicket, at Ball Park
NSW METRO STUMBLE IN CHASE
NSW Metro’s hopes of back-to-back titles took a hit after they were overpowered by a strong all-round Vic Metro by 70 runs.
After winning the toss, the Vics took immediate control with openers Harry Dixon and Atharv Deshpande racing to a century partnership in the 21st over.
Dixon played the aggressor, climbing into a quality NSW Metro attack led by quicks Charlie Anderson and Tom Straker. The left-hander was particularly savage on anything short and motored to a near run-a-ball fifty.
The tide eventually turned for the Blues with the score on 127. In the 28th over, Deshpande was slow to respond and failed to beat a Hamish Reynolds throw to the keeper’s end, departing for a patient 46 off 84 balls.
They say one brings two, and that’s exactly what happened when Blues off-spinner Raf MacMillan trapped Joshua Pace in front for two.
Then in the next over, Victoria lost their third wicket for the addition of just 11 when Dixon was stumped on 86 after advancing to left-arm spinner Cameron Frendo.
At 3-138 after 32 overs, Ali Khan and Christian Howe steadied the ship before Anderson found the edge off Khan’s bat to make it 4-178.
From there, Victoria scrambled to 7-229 and with a couple of late wickets Anderson finished with 3-41.
In reply, Cameron Tunks departed with the score on 23 after he skied a mistimed pull shot.
Sam Konstas, back from last week’s Sheffield Shield debut, was then joined by the free flowing Harjas Singh.
Within 14 overs the pair had raced the score to 1-81. Singh was in sublime form off both the back and front foot in a blistering 43 from 29 balls.
But when he was caught from the off-spin of Vishwa Ramkumar, the wickets just continued to tumble.
Leg-spinner Bailey Toseland then removed Ryan Hicks, Trystan Kennedy and Konstas for the addition of just 10 runs.
There was simply no answer to Toseland, the young Vic toying with the Blues’ line-up on route to a remarkable return of 6-8 from seven overs.
Vic Metro rounded out a convincing win, dismissing the Blues within 42 overs for 159.
Vic Metro 7-229 (Dixon 86, Deshpande 46; Anderson 3-41, Frendo 2-44) defeated NSW Metro 10-159 (Sam Konstas 46, Singh 43; Toseland 6-8, Howe 1-20) by 70 runs, at Bethanga Cricket Ground
DAY TWO HIGHLIGHTS
NSW’s tweakers have spun their respective teams to victory after both Metro and Country recorded wins on day two of the under-19 National Cricket Championships in Albury.
Leg spinner Ryan Gupta stole the show for Metro, picking up an incredible six-wicket haul as his side suffered a scare against South Australia.
Meanwhile for Country it was the twin spinners of Bailey Lidgard and Ryan Cattle who shone in sky blue as the team bounced back from a tough day one to record a convincing win over the Northern Territory.
While they certainly haven’t been at their best, Metro remain unbeaten after two games and still on track to defend their title, while Country are in seventh, joining a four-team logjam in the middle of the ladder with one win.
NSW COUNTRY V NORTHERN TERRITORY
NSW County has bounced back from a round one thrashing at the hands of Queensland with a dominant seven-wicket win over Northern Territory at Martin Park in Albury.
Spinners Bailey Lidgard and Ryan Cattle were standouts for the team in what was a strong bowling performance to restrict NT to 175, before all of the top five got starts as the team comfortably chased down the total with more than 12 overs to spare.
After winning the toss, Country’s decision to bowl was vindicated almost immediately, with Angus Campbell trapping NT opener Aiman Nadeem on the pads in just the second over with a beautiful inswinging delivery to give his side a perfect start.
Skipper Jake Scott got into the action in the very next over, clean bowling Nadeem’s fellow opener Clancy McCormick to leave the Territorians reeling at 2-8.
Scott then struck gold with his captaincy by bringing Lidgard on in the 10th over.
The left-arm orthodox spinner made an instant impact, deceiving danger man Charlie Bignell with flight and turn before he was stumped by wicketkeeper Harry Scowen for 17.
It was an excellent start with the ball by Country, with Mid-North Coast quick Bryce Cook striking to make it four before Lidgard clean bowled Arjun Sehrawat to leave NT in big trouble at 5-43 after 13 overs.
Joel Wright and Dhanvi Vemulapalli went about rebuilding the innings and put on 69 runs for the sixth wicket until the partnership was broken by Country’s other spinner, leggie Ryan Cattle, who bowled the former for a well-made 41.
Cattle struck again shortly after, dismissing Thomas Menzies caught and bowled for four before Sam Weir bowled Charlie Kemp for a duck to leave NT struggling at 8-119.
Once again, just when it looked like the Territorians were about to collapse in a heap, the team staged a comeback.
Vemulapalli, who anchored the innings beautifully with an unbeaten 57 from 104 balls, combined with number 10 Everett Oxenham (25 not out) to push the team to 8-175 at the end of its 50 overs.
In reply, Country got off to a great start, with openers Joey Gillard and Bailey Abela doing well to see off the new ball and keep the scoreboard ticking along nicely.
The pair scored at more than five and a half runs an over and were largely untroubled in the opening stages until Gillard was clean bowled for 31 by a peach of a delivery from Joel Wright with scores at 1-64 in the 13th over.
With Country looking good the batsmen were allowed to chance their arm a little more.
Abela looked good before being caught in the deep for 36 and skipper Jake Scott looked his assured self until he was similarly caught on the boundary for 17 to leave the side at 3-107 from 25 overs.
While there were a couple of hiccups, Country was never seriously troubled, with Weir and Campbell guiding the team home with seven in the shed and 12.2 overs remaining.
In particular, Campbell looked in good touch, clearing the rope a couple of times with some big sixers as he finished unbeaten on 47 from 48 balls, while Weir finished on 29 not out.
Perhaps fittingly, Campbell finished what he started at the beginning of the day, hitting the winning runs after striking with the first wicket as Country opened its account in the tournament.
Northern Territory 8-175 (Vemulapalli 57*, Wright 41; Lidgard 2-21, Cattle 2-30) lost to Country NSW 3-179 (Campbell 47*, Abela 36, Gillard 31; Wright 1-15) by seven wickets
NSW METRO V SOUTH AUSTRALIA
NSW Metro kept its unbeaten run alive but not before a scare against a resilient South Australia side at Lavington Sports Ground.
The defending champions once again looked slightly vulnerable with the bat and were in a proper contest until leg-spinner Ryan Gupta broke through with an ultimately match-defining performance to seal a 43-run win.
After electing to bat in a match shortened to 44 overs per team, Metro got off to a difficult start, losing openers Cameron Tunks and Riley Kingsell relatively cheaply to be 2-50 after 16 overs.
South Australia were keeping things tight as the run rate hovered at just above three an over.
In a sign of just how tough it was out in the middle, Tunks needed 53 deliveries for his 17 before the pressure got to him and the opener top-edged a slog sweep from the bowling of off-spinner Thomas Brown, which was duly caught by Rudransh Sharma.
Harjas Singh and Ryan Hicks, the hero of the round one win against Victoria Country, then set about rebuilding the innings.
With the bowling tight the pair steadily added to the total and edged the run rate up towards four an over.
However just as they looked to put the foot down, Singh, who had been scoring more freely of the two, was caught behind for 64 after slashing at a wide delivery to leave his side at 3-132.
The dismissal triggered somewhat of a middle-order collapse for Metro as Trystan Kennedy (9), Hicks (64), Addison Sherriff (8) and Rafael MacMillan (10) were all dismissed within four overs by South Australian left-arm orthodox spinner Deakin Murphy as they looked to lift the run rate.
In the end, the team finished on 7-196 after its 44 overs.
In search of early wickets, Charlie Anderson got the breakthrough for Metro in the sixth over with a lovely delivery that saw Kane Halfpenny edge to Sherriff at second slip.
Sherriff was in the thick of things again shortly after, trapping Hamish Case on the pads in front LBW in his first over to leave South Australia at 2-32 in the ninth.
Metro really piled on the pressure from here, conceding just eight runs from the next six overs as the South Australian batters struggled to find the gaps.
However just as Singh and Hicks did for Metro, Rudransh Sharma and Tejas Gill set about resurrecting South Australia’s chase, with Sharma in particularly playing some nice shots.
As the pair started to play their shots and built momentum the game was in the balance – until Gupta was handed the ball.
With just his eighth delivery the spinner got the breakthrough when Gill was caught on the boundary for 21 to leave South Australia at 3-87 in the 24th over.
The wicket sparked the Metro attack into life, with Tom Straker dismissing Jack Matchett for 12 and Yuva Nishchay getting the all-important wicket of Sharma for a very well-made 61 to put the NSW well and truly on top.
Sniffing a chance to bury the game, Gupta rolled through the middle and lower order.
Both Kyle Adams and Edward Milner were stumped by Hicks off Gupta’s bowling as they tried to look for boundaries, and when the leggie dismissed Thomas Brown for a golden duck with a brilliant caught and bowled, he was on a hat-trick.
South Australia lower order batter Hayden Schiller might have knocked the hat-trick ball to the off-side for a single but that was just a reprieve as he was dismissed for 10 by Gupta, who then finished the job and completed his remarkable six-for by doing really well to cover 15 metres and catch Deakin Murphy off his own bowling for the final wicket.
He finished with figures of 6-21 from 6.3 overs as South Australia were bowled out for 152 in the 41st over.
NSW Country 7-196 (Singh 64, Hicks 62; Murphy 4-37)defeated South Australia 10-152 (Sharma 61, Gill 21; Gupta 6-21, Nishchay 1-9)by 44 runs
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