Southern Districts beat Darwin by five wickets at Kahlin Oval
Southern Districts remain the team to beat in Darwin Premier Grade cricket with a comfortable top-of-the-table win at Kahlin Oval against Darwin.
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THE Southern Districts juggernaut continues to roll on in Premier Grade cricket, and this time it was Darwin that was steamrolled at Kahlin Oval in their top-of-the-table clash.
Commencing the second day at 2-66 chasing Darwin’s 197, the Crocs lost Daniel Kerber (31) early when Eagle quick Jake Reed bowled him a searing delivery that the left-hander failed to keep down.
However, a succession of middle order partnerships led by Tim Garner (53 not out) set the rural men on the road to victory at 5-198 in 50 overs.
Darwin’s bowlers toiled, but only Reed (4-42 off 16 overs), who bowled with aggression and pace, looked likely to damage the Crocs’ batting.
Districts skipper Matt Hammond is well aware that no player has scored, a century and only he has the bowling equivalent (five wickets), but is pleased with the contribution from each player.
“I was talking to the boys immediately after the game and we are conscious that no one has made a hundred and I’ve taken the only ‘five-for’ so that shows the impressive all-round ability of this group,” Hammond said.
“We go into each game with some sort of plan, but no game goes perfectly so it is a collective effort that gets the job done.
“Corey (Kelly) was missing today and will be away for a few weeks, but we have depth and with Brodie Symons coming back next week it is a direct swap.”
And in another early finish, Palmerston’s 3-258 off 50.5 overs overwhelmed PINT’s 254 to run out seven-wicket winners.
Connor Carroll (70) continued his dominance at the top of the order while Alex Bleakley (67 not out), keeper/batsman Corey McDean (50 not out) and Connor Blaxall-Hall (48) completed a forceful Maroon top-order batting card.
Meanwhile, Tracy Village fell well short of Nightcliff’s 8/230 despite the efforts of keeper/batsman Tom Jackson (89).
The wickets were shared apart from Caelan Maladay’s 3-55 off 20 overs in a comfortable 83-run victory.
Tiger up for Premier Grade promotion
Nightcliff’s Smit Doshi has completed a match to remember in B Grade cricket, taking 4/43 off 24 overs to go with his unbeaten 195 (off 170 balls) in a complete mauling of Tracy Village.
Chasing the Tigers’ massive 6/476, Tracy were eventually bowled out for just 196 – with William Blair (3/17) and Charlie Smith (3/34) also among the wickets – from the first ball of the 80th over on Saturday.
Doshi, who played over the summer with Blacktown Mounties’ first grade team in New South Wales, is now averaging 102.5 in B Grade and has 16 wickets at a miserly average of 11.75 from eight games.
Meanwhile, Southern Districts beat Darwin by 20 runs at Freds Pass, despite 113 from Harry Fitzpatrick and 69 from Dylan Slater.
Nathan Hangan was the pick of the Crocs bowlers with 5/35, supported by Andrew Bourne (2/61), bowling out the Eagles for 252.
At DXC Arena, Palmerston got some batting practice against PINT, declaring at 3/309 after passing the home team’s 170 earlier in the day.
Donald Hearn (146) and Charlie Bignell (88) combined for an even 200-run first wicket partnership.
In their second innings, PINT were 5/188 with Joel Whelan (73 off 69 balls), Bilal Abbas (39 not out) and Vishwas Saini (35) spending time at the crease.
At Gardens Oval, University Bulls fell 62 runs short of Waratah’s 225, with only Boney Sebastian (31), Justin Chakkedan (an extremely watchful 26 not out off 121 deliveries) and Ajay Emmanuel (21) offering real resistance.
For the Tahs, Aryaman Bhardwaj dominated with 6/36 off 18 overs, taking his B Grade season haul to 17 wickets at 8.24.
Southern Districts claim the 50-over flag
A FEROCIOUS 59 off just 37 balls from South Australian recruit Corey Kelly escalated Southern Districts to a grand final-winning score at DXC Arena on Sunday.
Kelly joined Victorian import and Melbourne Star Xavier Crone at the crease with the Crocs wobbling slightly at 6/174 after the loss of the two Kerbers, Sam and Dan, and Dean Fry to arguably soft dismissals.
However, after being initially watchful, Kelly unleashed four massive sixes, including one over long on, and the fence, off Kris Denby with the ball unlikely to be seen again.
Districts would eventually post a huge score of 8/277 (Crone an unbeaten 58 off 63 balls), with Eagles captain Connor Hawkins (2/37), Dylan Brasher (2/39) and Jake Reed (3/59) the main wicket takers while Shehan Sinnetamby (1/40) bowled with great control.
And keeper Dhruv Kant pulled off a simply brilliant, blink-and-you’d-miss-it stumping of Tim Garner for 10.
There was plenty of playful barbs and banter between the two teams’ fans and even Hawkins seemed to take an extra amount of glee with one of his wickets, appearing to attempt a Xavier Duursma-style bow and arrow celebration.
Kelly told the NT News on Monday morning he struggled early to find his timing early, especially while facing slower balls.
“But once I got in … once you face 15 balls you’re pretty much in in a one day game when the pitch is pretty flat and the ball isn’t swinging,” Kelly said, who was pretty sore after playing a full weekend of cricket with Darwin’s two-day competition starting the day before.
“Hitting Reedy (Jake Reed) for a good one (over the boundary) was all right.
“He had the wood over me early, so I had to change my game plan and got him over fine leg for six which was quite nice.”
Kelly, in his fourth season with Districts, said he was loving being back in the Top End so far.
“We’ve built a good team,” he said of the likes of the Kerbers, Crone and Victorian leg spinner Tom O’Connell, whom Kelly played junior cricket with at Sturt in SA.
“That was a big reason why he came up, we hadn’t played together in a while.
“He’s pretty confident he’ll be able to stay (for the entire season).
“(The imports) all want to play cricket together. It’s worked out pretty well.”
In reply to Districts’ monster score, the Eagles never really got into top gear with captain Matt Hammond taking the key wicket of Anthony Adlam, stumped for a five-ball duck.
Matt Calder gave Darwin’s innings some impetus with 37 off 41 balls while Dylan Brasher contributed a watchful 62 off 96 deliveries.
However, when those two departed the scene Darwin quickly fell away, eventually bowled out for 170.
For the premiers, Chris McEvoy, who took a hat-trick last Saturday in B Grade against PINT, led the way with 4/28, complemented by Hammond (2/18) and Sam Kerber (2/41).
In the B Grade grand final, Waratah got home in a thrilling one-wicket victory.
Staring down the barrel at 9/167 (Cooper Zobel 38) chasing 195 for victory, Wilson Ryan (24 not out) and Aryaman Bhardwaj (11*) combined to see the Tahs home despite the efforts of young Tigers leg spinner Charlie Smith (4/36).
Earlier, Mansukh Singh (48 off 52 balls) and Byron Gale (29 not out) helped Nightcliff post a competitive total despite the efforts of Bhardwaj’s 3/10 off five overs and Joseph Conlin (2/40).
Crocs in strong position after day one of Premier two-day competition
SOUTHERN Districts played with persistence and is in a strong position at stumps on day one in the Premier Grade top-of-the-table clash played at Kahlin Oval against Darwin yesterday.
In a prelude to the 50-over grand final on Sunday, at DXC Arena, Districts restricted Darwin to 10/197 from 66.1 overs — and the Crocs were 2/66 with Daniel Kerber 28 not out and brother Sam yet to score.
Earlier, the Eagles batted after winning the toss and were shaky at 3/46, but a 99-run fourth wicket partnership between Dhruv Kant (62) and John Flynn (51) steered their ship in a better direction.
However, Croc skipper Matt Hammond (5-33) and tall quick Xavier Crone (3-49) combined and minimised Darwin’s batting strength.
Twenty-year-old Kant, a keeper/batsman recruited from Parramatta in Sydney, was a standout with the bat but said his job was not fully completed on the day.
“I came up here to play as much cricket as I can – it’s better than just sitting at home and training during our off-season,” Kant said.
“I got a good start today and was working well with Jack (Flynn) but was not happy to get out when I did today.
“I’ve never batted with Jack before, but we knew a partnership was necessary against a good bowling group.”
In the other two games willow proved the dominant ingredient.
Struggling PINT (254) batted all day against Palmerston and in-form opener Dhanusha Gamage (96) again led the way.
He finally received middle-order batting support from Shishir Ramakrishna (46) and Coby Edmonstone (44) while Connor Blaxall-Hill (5/62) from 27 overs was the best with the ball for the Maroons.
And Param Uppal (132), playing his first game for Nightcliff, led the Tiger charge (8/320) against Tracy Village where only off-spinner Reiley Mark (6/98 off 23 overs) bowled with authority.
Nightcliff post huge score in B Grade
Nightcliff are in the box seat after day one of B Grade’s two-day competition, posting a massive 6/476 against Tracy Village.
Smit Doshi (195 not out off 170 balls) and Mansukh Singh (111) combined for a 233-run stand for the sixth wicket at Nightcliff Oval.
At Gerry Wood Oval, Southern Districts compiled 6/272 against Darwin through an unbeaten 134 from Chris McEvoy, who took a hat-trick last Saturday against PINT.
The Crocs’ score was complemented by Scott Willington (44) and Nathan Hangan (40) while Keegan McIntyre claimed 2/29.
Waratah were rolled for 225 at Gardens Oval (Asher Kurukulasooriya 43, Matt Smith 42, Cooper Zobel 30, Joseph Conlin 29) as Deepak Shrestha took 5/68 off 22.3 overs, supported by Pukar Bhandari (2/31) and Boney Sebastian (2/37).
And Palmerston are already closing in on victory, just 18 runs short of PINT’s 170 without losing a wicket (Charlie Bignell 71*, Donald Hearn 70*).
Earlier, Cameron Hyde rattled PINT with 6/23 off 13.4 overs while Jordan Clyne took 2/21.
Vishwas Saini (66), Bilal Abbas (39) and Charlie Buddle (31 not out) offered some resistance.
Eagles face “stacked” Southern Districts in 50-over grand final
A ROUND one loss to Darwin is a world away from where Southern Districts are sitting right now approaching the 50-over grand final on Sunday, new Crocs coach Matt Hammond says.
The Eagles beat Districts by 31 runs at Cazalys Arena on April 9, and a return bout is scheduled for this Sunday at DXC Arena to claim the premiership.
However, Hammond said his team has since been transformed by the addition of several key interstaters: South Australian Redbacks Sam Kerber and Corey Kelly, Victorian Shield player Tom O’Connell, Big Bash League all-rounder Xavier Crone and Kerber’s brother Daniel.
“I don’t think that’s very reflective of the two sides that are going to meet on the weekend,” Hammond said of the round one defeat in the Darwin & District Cricket Compeition.
“It was a bit hotter and we didn’t have many of our imports either.
“And we didn’t have a hit in the T20 (competition) which everyone else had a hit in (the week before).
“It’s very hard to judge the two times in that kind of environment.
“It’s completely a different game to round one.”
Bowling has been a strength for the Crocs so far this season.
Hammond, who has been opening the attack with his spinners alongside Kelly, has been one of the short form competition’s leading trundlers with seven wickets at 12.14, while O’Connell has pouched 10 wickets at 9.3.
However, Districts will come up against a Darwin team boasting three of the competition’s top five best performing bats: Dylan Brasher (236 runs at 47.2), Matthew Calder (208 runs at 41.6) and Anthony Adlam (198 runs at 49.5).
“You try not to focus on that too much, you just try to gee your blokes up,” he said.
“We’ve pretty much been rolling with one quick.
“I do bowl a little bit quicker and they don’t turn as much as the other spinners do.”
Hammond, in his first year as club coach, said the likes of the Kerbers and Kelly had lifted training standards to new heights.
“Those guys are first class cricketers, they’re very good at what they do,” he said.
“It’s very professional.”
Meanwhile, Eagles captain Connor Hawkins admitted Districts had a “pretty strong bowling outfit”.
“You’ve got to be wary of every bowler they’ve got, they’re not top of the league for no reason,” Hawkins said.
“They’ve got a pretty good team, they’re pretty stacked.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge as a group. If we all play to our abilities I think we’ll go close.”
However, he said the Eagles had not produced a complete game with Dhruv Kant, Ethan Anderson and Shehan Sinnetamby yet to hit their straps.
“(They) have not really got going yet, it’s not a bad time to get going, in a grand final,” he said.
“We’ve been close but we’ve not reached our full potential yet.
“It’s been a bit tough, it’s been a bit stop-start really (this season).
“I think most teams have found it hard to get some momentum going.
“Hopefully we can start now. When we’re on, we’re playing good cricket.”
Tracy Village pinch a three-run win over Darwin
TRACY Village held their collective nerve and belief and recorded a pulsating three-run victory against Darwin at Kahlin Oval on Saturday.
Sent in on a green-top Tracy struggled early, losing batting guns Josh Kann and Antum Naqvi to the bowling of medium pacer Will Pilkington with only five runs on the board.
However, opener Josh Hoffman (44) and Reghard Els (64 not out) carried the Villagers to a competitive 9-190 at the close.
Pilkington (3-36) and leggie, Shehan Sinnetamby (3-27), did the bulk of the damage in an overall uninspiring bowling performance from the Eagles.
Darwin top order also struggled until opener Dylan Brasher (79 off 114 balls) and Matt Calder (39) put some steel into the batting and at 7-176 they looked on track for a win.
But late wickets to Josh Hoffman (3/21) and Naqvi (2/40) sealed the deal for the Villagers.
Tracy captain Kann was delighted with a third consecutive win and said that while they will not feature in the one-day final on Sunday, his team has built a platform for the remainder of the season, even without Sri Lanka-bound spinner Todd Murphy.
“It was an awesome win today – it has taken the boys a while to gel but with three in a row now we have got some belief,” Kann said.
“We lost early wickets but the middle order with Reggie (Els) stepping up it showed our hard work at training is beginning to pay dividends.
“We lose Todd for the remainder of the season but with Reiley Mark, Antum (Naqvi) and a couple of B Graders as well pushing for promotion the signs are positive.”
With a spot in the one-day final at stake, the result at Kahlin was a temporary setback for Darwin, but with Waratah’s overwhelming win (3/228; Isaac Conway 74, Austin Umpherston 50) against Palmerston (10/223; Connor Carroll 108, Udara Weerasinghe 4/28), the Eagles soared into the final at the expense of the Maroons.
Also in the final will be Southern Districts (2/118, 25 overs) who unravelled PINT (117 all out in 45.3 overs) at DXC Arena.
B Grade
PINT never recovered from losing four wickets in five balls at Gerry Wood Oval on Saturday, going down by 38 runs to Southern Districts.
Chasing District’s 8/153 (Scott Willington 71, Sean Cockfield 2/11), the visitors suffered a stunning collapse at the hands of medium pacer Chris McEvoy (3/15), eventually bowled out for 115.
PINT lost 4/0 in five balls from the relative safety of 0/62, with McEvoy taking a hat-trick with one delivery remaining in the over.
Then, Patrick Keogh was run out following a brilliant piece of fielding from Andrew Bourne off his own bowling, the first ball of the next over.
Mitchell Townsend (3/30) and Bourne (2/15) also helped wreck PINT’s run chase, as Prajay Paramesh’s 37 was the only score above 17.
Meanwhile, Nightcliff will take on Waratah in the limited overs final this Sunday at Nightcliff Oval after the Tigers collected their sixth win from seven starts on Saturday.
University’s 155 all out was never going to be enough with Nightcliff passing the Bulls’ target with seven wickets in hand (Mansukh Singh 63 off 45 balls, Jai Allman 36) as Deepak Shrestha claimed 2/42 at University Oval.
Earlier, Boney Sebastian’s 57 was University’s best effort with the bat as Smit Doshi (4/21), Sam Arthur (2/23) and Singh (2/34) did the damage.
Waratah also enjoyed a decent tune up before the final, streamrolling Palmerston for just 92 (Archie McCormick 3/7, Chatura Gabadage Don 2/24, Handtke 2/17).
The Tahs passed Palmerston’s score with seven wickets in hand (Cooper Zobel 43) at Cazalys Arena.
At Tracy Village Oval, Darwin fell 47 runs short of the home team’s 9/150.
For the Eagles, Harry Fitzpatrick (57) and Tom Menzies (23) were the only batters to hit double figures as Tahir Abbas (4/25), Sanjay Anandarajah (2/5) and Imran Khan (2/10) ran amuk.
It was a similar story in Village’s innings, with just two batters reaching double figures – Anandarajah (51) and Daniel Christianson (48) – as the wickets were shared by Tim Osborne (2/23), Keegan McIntyre (2/13) and Dylan Slater (2/23).
Wes Agar heading north for the Strike League
ADELAIDE Striker, South Australian Redback and international fast bowler Wes Agar could turn out for a Darwin Premier Grade team later this year following his Strike League campaign.
Agar, who suffered from an injury-impacted summer — with an early quad tear, a torn side from bowling in the MCG nets then catching Covid before the final Sheffield Shield match of the season — is looking forward to capturing some form in the Top End.
“I had a bit of a shocking year to be honest,” Agar told the NT News about his injury woes.
“I had six years previously, around that mark, pretty much injury-free.
“I was due a year where I had a few setbacks.”
Each state has picked four players for the four-team competition — involving City Cyclones, Northern Tide, Desert Blaze and Southern Storm – with Agar one of the higher profile players involved.
Cricket NT will drop full Strike League fixtures early next week and the state-nominated players next month.
When asked if he was open to playing for a local team, Agar said it would depend on how much he embraced Top End cricket.
“I’m going there with an open mind in what I want to play,” Agar told the NT News.
“My first port of call is to be really successful in that Strike League.
“You get stuck seeing it as a job sometimes and I think it's good thing to be able to go up there and really enjoy my cricket, on and off the field.
“And I guess if I am enjoying it and I want to play it more, I think I'm always open to staying a few extra weeks and play a few games of grade cricket up there.”
Needing to get some miles in his legs before the next summer, Agar said he was also keen to enjoy the beautiful weather and test himself in an improving competition.
“Darwin’s becoming a big drawcard for cricketers,” he said.
“It’s great to have somewhere that’s close and you don’t have to fly all the way to England to play cricket and develop your game.
“It’s a great drawcard and something that I found attractive and wanted to do.
“I’m really excited.
“It’s bloody cold back here in Adelaide, I think that’s another drawcard.”
It will be Agar’s first dose of off-season cricket, avoiding the traditional trek to the UK.
He normally chases a rest and a holiday to clear his head after a demanding summer schedule.
“You get through so much load and your body goes through a lot,” he said.
“I didn’t want to fly all the way to England to be fair.”
Waratah batter rewarded with Victorian contract
A CENTURY to Tracy Village batting anchor Antum Naqvi set his team on the way to victory against Waratah at the Village Green on Saturday.
After being sent in to bat, Waratah were for the most part on the back foot against some classy spin bowling by Tracy off-spinners Todd Murphy 4/15 (10 overs) and Reiley Mark 3/31 (10 overs).
Only a rearguard batting display by the Weerasinghe siblings – Madura 40 and Udara 35 – and a rollicking innings from Himesh Sandaradura (an unbeaten 34 off 25), Tahs closed at a respectable 9/202 after their allotted 50 overs.
Village lost a couple of early wickets including skipper Josh Kann (23) who opened the batting, and at 2-27, the Red Cap bowlers were aggressively approaching their work.
But Naqvi (100 not out off 113 balls rocks with 11 fours) was rock solid at the crease and was largely responsible for his team scoring the required runs with more than four overs left.
Meanwhile, keen to follow up on his stellar season in Victoria Premier Grade Cricket where he was rewarded with his first a rookie contract, Waratah batsman Ashley Chandrasinghe didn’t pose a threat to the Tracy bowlers, but he remains buoyant and is looking toward the future.
The 20-year-old is playing his fifth season of Darwin Premier Grade Cricket during his southern off-season with Casey South Melbourne Cricket Club.
He said he is using Darwin cricket as a way to improve his white-ball game.
“It’s pretty good quality cricket up here and I guess a bonus is not having to endure a Melbourne winter – but really, I enjoy playing up here in Darwin and will use it to work on some skills and gaining experience in the white-ball game,” Chandrasinghe said.
“I’ve had a couple of pretty decent grade seasons in Melbourne; went OK in the finals this year, although we lost the grand final, and also scored runs in most of the second XI games I played.
“Red-ball cricket suits me and one of the main reasons behind coming back to Darwin is to improve my white-ball game.
“I’m considered to be a local now so hopefully I will be selected to play a couple of Cricket 365 games which will be a great experience playing against many Australian first-class players.”
In the only other game played, a 99-run opening partnership between Liam Blackford (69) and Dhanusha Gamage (42) set the platform for a PINT total of 7/208.
Leg-spinner Yuvraj Sharma (6-40 off 10 overs) was again the Nightcliff standout bowler.
However, a series of strong top-order partnerships set the Tigers on the road to victory by seven wickets (Josh Brown 62 not out, Yuvraj Sharma 49*).
No play was possible at Cazalys Oval in the match between Palmerston and Southern Districts due to heavy local rain on Friday.
B Grade
Darwin has enjoyed a commanding 221-run win over University Bulls in round six of Darwin and District Cricket Competition’s second rung division.
Built upon Will Hamilton’s 135 off just 95 rocks, the Eagles compiled a monster 5/301 off their 40 overs, with support from Jake Vincent (49) and John Flynn (43 off 29 deliveries).
Hamilton flayed 15 boundaries and five sixes in his knock at Kahlin Oval.
Sandeep Vijayan copped the most hammer for the Bulls with the figures of 0/38 off three overs while Deepak Shrestha took 2/67.
In reply, the Bulls were rolled for just 80 in less than 21 overs with Tim Osborne (4/23), Jack Pilkington (3/29) and Shannon Smith (2/22) doing the bulk of the damage.
Ajay Emmanuel’s 16 – off 10 deliveries with two boundaries and a six – was the highest score for University.
Meanwhile, at Gardens Oval, Tracy Village could only muster 109 in reply to league leader Waratah’s 7/153.
Sanjay Anandarajah (37) and Hasnat Chowdhury (23) were the only contributors of note as Chatura Gabadage Don claimed 5/18 off seven destructive overs and Sam Elder 2/31.
Earlier, Under 19 Territory representative Elder’s even 50 was the bedrock for the Tahs, with support from Clancy McCormick (26) and Sam Geyer (22) as Sanjay Anandarajah took 4/30, completing a fine all-round game in a losing cause.
Waseem Akram also claimed 2/18.
At Nightcliff Oval, the Tigers set a competitive total of 9/161, with Tom Foley (42), Mansukh Singh (25) and Bryan Miles (23 not out) leading the way.
For PINT, Harrison Massey (3/36), Jonathon Hewitson (2/32) and Prajay Paramesh (2/31) did their best to restrict Nightcliff.
However, PINT came up 23 runs short with Sean Cockfield (27) and Massey (26) the main contributors as Jashandeep Singh (3/26) and Charlie Smith (2/18) kept the visitors pinned down.
The match between Southern Districts and Palmerston at Gerry Wood Oval was abandoned due to wet weather before the game.
Darwin’s short form stars so far
After five rounds of Darwin and District Cricket Competition’s 50-over fixtures, some stars with bat and ball have emerged ahead of the looming grand final on May 29.
Darwin, which sits on top of the ladder with three rounds to play, has three players in the NT News XI.
They also include Victorian off-spinner Todd Murphy, who has been plucked from obscurity to play for Australia A in Sri Lanka, taking a competition-high eight wickets from three games, while chipping with handy runs too.
Meanwhile, Tracy Village bat Antum Naqvi, who leads the competition for runs with 228 including 109 against Nightcliff, also easily finds a place in our list.
SEE THE NT NEWS XI SHORT FORM STARS:
TODD MURPHY
CLUB: Tracy Village
MATCHES: Three
RUNS: 121
AVERAGE: 40.33
HIGHEST SCORE: 63
WICKETS: Eight
BEST BOWLING: 3/19
AVERAGE: 8.88
The Tracy Village off-spinner finds himself in the top 10 of batters and bowlers after five rounds of the 50-over fixtures.
Murphy, who has been selected for an Australia A tour of Sri Lanka, has been in hot form in recent rounds, with an important 63 in Village’s 8/244 against PINT, before chipping in with 3/19 with the ball in the same game.
ANTUM NAQVI
CLUB: Tracy Village
MATCHES: Four
RUNS: 228
AVERAGE: 57
HIGHEST SCORE: 109
50s: Two
100s: One
WICKETS: Three
BEST BOWLING: 2/25
AVERAGE: 36.33
Naqvi has been a run machine with Tracy Village so far this season with a competition-high 228 runs from four games at an average of 57, with a century (109 against Nightcliff) and two 50s (60 against Southern Districts and 57 versus PINT), failing only once.
However, Naqvi has also chipped in with three wickets, including 2/25 in a win over PINT.
ANTHONY ADLAM
CLUB: Darwin
MATCHES: Four
RUNS: 192
AVERAGE: 64
50s: Two
HIGHEST SCORE: 73
Adlam has been a big part of the Eagles’ campaign this season – with the Eagles on top of the ladder – with 192 runs at an average of 64 including two half centuries (an unbeaten 70 against Nightcliff and a 73 against Waratah).
DEAN FRY
CLUB: Southern Districts
MATCHES: Four
RUNS: 164
AVERAGE: 54.67
HIGHEST SCORE: 63*
50s: Two
WICKETS: Two
BEST BOWLING: 2/28
AVERAGE: 14
The Southern Districts skipper has punched out two 50s this season (an unbeaten 63 against
Tracy Village and 54 against Nightcliff) with a lowest score of 17 against Darwin, while snaring two wickets.
DYLAN BRASHER
CLUB: Darwin
MATCHES: Four
RUNS: 157
AVERAGE: 39.25
HIGHEST SCORE: 136
100s: 1
WICKETS: Six
BEST BOWLING: 3/18
AVERAGE: 18.17
Brasher the thrasher, who moved to Darwin from Nightcliff this season, has only had one big score, an imperious 136 in a win over Waratah in round five.
However, he has backed up that innings with six wickets at 18.17, with the best figures of 3/18 in an 84-run win against PINT.
CONNOR CARROLL
CLUB: Palmerston
MATCHES: Three
RUNS: 155
AVERAGE: 51.67
HIGHEST SCORE: 100
50s: One
100s: One
The left-handed Queensland recruit has been a handy pick up so far for Palmerston, smashing an even hundred off 84 balls in a win over Nightcliff, before punching out 55 against Tracy Village, another victory for Palmerston who sit second on the ladder.
YUVRAJ SHARMA
CLUB: Nightcliff
MATCHES: Four
RUNS: 117
AVERAGE: 29.25
HIGHEST SCORE: 63
WICKETS: Six
BEST BOWLING: 4/31
AVERAGE: 18.17
Sharma has made double figures in all of his four innings with a highest score of an unbeaten 63 against Darwin.
Then, with the ball, he has taken six wickets at 18.17, including a best haul of 4/31 in the same match against Darwin.
TOM O’CONNELL
CLUB: Southern Districts
MATCHES: Two
RUNS: 29
AVERAGE: 29
HIGHEST SCORE: 29
WICKETS: Seven
BEST BOWLING: 4/42
AVERAGE: Nine
The Victorian leggie has only played two Premier Grade games but has made his presence felt with seven wickets for Southern Districts, helping the Crocs win both games.
His best haul of 4/42 came against Tracy Village, who were rolled for 172 in the process, and then 3/21 as Nightcliff capitulated for just 93.
KRISTOPHER DENBY
CLUB: Darwin
MATCHES: Two
WICKETS: Six
BEST BOWLING: 5/24
AVERAGE: 7.17
Like O’Connell, Denby has only played two games but has cleaned up in the process.
The Eagle claimed 5/24 in a 31-run win over Southern Districts.
The Crocs were cruising at 2/95, chasing Darwin’s 7/165, before Denby bowled Dean Fry for 17 to start a collapse.
DHANUSHA GAMAGE
CLUB: PINT
MATCHES: Four
RUNS: 154
AVERAGE: 51.33
HIGHEST SCORE: 65 not out
WICKETS: Three
BEST BOWLING: 3/45
AVERAGE: 29
The PINT all-rounder has been a model of consistency this year, reaching double figures in every match with a highest score of 65 not out against Palmerston and 48 versus Darwin.
However, Gamage also took 3/45 against Tracy Village, albeit in a losing cause.
AUSTIN UMPHERSTON
CLUB: WARATAH
MATCHES: Three
RUNS: 113
AVERAGE: 37.67
HIGHEST SCORE: 67
WICKETS: Four
BEST BOWLING: 2/24
AVERAGE: 26
Umpherston, recruited from Port Adelaide in South Australia, has been solid with bat and ball in three games so far.
His highest score remains 67 against Darwin in a losing cause, while picking up 2/24 in a 22-run win over PINT.
Brasher the thrasher in Darwin win over Waratah
A CHANCELESS 136 from Darwin opener Dylan Brasher led the way to a 17-run win over Waratah in a wonderfully competitive game at Kahlin Oval on Saturday.
Recruited this season by the Eagles, Brasher is no stranger to NT Cricket having donned the ochre and black colours for the Under 19 nationals two years ago.
“I played for the Territory at the Under 19 championships a couple of years ago – I just missed selection for the Victoria Metro side and Udara (Weerasinghe) who was the NT coach at the time asked if I would play for the Territory which I did,” Brasher said, who struck 10 boundaries and four sixes in his knock.
“It probably took me 30 or 40 balls to get going today but having Anthony (Adlam) at the other end was ideal – he did most of the early scoring while I settled in, so it was the perfect partnership in that regard.
“I play for Footscray in Melbourne Premier Grade competition and Jake Reed, who is our coach here in Darwin, comes from the same club.
“I’m looking forward to staying for the season and hopefully get selected for Strike League and Cricket 365 which are awesome competitions and will be good for my development.”
Brasher and Adlam (73) put on 169 for the first wicket before Udara Weerasinghe deceived Adlam, who chopped the ball on to his off stump.
Another wicket soon after lifted the Red Caps, but with Brasher in complete control and Matt Calder (36) also taking a liking to the bowling on the placid Kahlin track, the home side completed their allotted overs at 4-284.
Tahs didn’t have the depth of bowling to counter Darwin and while they all toiled, left-arm quick Caiden Eaton (2-52), was the only multiple wicket taker.
Waratah began the chase in the best possible manner with Austin Umpherston (67) and Isaac Conway (47) accumulating 83 for the first wicket.
A late rally by Weerasinghe (43) and a series of belligerent late-order partnerships almost got the visitors home, but they fell short at 10-267.
Young medium pacer Will Pilkington (2-37) filed the best return with the ball for the Eagles.
Meanwhile, a wonderful all-round performance by Todd Murphy 63 and 3-19 (10 overs), paved the way for a 78-run win by Tracy Village over PINT in the match played at the Village Green: Tracy 8-244 d PINT 7-166.
And Southern Districts 9-273 (Sam Kerber 67, Dean Fry 54, Phillip Hull 3-40) overwhelmed Nightcliff’s 93 (Corey Kelly 4-15, Tom O’Connell 3-21) at Gerry Wood Oval.
B Grade
A superb all-round performance from Nightcliff’s Smith Doshi has seen the Tigers easily dispatch Southern Disricts in round five of B Grade’s 40-over fixtures.
Nightcliff easily reeled in Crocs’ 131 (Nathan Hangan 37, Scott Willington 30, Zach Cluff 23) with Oscar Jacques-Ball (56 off 57 balls) and Doshi (29 off 24 balls) contributing decisive hands.
Earlier, Joshi also took 3/3 off four overs, supported by Damon Krake (2/18) and Charlie Smith (2/23) at Nightcliff Oval.
At Gardens Oval, the Eagles were rolled for just 92 (Will Hamilton 20) in reply to Waratah’s 138.
For Tahs, Chatura Gabadage Don claimed 2/1 off just four balls, supported by Aryaman Bhardwaj (2/10).
Earlier, Sam Geyer’s 37 top scored for Waratah as Dylan Slater (3/22), Tim Osborne (3/33) and Shannon Smith (2/12) did the damage.
At University Oval, Palmerston were skittled for just 99 (Lucas Nitschke 41 off 40 rocks) as Pukar Bhandari (5/21), Deepak Shrestha (3/21) and Boney Sebastian (2/22) caused havoc.
In reply, the Bulls reached the target with seven wickets in hand (Ajay Emmanuel, an unbeaten 35 off 34 balls, Bibin Matthew 23 not out).
Todd Murphy picked for Australia A tour of Sri Lanka
DESPITE a classy bowling display from recently selected Australia A tourist Todd Murphy, Tracy Village went down to a relentless Southern Districts by five wickets at the Village Green on Saturday.
Murphy was planning to spend the entire Darwin and District Cricket Competition with Tracy but the 21-year-old off-spinner from Victoria received a surprising phone call announcing he was selected to tour Sri Lanka with Australia A at the end of May.
“The selection was surreal – I didn’t see myself in that sort of squad yet and to get a phone call saying I was selected to tour Sri Lanka was an awesome feeling and something I am looking forward to,” Murphy told the NT News.
“The tour runs throughout June and kicks off with a couple of one-day games and then two four-day games.”
Murphy appreciates that off-spinning is a staple for Sri Lankan batsmen but is not perturbed and believes he will learn from the experience.
“It’ll be a really good challenge I think – you go over there and play in their environment and against guys that traditionally play spin really well,” he said.
“I had planned to play for Tracy for the whole season but now I will wait and see what happens after the tour and whether or not I will come back to Darwin.”
Batting first, the Villagers got off to a flyer with openers Joshua Hoffman (27), Tom Jackson (25) and number three Antum Naqvi (60) looking at ease, and at 4-141, a competitive score looked assured.
But what is now becoming a characteristic of the Tracy batting, they fell away and were bowled out for 172 off 45.3 overs.
Districts used its quartet of spinners to great effect with “leggie” Tom O’Connell (4-42) outstanding, receiving great support from skipper Matt Hammond (2-18), and left arm orthodox pair Tim Garner (2-27) and Sam Kerber (2-37).
Tracy started in the best possible manner with the ball, with quick Josh Kann snaring the first and then Murphy (3-26 off his full 10 overs) taking the next three, including one with his first ball.
Districts were teetering at 4-52 but Dean Fry (63 not out) and Xavier Crone (49) steadied the ship and got the rural men home by five wickets at 5-173 with 51 balls to spare.
However, no play was possible at Gardens Oval (Waratah v Nightcliff) and Cazalys Oval (Palmerston v Darwin) with both venues suffering wet and unplayable wickets.
B Grade
Darwin Cricket Club continues to rule the district’s second rung competition with its third win from four matches in the 40-over fixtures.
At DXC Arena, the Eagles’ 3/227 was 12 runs too many for Palmerston.
For the Eagles, Tom Menzies (65 not out) and Harry Fitzpatrick (54 not out) combined for a matchwinning 105-run partnership, leaving Thomas MacAllister (1/24) and Lance Hearn (1/42) as the only wicket takers.
In reply, Jake Baker (79), Charlie Bignell (56) and Lucas Nitschke (48 not out off just 44 balls) were the best of the bats as Palmerston ran out of overs.
With the ball, Jack Pilkington (1/21) and Michael O’Toole (1/31) were steady.
Meanwhile, PINT’s 147 all out was easily reeled in by University Bulls, also down at DXC.
Nathan Lester’s 66 off 57 balls stood out for the home team while Santosh Kumar chipped in with a 36-ball 35.
For the Bulls, Sandeep Vijayan (3/29) and Pukar Bhandari (2/16) took the wickets.
University then cruised to victory with eight wickets in hand, with Gunyan Upadhyaya (61) top scoring and solid contributions from Amit Saini (34 not out off 16 balls) and Tajinder Singh (33).
At Nightcliff Oval, Sam Geyer’s 78 off as many balls underpinned Waratah’s 190 as Charlie Smith (3/23), Sam Arthur (3/27) and Nachitket Sant (2/31) were the chief destroyers.
In reply, the Tigers fell 50 runs short with William Blair (55) and Mansukh Singh (31 off 26 balls) the only contributions of substance.
For Waratah, Chatura Gabadage Don (3/22), Yashan Vithanage (2/28) and Aryaman Bhardwaj (2/27) kept Nightcliff tied down.
At Gerry Wood Oval, Tracy Village were rolled for just 107 by Southern Districts (Ashley Nagel 3/18, Andrew Bourne 3/26, Casey Turner 2/17).
In reply, the Crocs recovered from losing three early wickets to easily reach Tracy’s tiny total, as Chris McEvoy (35 not out) and Zach Cluff (53 off 51 balls) combined.
Perfect Palmerston rules the long weekend
Palmerston has enjoyed the perfect long weekend, winning both of their 50 over games convincingly in the Darwin and District Cricket Competition’s Premier Grade.
Queensland recruit Connor Carroll backed up his even hundred on Saturday with 55 off 46 balls against Tracy Village at Cazalys Oval on Anzac Day.
He was supported by Connor Blaxall-Hill (40) and captain Alex Bleakley (35) as Harsh Shah (3/16), Josh Kann (2/27) and Todd Murphy (2/26) toiled hard for the visitors.
Murphy (36) and Kann (34) then led from the front with the bat for Tracy Village as Hamish Martin (3/31) and Chris Campbell (3/27) did the bulk of the damage.
At Gardens Oval, Waratah bounced back from Saturday’s loss to Southern Districts with a 22-run victory over PINT.
A consistent batting effort saw the Warriors post 7/173 (Tim Reynolds 34, Jagadeswara Koduru 30, Alex Umpherston (28) with Jonathon Caderamanpulle claiming 3/19.
In reply, PINT could only muster 151 (Caderamanpulle 45, Dhanusha Gamage 28) with Umpherston (2/24), Caiden Eaton (2/31) and Roby Lane 2/35) among the wickets.
At Nightcliff Oval, the Tigers responded from a disappointing loss to Palmerston on Saturday to reel in Darwin’s competitive 9/235 with six wickets in hand, built upon a 98-run stand from Anthony Adlam (70) and Matt Calder (69) for the second wicket.
Yuvraj Sharma (4/31) and Phil Hull (3/34) did their best to restrict the Eagles’ scoring.
In reply, Raveesh Srivastava (68), Sharma (63) and Josh Brown (59 not out off just 30 balls) saw Nightcliff home with almost 15 overs to spare.
Saturday
A commanding even hundred off just 84 balls from Palmerston’s hard-hitting Queensland recruit Connor Carroll has set up a comfortable eight-wicket win over Nightcliff.
At Nightcliff Oval, Palmerston easily reeled in the Tigers’ 9/206 just two wickets down with
Carroll continuing his strong form of late, supported by Awad Naqvi (45) and Alex Bleakley (27), in round two of Darwin and District Cricket Competition’s 50 over matches.
For Nightcliff, Yuvraj Sharma (2/34) was the only bowler to collect a wicket.
Earlier, Chris Campbell (2/43), Bleakley (2/28) and Connor Blaxall-Hill (2/29) shared the spoils.
Palmerston captain Hamish Martin told the NT News Carroll had a “seriously good day out”, launching a couple of “massive” sixes in his brutal hand.
“It was hot conditions and he burned them to be honest, he hit the ball as hard as I’ve ever seen, it was terrific viewing,” Martin said.
“He hits them bloody hard.
“It was mature as well, the way he batted with Awad was sensational, they complemented each other very nicely.
“That’s a pretty strong Nightcliff bowling attack too, they’ll have a good side this year.
“Hopefully it gets us going.”
Martin said his outfit had put a disappointing five-wicket loss to PINT in round one behind them and were starting to assemble a settled line up.
“We’re going to have a really good year,” he said.
“We’ll be competitive and we’ll have fun doing it, it’s the Palmerston way.”
It took two Territory representatives at the recent Under 19 national championships in Mackay to provide Nightcliff some respectability on the scoreboard, after it stumbled to 5/65.
Michael Kudra (47) and Jayllen Naganayagam (42), off the back of a half century in the final match of the championships against South Australia, put on 83 for the sixth wicket.
Meanwhile, a consistent batting effort from Darwin, with seven batters making double figures – including Luke Shelton (56), Matt Calder (43), Dhruv Kant (39), Ethan Anderson (39) and Tom Frawley (35 not out) – was the difference as the Eagles posted an imposing 7/265 at Kahlin Oval.
Vishwas Saini (2/40) and Lachlan Roughley (2/41) toiled hard for the visitors.
In reply, PINT was well placed at 0/84 before Connor Hawkins (3/45) and Dylan Brasher (3/18) interrupted proceedings, going down by 84 runs.
Openers Saini (58 off 49 balls) and Dhanusha Gamage (48) set a platform which was ultimately wasted.
At Gerry Wood Oval, Southern Districts overhauled Waratah’s 150 (Jagadeswara Koduru 45) with Chris McEvoy (3/18) and Kai Snape (3/26) doing the damage.
The Warriors were 1/42 before losing consistent wickets and were bowled out with five deliveries left.
Star SA Redback recruit Corey Kelly, in his first hit out for the Crocs, was unbeaten on 58 – supported by Dean Fry (30) and Daniel Mylius (29) – as Districts chased the total down with four wickets in hand.
B Grade
Monday
Tracy Village were skittled for just 56 by Palmerston at home as Lance Hearn (5/18 off 6.1 overs), Lachlan Gallagher (3/11) and Anthony Schuppan (2/16) ran amuk.
In reply, the visitors passed Village’s tiny total with seven wickets in hand (Harshtik Bimbral 41 off 24 balls) despite losing Gallagher for a first ball duck.
PINT returned to the winner’s list, its 201 was far too many for Waratah who fell 82 runs short.
A 57-ball 90 from Prajay Paramesh was supported by Bradley Allen (38) as Matthew Smith (3/28), Archie McCormick (3/31) and Chatura Gabadage Don (2/39) attempted to stem the bleeding.
Paramesh completed a fine all-round game with 3/35, complemented by Mariyatharsan Shanthakumar (3/15), as Yashan Vithanage’s 50 was the only Waratah innings of substance.
At Kahlin Oval, Darwin fell 25 runs short of Nightcliff’s 9/221 (Smit Doshi 95 off 81 balls, Mansukh Singh 56 off 38 deliveries, Greg Brautigam 4/34, Tom Menzies 2/33).
For the Eagles, Dylan Slater (75), Jake Vincent (34) and Jack Page (33) played their part as Finn Gray (3/21) and Samuel Arthur (3/40) provided matchwinning bowling efforts.
At University Oval, Southern Districts passed the home team’s 9/123 with two wickets in hand in a low scoring affair.
For the Crocs, Mitchell Townsend (32) and Les Wallace (26) played important innings as Boney Sebastian (2/9), Ajay Emmanuel (2/16), Tejo George (2/17) and Sandeep Vijayan (2/20) put the clamps on.
Earlier, Emmanuel’s 49 held his team’s innings together as Randhir Panwa (3/19), Mitchell Townsend (2/15) and Blayke Pepper (2/22) ensured Districts would not be chasing a large total.
Saturday
There were some serious beltings in round two of B Grade’s 50 over matches on Saturday.
PINT were rolled for just 90 at DXC Arena by Darwin on Saturday, with the star of the Territory’s Under 19 national championships, Tom Menzies, taking 4/20.
The Eagles easily passed PINT’s meagre total without losing a wicket (Will Hamilton 63 off as many balls).
At Gardens Oval, Southern Districts were bowled out for just 78 in reply to Waratah’s 8/239 (Clancy McCormick (60 off 57 balls, Chatura Gabadage Don 48 off 33, Wilson Ryan 30, Nirmala Perera 30) as Mitchell Townsend (2/39) and Blayke Pepper (2/34) toiled hard.
Earlier, the wickets were shared (Aryaman Bhardwaj 2/10, Joseph Conlin 2/11, Gabadage Don (2/23) as the Crocs imploded.
At Cazalys Oval, Palmerston came up 97 runs short after Nightcliff made 6/233 (Finn Gray 59 off 26 balls, Smith Doshi 50, William Blair 45, Cameron Hyde 3/56).
For the home team, Harshtik Bimbral (43 off 24 balls) and Jake Baker (28) were the best of the bats as the wickets were shared among Doshi (3/14), Gray (2/16), Bryan Miles (2/17) and Charlie Smith (2/44).
At Tracy Village Oval, University passed the home side’s 8/192 with six wickets in hand, driven by a hard-hitting hand from Ajay Emmanuel (85 off 87 balls) as Riley Lewis (2/27) was the only multiple wicket taker.
Hoons damage Kahlin Oval
Darwin Cricket Club is hopeful of getting two games played this long weekend at Kahlin Oval despite ‘hooligans” tearing up the surface earlier this week.
The club posted on Facebook on Wednesday night pictures of the damaged oval with tyre marks while calling for witnesses or video evidence.
Club officials believe the hoons accessed the oval on Tuesday night, with the club’s curator discovering the damaged turf on Wednesday.
“Our beloved oval has been torn up again,” the club posted.
“If any of our Kahlin neighbours have any CCTV footage of the hooligans responsible, we’d very much appreciate it.
“Our neighbourhood is your neighbourhood, we’re sure you are not keen on having those characters around either.”
The club’s Premier Grade team is due to play PINT at the ground on Saturday and its B Grade will meet Nightcliff on Monday.
Former president Morgan Yeo told the NT News said there had not been any damage at the club for several years but understood the hoons had accessed the ground through an open gate, which was damaged and wouldn’t close.
“We haven’t had (any issues) in a while,” Yeo said.
“It’s a good thing it’s not on the pitch, but it’s disappointing, really.
“It’s a bit of a pain in the arse to be honest.”
Eagles Premier Grade captain Connor Hawkins was confident it would not impact Saturday’s game against PINT.
“Luckily they’ve not hit the square, but we’ve got a pretty good curator,” Hawkins said.
“We should be all right to play this weekend.”
Meanwhile, the club will welcome back Luke Shelton from Victoria for matches on Saturday and Monday.
Shelton is one of Darwin’s leading bats of the past decade.
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