Narrabri under-14s turn up the heat

The Narrabri District Junior Cricket Association’s under-14s team played its seventh and final match in the Tim Grosser Cup on a warm day on Sunday at Hogan Oval against Armidale Gold.

The hosts demolished Armidale by 236 runs after batting first and making 5-350 before knocking over Armidale for just 114 runs.

Narrabri’s batting masterclass was inspired by cousins Sid Harvey and Bernard O’Connor.

Bernard opened the batting with Jonty Fowler and the pair put on a 58-run partnership which ended when Jonty was run out for 18 in the 11th over.

That brought Sid to the crease and he and Bernard put together a 117-run partnership which took the hosts to 175 in the 30th over.

In that over Bernard was caught just short of a maiden century, leaving the middle having scored 96 runs from as many deliveries.

He smashed 14 fours during his time at the crease.

That wicket did not deter Sid who went on to raise the bat himself to celebrate a century.

He was eventually stumped for 140 runs from 111 balls following a brilliant innings which included 18 fours.

Teammates Alistair Wheeler (28), Clay Hoffman (21) Sanchit Jagadeesan (10*) and Lucas Hogan (8*) all chipped in to help Narrabri reach 350 which was the largest team total across the seven rounds.

The home side then used 10 bowlers during its defence as it limited Armidale to just 114 runs.

Wicket takers were Alistair Wheeler (2-6 from four overs), Lachlan Ford (2-8 from three overs), Sid Harvey (1-0 from 0.1 overs), Jonty Fowler (1-8 from three overs), Tallen Robinson (1-12 from four overs) and Lucas Hogan (1-12 from two overs).

The dominant win saw Narrabri finish the seven-round campaign on four wins and three losses, which meant that its final ranking was fifth on the eight-team ladder.

Narrabri finished just one point behind third-placed Tamworth Gold and less than a win back from second-placed Inverell.