Duncan claims batting honour but Tourist Hotel fumble second place in the final round

In a thrilling finish to the 2024/25 Narrabri District Cricket Association first grade T20 competition, the Wilga Hotel Razorbacks edged out Tourist Hotel and Tatts to secure a spot in this Saturday night’s grand final, setting up an exciting showdown against the undefeated champions RSL.

A dramatic turn of events unfolded on Saturday night when those three teams ended up level on 21 points after Tatts beat RSL at Hogan Oval and Wilga Hotel downed Tourist Hotel at Collins Park.

It was the Razorbacks’ superior net run rate that saw them advance to the decider.

Tourist Hotel were a win clear of Wilga and Tatts heading into the final round and were dealt a crushing blow as they lost to the Razorbacks by nine runs after failing to chase 104, while Tatts produced a 31-run victory over RSL.

The three teams that finished on 21 points all won twice and lost three times across the five matches they played in the six-round competition, while round two was washed out for all four teams and that saw them all pick up four points for a draw.

RSL’s loss in round six was their first in the short format competition after they had won all four of their games during the first five rounds.

The Razorbacks now get to defend the T20 premiership they won back in 2019 during their inaugural season in Narrabri cricket. They took down Tatts by 36 runs at Collins Park in February that year, which was the last time the first grade T20 grand final was contested after the competition was replaced by the Namoi Super Slog the following season.

It was not just a spot in the grand final that was up for grabs for the first graders on Saturday night, but also individual honours as the leading run-scorers and wicket-takers races went down to the final round.

Tourist’s first grade T20 skipper Hamish Duncan opened the batting and scored an unbeaten 50 runs to take out the batting honour as his patient knock saw him become the only player to reach triple digits. His cousin and RSL opener Jake Brayshaw was the top scorer with 90 going into the final round but was away on holidays, and Duncan took advantage as he became just the third player to score a half-century in the short format competition this season to end up on 106.

Cooper Brayshaw (95) and Jakeb Nipperess (92) also overtook Jake Brayshaw in the final round to finish second and third, respectively.

The bowling race was an even more intriguing one as the Razorbacks’ Greg Melton, Tatts’ Josh Campbell, and RSL duo Cody Kember and Will Ford were all tied on seven wickets going into the final round.

Campbell did not play in Tatts’ win, and Melton, Ford and Kember all took one wicket each to finish equal first with eight wickets.