Former Narrabri boy captains South Australia at the Australian Country Cricket Championship in Newcastle

Former Narrabri boy Coby Cornish is still on a roll in the cricket arena and his most recent achievement is one of his greatest yet.

The 24-year-old, who lives in Angaston in the Barossa Valley after departing Narrabri in 2018, has been excelling in the Barossa and Light first grade comp as Tanunda’s captain.

He earned selection in the South Australia Outbacks rep team that competed at the 2024 Toyota Australian Country Champs event in Newcastle earlier this month, and he was also named as the side’s captain for the second year in a row.

The South Australia Outbacks played nine games at the tournament from Wednesday to Wednesday, January 3 to 10, which included a mix of 50-over and T20 matches.

Cornish scored two half-centuries in those nine games, including a sensational knock of 68 off 33 balls against the eventual champions Queensland Country in a T20 fixture on day five. He struck three fours and six sixes in that entertaining innings.

He then scored 58 off 47 balls against NSW in his second last game of the tournament on day seven, which included six fours and a six.

Both of those half-centuries helped the side earn chasing victories against higher-ranked teams in games that went down to the wire.

South Australia eventually finished fourth on 12 points behind winners Queensland Country, the runners-up NSW Country and the third-placed Victoria Country, which all totalled 18 points. Western Australia finished fifth with 10 points and ACT were last with eight points.

Cornish’s appearance at the national country championships event was his second in as many years after he was named as captain for last year’s event in Canberra on debut.

He told The Courier that he felt far more relaxed and comfortable at this year’s tournament and declared that he was determined to work hard and gain selection for the 2025 event that will be played much closer to home in the Barossa Valley.

“I loved it. It was a good group of lads, which helps when you’re stuck away with them for 10 days,” he said.

“It was awesome, but the humidity in Newcastle was insane.

“I felt a bit more comfortable with the captaincy this year, having already known a few of the blokes.

“Last year it was a bit nerve-racking, especially not knowing any of them .

“This year, we had a couple of blokes pushing 40 and a couple of guys were sort of 27 or 28. It was a relatively young side though. Probably half of them were younger than me.

“It was really nice to get a win over Queensland. That felt good.

“I think, well from what I’ve heard, South Australia Country has come a long way. I had a couple of the other captains tell me that when you used to play South Australia it was basically free points at one stage in history.

“It’s nice to now be gaining some respect from the other states.

“We lost to Victoria very narrowly, and we beat all the other teams.

“I feel like we’re in a really good position going forward in the future.

“I’m super keen to go around again and I hope I get another opportunity.”