WTC Group wins Coates Hire Namoi Super Slog grand final rematch

WTC Group kick-started its Narrabri District Cricket Association 2022/23 season Coates Hire Namoi Super Slog T20 competition campaign with a resounding round one victory on Saturday when it beat the defending champs Priag Patriots by five wickets at Leitch Oval.

The Dylan Smith-captained side fielded first after losing the toss and it rolled the Patriots for just 61 runs in 14.4 overs before chasing down the required total in 12 overs at the expense of five wickets.

Taking chances in the field proved to be the difference in the highly-anticipated grand final rematch. WTC Group put down two catches early on in the game’s first innings but regrouped and held onto the rest of their chances as they finished with eight catches. Priag Patriots then put down five catches, and that proved costly as it hampered their chances of defending the low total that they had posted.

WTC Group’s skipper Smith took the first wicket of the match in the third over when he removed Hamish Duncan (2), who was caught by Matt Conroy. Duncan was striking the ball well early on and got onto a Smith half-volley with power that he drove towards the bowler. Smith got hands to it but could not hold on, however, the ball remained airborne and fell straight into the grasp of Conroy to make the score 1-10.

That became 2-12 during the next over when Jakeb Nipperess (2) was caught by Jonty Schwager from the bowling of Will Ford.

Priag Patriots opening batsman Jake Brayshaw (12) departed in the seventh over when he was caught by Tim Hayne from the bowling of Schwager, which made the score 3-22 in the seventh over and brought one of the most dangerous players in this season’s T20 competition, Josh Trindall, to the crease.

Trindall began to forge an innings that promised to get his team back on track, but he lost two partners in the ninth over and two more in the 10th as Jarrett Tough removed his RSL teammates Cooper Brayshaw (6) and Nathan Trindall (0), and then Cody Kember dismissed Joel Hogan (1) and Jake Cooper (0).

Those wickets left Priag Patriots struggling at 7-35 at the halfway point of the innings, and the next wicket fell just three overs later when Trindall lost his fifth partner as DJ Allen (0) was caught by Ben Keys from the bowling of Jacob Hopman.

That made the score 8-50, which became 9-56 in the 14th over when Conroy claimed the big wicket of Trindall, who was caught by Smith for a team-best score of 27.

Clay Hoffman sparked some hope midway through the 15th over when he drove a Hopman delivery for a four, however, it was Hopman who had the final say when he bowled Hoffman (5) with the next ball as Priag’s innings came to a close.

All seven bowlers used by WTC Group took at least one wicket. Hopman (2-5 from 1.4 overs), Tough (2-11 from two overs) and Kember (2-18 from four overs) all bagged two each, and Ford (1-5 from two overs), Smith (1-7 from two overs), Conroy (1-7 from one over) and Schwager (1-8 from two overs) claimed one each.

The Patriots came out determined to take an early wicket to get their defence off to a positive start, and they did exactly that when Nathan Trindall bowled Steve Phelps (0) in the opening over.

He took his second wicket with the final ball of his four-over spell in the seventh over of the innings when he bowled Tough (4) to make the score 2-37.

Conroy was at the other end doing the damage for his side as the WTC Group opening batsman had scored 29 of those runs and looked solid out there in the middle.

He reached 41 before departing for a game-high score from just 30 balls when he was caught by Cooper Brayshaw in the Jake Brayshaw-bowled 10th over.

The older of those two Brayshaw brothers took two more wickets in the 12th over when he knocked over Smith (2) and Hopman (4), but WTC Group reached the required total by the end of that over as Kember (5*) and Schwager (2*) guided their side home to victory.

Brayshaw finished with game-best figures of 3-24 from four overs, and Nathan Trindall (2-11 from four overs) took the other two wickets in that innings.

WTC Group will be determined to score its second win in as many matches this Friday when it takes on J and D Weed Management at Hogan Oval, while Priag Patriots will go searching for their first win of the season when they meet Specialised Civil Services at Collins Park. Both of those games will be played under lights from 7pm.