Pink Slugs to fight for a semi-final spot on Sunday

Narrabri District Cricket Association’s pursuit of an MA Connolly Cup grand final appearance will continue this Sunday when they contest their first home game of the season at Collins Park.

The Pink Slugs will host Gunnedah in the third and final round of the regular season and it is a must-win game for them following a win and a loss so far.

The NDCA men began the 2024/25 campaign with a dominant 161-run win against Moree last month but lost their round two clash against Gwydir by 43 runs in Bingara on Sunday.

Gwydir batted first after winning the toss and made 8-213 after batting out the 40 overs before knocking over the visitors for 170 in 31.5 overs.

The Pink Slugs landed an early blow as skipper Nathan Trindall struck in the first over to knock over Gwydir’s Dylan Butler for a duck, and Butler’s opening partner then departed in the eighth over when he was runout by Bradshaw as the score became 2-18.

The hosts were well below par at 4-69 at the halfway mark after 20 overs, but some impressive batting efforts from Luke Smith (71), Clayton Daley (32) and Stephen Pleffer (34*) saw them lift the run rate significantly across the next 20 overs and they ended up with a defendable 8-213.

A five-wicket haul from Narrabri’s Will Ford saw him finish with game-best figures of 5-27 from eight overs, and openers Trindall (1-27 from seven overs) and Cooper Brayshaw (1-32 from eight overs) both claimed one scalp each.

Gwydir came out firing in the second innings as their opening bowler Luke Walton dismissed the NDCA openers Hamish Duncan (1) and Nick Tomlinson (3) to make the score 2-11 after five overs.

Will Ford (37) and Max Hunter (11) then put on the Pink Slugs’ best partnership as they combined for 49 runs to take their side to 60, but the chasing side found themselves on 4-67 in the 13th over after those two batsmen were also dismissed by Walton.

Cooper Brayshaw anchored the rest of the innings as he looked to guide the Pink Slugs to a second straight win but he ran out of partners in the 32nd over and finished unbeaten as the NDCA side’s top scorer with 37 runs. Bradshaw (12), Dylan Segundo (20) and Trindall (12) made double-digit contributions but it was not enough as the Pink Slugs’ innings came to an end on 170 runs.

The other round two Pool B match was played in Gunnedah on Sunday where the hosts defeated Moree by 56 runs. Gunnedah batted first and made 159 before knocking over a 10-man Moree outfit for 103.

Those results have left Narrabri, Gunnedah and Gwydir all on equal points following a win each, and Moree last following two losses.

Gunnedah and Gwydir did not play their round one match when Narrabri and Moree contested theirs, and it is rescheduled for Sunday, November 24.

Gwydir will host Moree this weekend while Narrabri welcomes Gunnedah to Collins Park in round three.