Narrabri District Cricket Association’s 2025/26 season first grade T20 competition went right down to the wire across the weekend as all five teams remained in contention for a spot in the grand final.
Tatts entered Friday night’s round four clash against the Wilga Hotel Razorbacks on top of the table with 14 points following their round one bye back in October and back-to-back wins in rounds two and three in December.
They led despite the other four teams getting a head start on them as they all earned four points each when their round one matches were washed out, with Tourist Hotel then picking up eight more points following a victory and a loss across the two December rounds to sit second on 12 points.
RSL and the Razorbacks were next best with five points following their round two losses ahead of the Razorbacks’ round three bye. RSL also sat out in round three as their match against Boggabri was postponed due to the Colts’ junior trip to a Sydney Smash Big Bash game late last year.
Boggabri also had the round two bye, so they entered the year in last place with four points, having only played one game.
Friday night’s round four matches saw the Razorbacks cruise past Tatts to a seven-wicket victory at Leitch Oval while the Boggabri men defeated Tourist Hotel by 18 runs at Collins Park.
Tourist’s loss saw them become the first side to be eliminated from grand final contention, with their 13 points across the first four rounds not going to be enough to earn them a top-two spot on the ladder as they sat out with the round five bye.
The Razorbacks (12) and Boggabri (11) both moved into striking distance of Tourist Hotel as a result of their victories, but they both lost their round five matches the following night as Tatts downed the Colts by 35 runs at Jubilee Oval while RSL took down the Razorbacks by 18 runs at Collins Park.
Those results saw Tatts wrap up the minor premiership and secure a spot in the decider as they ensured they would finish on top of the table with 22 points following three wins and a loss, while the Razorbacks dropped out of grand final contention as they ended up on 13 points, with Boggabri and RSL both on 12 ahead of their rescheduled round three match on Sunday.
That game at Jubilee Oval saw the finals arrive early as the two sides lined up for a must-win match with a grand final spot on the line, and it was the new boys on the block that got the job done as Boggabri took down RSL by 19 runs.
Friday night’s match at Leitch Oval almost went the distance as Tatts batted first and made 5-116 from their 20 overs before the Wilga Hotel Razorbacks chased down the required total with three deliveries to spare, having only lost three wickets.
Middle order duo Craig Gleeson (33) and Karl Hatfield (39*) led the way with the bat for Tatts in the first innings, while Clay Hoffman (2-15 from four overs) was the Razorbacks’ best with the ball.
Matt Bradshaw then continued his brilliant form with the bat this season with a match-best 40 runs in the second innings, and his Wilga Hotel Razorbacks teammates Jack Tate (26*) and Josh Schwager (25) also excelled to help guide their side to a seven-wicket win.
Michael Cain made a highly-anticipated return for Tatts in that game and was their best bowler with 2-24 from four overs.
The other match on Friday night saw Boggabri bat first and make 129 runs before losing their final wicket with three deliveries remaining in the innings.
Opener Nick Millar (37) got his side off to a positive start to the match before Josh Colling arrived at number six and smashed 32 runs from just 18 deliveries to keep the Colts’ momentum going.
Kaleb Mowle (4-17 from four overs) and Matt Conroy (3-23 from four overs) combined for seven of Tourist Hotel’s 10 wickets during that innings.
Boggabri then got off to a red-hot start in the second innings as they knocked over both of the Tourist Hotel openers Hamish Duncan (3) and Nick Tomlinson (0) cheaply, before their replacements Conroy (22) and Tom Vanderstock (21) got the chasing side back on track.
Jeff Annis-Brown (13), Luke Meppem (14) and Dan Treseder (12*) also reached double digits, but their efforts were not enough to get Tourist over the line to a crucial victory that would have secured them a grand final spot as they ended up with 9-111, falling 19 runs short.
Six of the seven Boggabri bowlers used took at least one wicket in that match.
RSL sat out with the bye on Friday night before welcoming 2026 in style when they beat Wilga Hotel Razorbacks by 18 runs at Collins Park on Saturday night.
The defending champions batted first in that clash and made 9-126 in their 20 overs before restricting the Razorbacks to 8-108.
Jarrett Tough (20), Nathan Trindall (14), Jake Brayshaw (27) and Shane Murphy (20) were all part of RSL’s top five and all made starts to help guide their side past 100 to a defendable total, while Wilga Hotel’s Pat Hubbard (3-14 from four overs) was his team’s best with the ball in that innings as all five bowlers used took at least one wicket.
The Razorbacks were then struggling at 5-40 during the second innings before Hoffman (38) and Dylan Smith (17) provided some resistance, but it was not enough as the chasing side fell 19 runs short.
RSL’s opening bowlers Nathan Trindall (2-10 from four overs) and Andrew Harvey (2-15 from four overs) were their side’s standouts with the ball.
The other match on Saturday saw Tatts travel out to Jubilee Oval to challenge Boggabri, where they batted first and made 5-130 in 20 overs.
Openers Tom Craig and Jacob Nichols got Tatts on the front foot early as they both scored 31, and their replacements Rod Kirk (15) and Craig Gleeson (23) kept the momentum going as the top four combined for 100 of their side’s 130 runs.
Jarod Adams (2-11 from three overs) and Rhyce Kliendienst (2-24 from four overs) both claimed two wickets each for the home side.
Three of the Colts’ top four batsmen made starts as Adams (18), Ben Haire (11) and Nathan Millar (16) all reached double digits before Jay Urquhart top-scored with 26 from number six.
However, Tatts were too good in the end as all six of their bowlers took at least one wicket to bowl out Boggabri for 95 runs with one delivery remaining in the innings.
Boggabri bounced back in style the following day as they scored a crucial win on home soil against RSL to secure second place and qualify for the grand final.
They batted first and made 9-116 from their 20 overs after top order duo Haire (33) and Nick Millar (23) both excelled with the bat before skipper Cody Kember (19) continued the side’s momentum.
They then bowled out RSL for 97 runs with one ball remaining, with the chasing side’s skipper and opener Jarrett Tough (44) and middle order batsman Jordan Doolan (20) providing the bulk of their team’s runs.
Ash White (3-12 from four overs) was the standout with the ball for Boggabri.
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