WTC Group secure a spot in the grand final

WTC Group’s determined pursuit of their maiden Narrabri District Cricket Association Coates Hire Namoi Super Slog premiership is on the right track following an unbeaten start to the 2023/24 T20 campaign.

The Nathan Trindall-captained side played two more games on Saturday and were victorious in both of them as they continued their undefeated start with their fourth win from as many games and became the first team to lock in their spot in the grand final on Saturday, January 20.

They managed to do so during what was their second consecutive double header after they went head-to-head with J and D Weed Management on Saturday afternoon at Leitch Oval and won by 35 runs before they downed NKT Excavations by four wickets on Saturday night at Hogan Oval.

WTC Group and NKT Excavations both entered their fourth match of the campaign undefeated after the NKT Excavations side defeated Specialised Civil Services comfortably by seven wickets at Hogan Oval on Saturday afternoon.

That loss was the Specialised Civil Services outfit’s fourth in a row after they went down by 10 wickets against J and D Weed Management on Friday night at Hogan Oval.

Eight of the 12 regular season games have now been played and it is WTC Group that leads the way at the top of the table with a maximum 28 points after four rounds.

NKT Excavations are second on 22 points following three wins and one loss, and J and D Weed Management are third on 10 points following a win and three losses.

The 2022/23 season’s grand finalists Specialised Civil Services are ranked last on four points, meaning they are now mathematically unable to finish in the top two and are therefore out of finals contention.

J and D Weed Management must win both of their final two regular season games when the campaign resumes on Saturday and Sunday, January 12 and 13 if they are any hope of clinching second spot and meeting WTC Group in the final.

However, they would also need NKT Excavations to lose both of their final two games as well, and even if that was to occur, the two sides would end up level on points and then runs for and against and wickets taken and lost would determine which of the two teams would finish second.

Friday night’s match at Hogan Oval saw Specialised Civil Services bat first after their skipper Lachlan Woolford won the toss. Although the side batted out the entire 20 overs, they managed to score just 72 runs while losing nine wickets.

J and D Weed Management chased that down easily to win by 10 wickets.

It was a tough night at the office for Specialised Civil Services, who were missing several key players including Bernard O’Connor, Danny Laws, Josh Trindall and Adam Gordon.

Only two of their batsmen reached a double-digit total, and they were both fill-in players as Hadley Sevil entered at number four and scored 11 before Luke Ensby entered at number six and registered a team-high 19.

J and D Weed Management used six bowlers and five of them took at least one wicket.

Jakeb Nipperess led the way with 3-10 off three overs, Hamish Duncan took 2-13 from four overs, and Nick Tomlinson (1-3 from two overs), Josh Schwager (1-6 from three overs) and Mark Page (1-21 from four overs) all took one each.

Opening bowler Dylan Segundo performed superbly without a wicket and finished with 0-8 from four overs.

Tomlinson and Duncan opened the batting for J and D Weed Management in the second innings and guided the side to a comfortable 10-wicket win.

Tomlinson scored an unbeaten 43, which included six fours and a six, and Duncan registered an unbeaten 25, which included four fours.

Tomlinson smashed a boundary in the 11th over to bring the match to a close.

J and D Weed Management were in action again on Saturday afternoon as they met WTC Group at Leitch Oval, but they were unable to claim their second win of the season as they went down by 36 runs.

WTC Group batted first after skipper Nathan Trindall won the toss and the side scored 8-136 in 20 overs before knocking over the J and D men for 100 runs in 15.2 overs.

Will Ford dominated in that contest as he produced a man-of-the-match display that included a game-high 34 runs in the first innings followed by a five-wicket haul in the second.

He opened the batting in the first innings and smashed four fours and a six on his way to 34 runs before he was caught by Nipperess in the 11th over off the bowling of Duncan.

Greg Melton (19), Dylan Smith (15), Trindall (13) and Wahid Islam (12) all made handy contributions as their side reached 136 runs in 20 overs.

J and D Weed Management fill-in player Isaiah Cochrane (2-9 from one over) and Nipperess (2-31 from three overs) took two wickets each during that innings.

Nipperess then top-scored with 26 runs in the second innings before he became the first of Ford’s five victims after Trindall had knocked over both Duncan (0) and Luke Meppem (2) for a combined two runs and Melton had bowled Kaleb Mowle (10).

Ford ripped through J and D Weed Management’s batting lineup to end up with 5-20 from four overs, and his teammates Rowan Keeler and Darcy Anderson both took their first wickets of the campaign as well.

Mark Page scored an unbeaten 20 runs late in the innings, however, the result was in no doubt as WTC Group won by 36 runs.

In the other game that was played in the afternoon on Saturday, NKT Excavations claimed a three-wicket win against Specialised Civil Services.

Specialised Civil Services were still without O’Connor, Laws, Trindall and Gordon, and were also missing both Jye Manton and Woolford.

Karl Hatfield was named as stand-in skipper and he chose to bat first after winning the toss.

He led by example as he opened and scored a match-high 45 runs, but no one else on his team was able to reach double figures and they finished on 8-72 after 20 overs.

Home from university, Elsie Ford filled in for NKT Excavations and was the star of the show as she took 5-13 from four overs and joined Will Ford and Tim Hayne on a list of just three players to have claimed five-wicket hauls this season.

Jake Brayshaw (2-23 from four overs) and Matt Conroy (1-12 from three overs) took the other three wickets in that innings.

NKT Excavations’ chase was led by their skipper Cooper Brayshaw who entered at number three and scored a game-high unbeaten 29 runs.

His side only lost three wickets as they scored their third consecutive victory of the campaign.

They then met the other unbeaten team, WTC Group, in the final game of the weekend on Saturday night.

Brayshaw won the toss and elected to bat, and his side made 103 runs before losing their final wicket in the 20th over.

WTC Group chased that down in 16 overs, having lost just four wickets.

Jake Brayshaw led the way for NKT Excavations in the first innings as he opened and scored a match-high 45 runs, which included six boundaries.

Jake Thurston (14*) was his only teammate to reach double figures.

WTC Group’s Melton starred with the ball for his side as he ended up with a game-best 4-9 from four overs, which included two maidens.

Trindall (3-14 from 3.3 overs) took three wickets, Tim Hayne (2-28 from four overs) claimed two and Gabe O’Connor (1-5 from one over) took one.

WTC Group’s openers Hayne (16) and Angus Galagher (25) laid a great platform for the chasing innings, and Melton brought it home as he scored a game-high 26 runs.

Trindall brought the game to a close from the final ball of the 16th over when he smashed a four to secure a brilliant six-wicket win.

Thirty sundries helped the side get there easily as NKT Excavations had a night to forget in the field.

At the completion of four rounds of the 2023/24 Coates Hire Namoi Super Slog campaign, there is a tie at the top of both the leading run-scorer and leading wicket-taker leaderboards.

J and D Weed Management opener Nick Tomlinson and NKT Excavations all-rounder Matt Conroy have both scored 102 runs in three innings and top the run-scorers’ tally, and WTC Group duo Nathan Trindall and Tim Hayne have both taken eight scalps as they top the wicket-takers’ tally.

With many players breathing down their necks, the $500 prizes on offer for the top run-scorer and top wicket-taker this season is set to go right down to the wire when the campaign resumes in January.

The first match back in the NDCA’s Coates Hire Namoi Super Slog comp after the holiday break will be played at Hogan Oval under lights on Friday, January 12, when Specialised Civil Services go head-to-head with WTC Group.

Two more games will be played on Saturday, January 13, in the afternoon when NKT Excavations battle WTC Group at Hogan Oval and Specialised Civil Services take on J and D Weed Management at Leitch Oval.

The 12th and final regular season game will be played under lights that night between NKT Excavations and J and D Weed Management.

The NDCA will host second grade T20 matches on Friday and Saturday, January 5 and 6.