Impressive partnership guides the Wilga Hotel Razorbacks to their second minor premiership

Wilga Hotel Razorbacks will get another shot at premiership glory later this month after securing Narrabri District Cricket Association’s 2025/26 season first grade one day minor premiership on Saturday.

A 204-run victory over the Boggabri Colts at Collins Park locked in a first-place finish for the Razorbacks with one round remaining as they held off a fast-finishing Tatts side, who won by 144 runs against RSL to claim second spot.

Had the Razorbacks lost on Saturday, Tatts would have overtaken them by a point heading into the final round, but that was not to be as the Wilga Hotel men produced top-quality efforts with bat and ball to score their seventh victory in eight one day outings this season.

They batted first after skipper Jack Tate won the toss and produced their second-largest total of the campaign as they registered 4-258 before knocking over the Colts for 54 runs in 21.2 overs in the second innings.

The minor premiership is Wilga Hotel’s second in as many seasons after they finished on top in the 2024/25 campaign before losing the grand final by six wickets against RSL.

They now have one more match to play in the regular season to prepare for the March 21 big dance ahead of their weekend off on March 14 while the preliminary final is contested.

Wilga Hotel’s Steve Phelps and Matt Bradshaw opened the batting in their round 14 clash and produced a 79-run partnership to get their side on the front foot before both were dismissed for 34 runs.

It was Matt Avendano who got the better of the duo as he bowled Phelps in the 21st over and then dismissed Bradshaw in the 23rd with the assist of a Marty Beckett catch. He also knocked over Clay Hoffman in the 23rd over as Nick Millar held onto a catch that saw the Razorbacks find themselves on 3-90.

Those three Avendano wickets gave the Colts some hope, but Wilga Hotel’s club president Greg Melton and skipper Jack Tate wrestled back momentum in Wilga’s favour as they produced the third -largest partnership of the 2025/26 first grade campaign, combining for 128 runs for the fourth wicket.

The Razorbacks now have the three largest partnerships of the season after Melton put on 171 runs with Bradshaw in round one, and Zack Doring put on 133 runs with Bradshaw in round 10.

Melton blasted seven fours and five sixes on his way to 87 runs from just 40 deliveries against the Colts before he was bowled by Boggabri skipper Cody Kember in the 35th over, and Tate ended up unbeaten on 57 runs from 50 balls alongside teammate Josh Schwager, who chipped in with a late and unbeaten run-a-ball 16.

Avandano (3-28 from eight overs) was the pick of the bowlers for the Colts.

The Colts got off to a fast start to their chase as Tate coughed up eight wides in the first over, but his opening bowling partner Pat Hubbard was on the mark with his first delivery as he bowled Boggabri’s danger man Kember for a duck with the first ball of the second over.

Hubbard struck again twice in the sixth over with the big wickets of Jarod Adams (10) and Nick Millar (0) to make the score 3-20, which became 4-20 from the first ball of the seventh over when Tate bowled Avandano (2).

Tate then struck again with the first deliveries of his next two overs as he bowled Nathan Millar (2) in the ninth and Andrew Guest (2) in the 11th to make the score 6-26, and Hubbard took his fourth scalp of the game with his final delivery as he knocked over Jack Hayes (2) in the 16th over with the assistance of an Angus Galagher catch to finish with 4-18.

Schwager replaced Hubbard and took 2-16 from three overs before Nathan Hamblin, who had replaced Tate (3-18 from seven overs), struck with the final wicket of the contest as he bowled Coen Gough (1) to finish with 1-2 from 3.2 overs as the Colts finished all out with 54.

Next up for the Razorbacks is a Collins Park clash against Tourist Hotel this Saturday as the Wilga Hotel men look to end the regular season on a high while the Tourist Hotel men look to avoid the wooden spoon, which they need a win to achieve.

The other round 15 match will see Boggabri go in search of a bounce-back as they challenge RSL at Jubilee Oval, with the winner of that match to secure third place on the ladder and a spot in the preliminary final against second-placed Tatts.

Tatts will sit out with the bye in round 15 after they finished the regular season on a four-match win streak following their round 14 drubbing of RSL.