Wet weather washes out weekend cricket matches

All cricket in Narrabri was washed out last Friday and Saturday following an abundance of rain that left the fields and pitches unplayable.

That meant that all Narrabri District Cricket Association first and second grade round four one day games and the Narrabri District Women’s Cricket Association round four T20 fixtures were abandoned and declared draws.

The Narrabri District Junior Cricket Association Friday night and Saturday morning action was also called off.

The washouts meant that all of the NDCA teams picked up four points each, which sees Wilga Razorbacks remain a win clear in first place on the first grade one day comp ladder.

They have accumulated 25 points and second-placed side RSL are on 19 points ahead of their top-of-the-table clash at Hogan Oval this Saturday in round five. That match will get underway at 1pm, a first for the Razorbacks this season following their T20 matches under lights and day/night games.

A victory in that game would see the Wilga men go two wins clear with four matches left to play, but an RSL win would see the defending champions go level at the top on 26 points with the current front-runners.

Tourist Hotel (13 points) and Tatts (seven points) are still ranked third and fourth, respectively, and will play against one another at Collins Park on Saturday afternoon in round five.

Tatts would fall two wins outside of the top three if they lose that contest, which would severely damage their finals hopes.

The second grade matches will see Tatts challenge SignPrintStitch Colts as Leitch Oval and RSL meet Tourist Hotel at Gately Field.

RSL are currently two wins clear at the top of the table with 25 points, Tourist and the Colts are second and third with 13 points and Tatts are last with 12 points, so an RSL win in round five would almost certainly cement their spot as minor premiers.

All four women’s teams also picked up four points as Friday and Saturday nights’ games were washed out. That sees Wilga enter round five ranked first with 25 points, a win clear of Nandewar (19 points), two wins clear of Wahgunyah Dreamtime Mirri (13 points) and three wins clear of GFS Engineering (seven points) with five rounds left to play.

This week’s fixtures see Wilga Hotel challenge GFS Engineering at Hogan Oval on Friday night and Nandewar take on Wahgunyah at Collins Park on Saturday night.

There are just two rounds left in 2024 for the NDCA and NDWCA campaigns, with rounds seven to nine to be played from February next year.

The women’s competition fixtures for next year are yet to be locked in and could return to both being held on Saturday nights.

The new lights on Collins Park and Leitch Oval are expected to be up and running in the coming weeks, which would allow the Wilga Razorbacks to play their day/night games at Collins Park and the women’s games to be contested side-by-side at Hogan Oval and Leitch Oval in 2025.