Wahgunyah and Nandewar to face off in the NDWCA grand final on Saturday

The stage is set for an exciting grand final showdown at Hogan Oval this Saturday night when Nandewar Motel and Wahgunyah Dreamtime Mirri go head-to-head in the Narrabri District Women’s Cricket Association 2024/25 season decider.

The two sides will battle it out under lights for the Ian McGregor Trophy after they were the two best teams throughout the regular season.

They ended up tied on 45 points following five wins, two losses and two washed-out draws each across the nine-round regular season, but defending champions Wahgunyah claimed first place based on runs scored and conceded and wickets taken and lost.

That saw the Nandewar Motel ladies go through to the preliminary final, which they played last Saturday night against third-placed Wilga Hotel at Leitch Oval.

Nandewar got up by seven wickets in that clash to join Wahgunyah in the decider and will now attempt to win their first premiership in the third season since the NDWCA was formed.

The Wahgunyah ladies, on the other hand, are going for a third consecutive crown.

They were grand finalists a year prior to season one when they went down against Wilga Hotel, but they have won both premierships since the Ian McGregor Trophy was introduced and an official NDWCA committee and competition were created.

They beat Wilga Hotel in the 2022/23 season decider and then prevailed by default in the 2023/24 campaign after a grand final rematch against Wilga Hotel was washed out.

The NDWCA has a backup grand final date planned this season, so if this Saturday’s match is washed out, the decider will be pushed back a week and played under lights after the NDCA men’s competition grand finals on Saturday, March 15.

Either way, the decider will determine who the best side really is this season, given that Wahgunyah and Nandewar did not just finish level on points, they have also scored one win each in their two encounters.

They first met at Hogan Oval in round two back in November when Nandewar prevailed by 58 runs after making 5-113 and then bowling out Wahgunyah for 55 in 16 overs.

Wahgunyah then squared it up with a seven-wicket win in round five at Collins Park in December when they held Nandewar to 6-76 and then made 3-79 in 18 overs.

Their round eight clash was then washed out.

NDWCA chairman Mark Page told The Courier that he was expecting a tight, even tussle on Saturday night. He predicted that the toss would play a significant role in the decider, suggesting that the team that bats first would have the upper hand.

Nandewar did manage to win when chasing in the preliminary final last Saturday though as they got the job done against Wilga Hotel.

Wilga batted first after winning the toss and made 53 runs in 17.4 overs, which Nandewar then chased down in 18 overs, having lost just three wickets.

Tori-Ann Geraghty got her side off to a flying start as the Nandewar skipper produced a wicket in the first over of the game when she bowled Mereka Gleeson for a duck.

Taryn Kirk (13) and Kate Johnstone (11) then put on a 23-run partnership before they were both dismissed by Kerri Atkins.

No other Wilga Hotel batters were able to reach double digits as they found themselves on 5-40 at the halfway mark and then all out for 53 with 14 deliveries to spare.

Atkin (3-10 from three overs) and Geraghty (2-10 from three overs and a runout) were both standouts for Nandewar Motel during that innings, while Jade Williams (1-8 from four overs), Candice Stang (1-14 from four overs), Grace Farrer (1-5 from two overs) and Bec Cope (1-4 from 1.4 overs) all chipped in with a wicket each.

Farrer, who has been the standout batter across the past three seasons of the NDWCA competition, opened the batting for Nandewar Motel in the second innings and scored a match-best unbeaten 27 runs to guide her side to victory. It was a patient innings that saw all of her runs come from singles as she kept the run rate ticking over and the strike rotating.

She lost three partners as Geraghty (2), Stang (4) and Kristie Toomey (2) all fell cheaply, but that brought Williams to the crease, who has also been in brilliant form this season.

Williams scored an unbeaten 14 in a 33-run match-winning partnership with Farrer to bring up the victory with 12 deliveries to spare.