Specialised Civil Services holds off WTC Group to win by five runs

Inaugural Narrabri District Cricket Association Coates Hire Namoi Super Slog T20 competition champions Specialised Civil Services scored their second win of the 2022/23 campaign in round three against WTC Group at Hogan Oval on Friday night.

Specialised Civil Services batted first in that match after skipper Lachlan Woolford won the toss, and the side made 8-102 in 20 overs before restricting WTC Group to 7-97 to claim a five-run victory.

Both of those sides entered the third-round match looking to bounce back after losing their respective round two games late last year.

Specialised Civil Services’ win in the first contest of the calendar year saw the side finish at the top of the table alongside J and D Weed Management at the halfway point of the season.

J and D Weed Management also secured its second win of the season on Friday when it downed Priag Patriots by 31 runs.

Hadley Sevil opened the batting for Specialised Civil Services at Hogan Oval in round three and anchored the innings as he produced a team-best score of 28.

He lost fellow opener Jordan Doolan (4) in the fifth over and Woolford (8) in the ninth, both of whom were caught by Jonty Schwager from the bowling of Cody Kember, and then also lost Karl Hatfield (0) in the 10th after he was trapped in front by Rowan Keeler.

The last of those wickets made the score 3-33, which became 3-40 at the halfway point of the innings.

Sevil was finally dismissed in the 14th over as Will Ford made the score 4-66 when he bowled the opener, but middle-order trio Chris Smith (17), Danny Laws (11) and Guy Gleeson (4*) guided their side past 100.

Kember (2-12 off four overs) and Ford (2-18 off four overs) took two wickets each for their side, Jonty Schwager (1-11 off three overs), Keeler (1-13 off two overs) and Travis Tilse (1-17 off two overs) claimed one each, and Schwager also chipped in with a runout.

Like Sevil did for Specialised Civil Services, Joe Madden opened the batting for WTC Group and anchored the chasing side’s innings. He never got out and finished unbeaten with a game-high 35 runs at the end of the 20 overs.

The first partner he lost was fellow opener Steve Phelps (6), who departed in the fourth over when he was bowled by Jordan Doolan.

David McInnes (8) was next in and remained in the middle until the 10th over when he was caught by Eben Botha from the bowling of Hatfield.

That made the score 2-36, which became 3-46 in the 12th over when Tom Eather (7) was run out by Doolan.

Kember (2) was then caught by Botha during the following over, which was bowled by Chris Smith, and Tilse (1) departed in the 14th when he was run out by Woolford.

That made the score 5-51 as the WTC Group men found themselves struggling to get any momentum going.

However, that changed when Matt Conroy entered at number seven and scored 21 runs in a 41-run partnership with Madden, which was the largest of the game.

But WTC Group’s run chase suffered a major blow in the 19th over when Doolan bowled Conroy to make the score 6-92, which meant that the side needed 11 runs to win the match during the final over.

It only managed five as it finished on 7-97 to lose the game by five runs.

The final wicket fell in that last over when Jye Manton ran out Keeler (0) during an over that he bowled himself.

Doolan (2-21 from four overs) was his side’s only multiple wicket-taker, and Hatfield (1-10 from four overs) and Smith (1-24 from three overs) claimed one each. There were also three runouts in that innings.

The Coates Hire Namoi Super Slog T20 competition will resume with a highly-anticipated double header for each team on Friday and Saturday.

In round four on Friday night, Specialised Civil Services will take on J and D Weed Management at Hogan Oval while WTC Group challenges Priag Patriots at Collins Park.

The following night in round five, WTC Group will meet J and D Weed Management at Collins Park while Specialised Civil Services plays against Priag Patriots at Hogan Oval.

The sixth and final round of the regular season campaign will then be played on Friday, January 20, and will be followed by the grand final on Saturday, January 28, which will be played at Collins Park between the teams ranked first and second on the ladder.