Pink Slugs off to a flying start in the MA Connolly Cup competition

Driven by the disappointment of last season’s grand final defeat, Narrabri District Cricket Association’s representative side got off to a brilliant start to the 2024/25 season MA Connolly Cup competition on Sunday as they demolished Moree by 161 runs away from home at Ron Harbourne Oval.

The Pink Slugs elected to bat first on a synthetic pitch in the round one contest after skipper Nathan Trindall won the toss, and they blasted 284 runs while losing just five wickets in their 40 overs before knocking over the hosts for 123 runs in 29.3 overs.

Two players who were not involved in the NDCA side’s 73-run 2023/24 season grand final loss in Tamworth back in February starred for the Pink Slugs in that big win. They included the returning Jake Brayshaw and debutant Jack Tate.

Brayshaw had not featured in a rep match since December of 2019 when he helped guide the Pink Slugs to the 2019/20 campaign War Veterans Cup premiership, but he went into Sunday’s game in fine form as the NDCA first grade T20 competition’s leading run-scorer and RSL’s leading wicket-taker.

He was given the nod to bat at first drop and was called upon in the fifth over when Hamish Duncan (1) was caught behind, and he batted out the remainder of the innings to score an unbeaten 125. That remarkable knock included 18 fours and two sixes.

Tate also played a key role with the bat as he scored 54 runs in a 141-run partnership with Brayshaw, and he then starred in the second innings during his debut for the NDCA side. A day after playing his first game for the Wilga Razorbacks, he impressed for the Pink Slugs as he bowled eight overs straight and ended with figures of 5-24 after producing back-to-back maidens in his first two overs.

The game got off to a flying start as NDCA opener Jakeb Nipperess struck a four off the first delivery to get the visitors on the board.

It was Alfred Newman who bowled that over, and he managed to bounce back and strike with the first ball of the fifth over when he knocked over Duncan, who was caught behind after scoring one run.

That brought Brayshaw to the crease and he lost Nipperess during the next over as the score became 2-34.

Brayshaw was then joined by Tate and the duo both got off the mark with boundaries before putting on a mammoth 141-run partnership that lasted 22 overs.

Moree finally made the breakthrough when Tate (54) was caught on the boundary by Nimesh Karunarathne during the Will Downs-bowled 28th over.

The NDCA batsman smashed eight fours in that innings and his dismissal took the score to 3-171 with 12 overs remaining.

Will Ford (17) and Matt Bradshaw (16) made handy contributions late in the innings before they were both dismissed, which brought Cooper Brayshaw to the crease to partner his brother Jake.

Cooper got off the mark with a boundary and was on four runs when he got back on strike with just four deliveries remaining in the final over after Jake had smashed his second six of the day before turning over the strike with a single. The youngest of the Brayshaws then went from four runs to 22 in four balls as he blasted two sixes and a four before finishing off the innings with a two as the Pink Slugs ended with 5-284.

Karunarathne, who took 2-46 from eight overs, was Moree’s best with the ball.

Trindall and Cooper Brayshaw then opened the bowling for the Pink Slugs and got the visitors off to a positive start. They bowled five overs each and Brayshaw claimed two scalps as the duo had the home side well below the required run rate at 2-32 after 10 overs.

Dylan Segundo and Tate replaced them and produced three maidens in the next five overs to have Moree struggling at 2-43 after 15.

Tate made the pressure count in the 18th over as he claimed two wickets when he dismissed Moree opener Tom Vanderstok for a team-high 33 runs with the assistance of a Jake Brayshaw catch and Djordjije Cikota (8) when Nipperess took his second catch of the day.

That made the score 4-68, which had become 5-80 by the halfway mark of the innings after Tate grabbed his third wicket in the 20th over.

He continued to rip through Moree’s middle order with another wicket in the 22nd over as his Wilga skipper Bradshaw held onto a catch to remove Grady Sinclair (22).

A 20-run partnership took the hosts to triple digits in the 25th over but was broken when Jake Brayshaw removed Newman as Nipperess held onto his fourth catch of the day.

The rampaging Tate then bowled Downs during the next over to bring up a five-wicket haul before Brayshaw claimed his second scalp in the 29th over as Rowan Keeler took a catch on debut to help dismiss Karunarathne (6).

Keeler then brought the game to a close during the 30th over when he took his first Connolly Cup wicket as the Pink Slugs secured a 161-run win. Tate had a hand in that wicket as well as he took the catch that saw Ben Day fall for a duck.

The victory was a crucial one for the NDCA men as they are now in the box seat to feature in the finals series. They are in a four-team pool alongside Moree, Gunnedah and Gwydir, of which the top two will progress to the semi-finals to take on the top two of the other pool, which is made up of Tamworth, Quirindi and Old Boys.

Gunnedah and Gwydir were meant to meet on Sunday but their game was rescheduled to Sunday, November 24, and Tamworth scored a 108-run win away from home against Quirindi while Old Boys sat out with the bye.

The Pink Slugs will travel to take on Gwydir in round two on November 10 before they welcome Gunnedah to Collins Park on November 17.