Narrabri District Cricket Association’s representative first XI leapfrogged to the top of the MA Connolly Cup’s Namoi Conference points ladder on Sunday following a dominant victory in Gunnedah.
The Pink Slugs took on the Central North Zone Colts (under-18s) side in the third round match after their first two games were washed out and declared draws.
The Narrabri men won the game, which was scheduled to be played in Tamworth but was re-located due to field availability, by 83 runs.
NDCA skipper Luke Meppem won the toss and elected to bat. His side was clinical with the bat and reached 172 runs before losing its final wicket in the final over of the innings.
The Narrabri men then made light work of their younger opponents, who they bowled out in 27 overs for just 89 runs.
The Pink Slugs lost their two openers Hadley Sevil (2) and Hamish Duncan (10) early in the innings as the scoreboard read 2-34 after 10 overs.
The side’s number three batsman Shane Murphy (18) chipped in with a handy contribution, as did Jordyn Mowle (25) at number eight.
The Pink Slugs’ number four batsman Cooper Brayshaw was the standout as he scored a game-best 56 runs.
He only struck four boundaries in that innings but was patient and worked hard between the wickets with his teammates to guide the side to a defendable total.
Brayshaw also top-scored for his team in a round one draw at Collins Park against Gunnedah with an unbeaten 35, which meant he finished Sunday’s match as the Pink Slugs’ leading run-scorer with 91 runs.
He then made an impact early in the innings with a brilliant direct hit run out from point following a superb one-handed pick up.
That made the score 3-21 in the fifth over, after opening bowlers Dylan Smith and Nathan Trindall claimed a wicket each in those first five overs.
The Central North Colts side limped its way to 89 runs before losing its final wicket in the 27th over.
It was unable to create any momentum during that innings, with its best partnership contributing just 16 runs.
Smith (2-18 from seven overs) was Narrabri’s best with the ball. Mowle (2-31 from seven overs) and Jade Lees (2-22 from six overs) also took two wickets each, while Trindall (1-28 from seven overs) claimed one. Mowle and Lees also celebrated a runout each.
Meppem told The Courier he was pleased with all aspects of his team’s performance.
“We got off to a solid start on a slow wicket and outfield with the bat,” Meppem said.
“Murph (Shane Murphy) and Coop (Cooper Brayshaw) provided a great base for some late order hitting to get what I thought was an above par score.
“Cooper was great with the bat. He really held the innings together through the middle overs.
“The Central North bowlers really helped us out too with some wayward bowling, with extras being second top score.
“Nathan (Trindall) and Dylan (Smith) then bowled really well and took full advantage of the conditions.
“They set up the innings well for Jade (Lees) and Jordy (Mowle) to continue the roll-on.
“Other than a couple of tough chances going down, our fielding was top-notch with three run outs.
“Cooper’s direct hit run out early on really set the tone for our fielding innings.
“It was also fantastic to watch Dylan having some great battles with former rep teammates and potential Central North opens teammates.”
Meanwhile, the other round three Namoi Conference game was won by Quirindi, which downed Tamworth by two wickets. Gunnedah had the round three bye.
The fourth round of the Namoi Conference campaign will be played this Sunday, December 19, during which Narrabri has the bye. Quirindi will host the Central North Colts while Gunnedah will travel to take on Tamworth.
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