There was plenty of action in a sensational day of T20 cricket on Sunday, February 26, at Tuggerah Sports Complex, with two exciting finals leading up to a massive grand final in the afternoon.
Ultimately, ladder leader The Entrance was declared the competition winner for 2022/23.
The morning’s two matches went down to the wire to determine who would be backing up for the chance to play the grand final.
The eventual overall winner, The Entrance set a score of 9/123 for Kincumber to chase down, but they were all out for 119 in the 20th over.
For The Entrance, Eknoor Singh managed to add more than half the team score to the board, finishing 69 off 58 incl 9 x 4s.
Wade Burrows added 25 to the total.
Harry Woodhead got 28 off 25 and Jayden Camp 27 off 29 for Kincumber.
In the bowling, The Entrance’s Conner Haddow an impressive 3 for 16 off 3.5, Broc Hardy 2 for 20 off 4 and Eknoor Singh 2 for 27 off 4.
Rob Lavery, Bryce Birks and Zakary Graham took two wickets a piece for Kincumber.
Brisbane Water took on Warnervale’s 8/110, taking the win in 18.1 overs with 5/111.
David Mitchell top scored for BW on 48 off 46, with Mitchell McNeilly clocking up 42 off 45 for Warnervale before being bowled by Alex Searle, who took 2 for 18 off 3.
Brisbane Water \’s Shaun Eaton also took 2 for 15 off 4 and Lachlan Spencer 2 for 19 off 3 for the win.
Warnervale’s Kaleb Daley was their bowler of note for the match, managing 2 for 31 off 4.
Then came the grand final.
The Entrance again set a big score of 3/194 for Brisbane Water to chase down.
The runners-up finished 8/106.
Jake Hardy played a sensational game, with a total of 76 not out off just 41 balls, including 5 x 4s and 5 x 6s.
Simon Keen just missed out on a half-century, finishing on 49 off 26, with 9 x 4s and 1 x 6, Eknoor Singh 44 off 45 with 3 x 4s.
Of the Brisbane Water batters, the best was Haider Zaidi, 35 not out off 42.
Broc Hardy took 2 for 18 off 4 for The Entrance, while BW’s bowlers had an uphill battle, Haider Zaidi, captain Shaun Eaton and Alex Searle took one wicket each.
Meanwhile, finals start on March 4-5 in the Diggers The Entrance men’s First Grade comp.
Day Two of Round Nine saw Southern Spirit win outright (103 and 3/82) over Kincumber Avoca (54 and 9-d/130).
The Entrance started with a massive total of 437, which Lisarow couldn’t match – finishing up on 120.
Wyong scored 7/213, surpassing Brisbane Water’s 175 from last week.
In the day’s closest match, Narara Wyoming held off Warnervale for a win, with Warnervale 141 left one run short of Narara’s 142.
Northern Power batted 176 to take the win away from Terrigal Matcham, 116.
The finals will see The Entrance take on Northern Power while Terrigal Matcham will face Kincumber Avoca.
Round 18 of the women’s Ibis Styles The Entrance First Grade comp was also the last before finals.
Narara Wyoming 4/86 just took the win away from Kincumber Avoca 5/85.
Lisarow Ourimbah 1/163 defeated Northern Power 3/98 at Taylor Park.
Terrigal Matcham 4/165 defeated Wyong 4/116.
Source: Media release, Feb 26, 2023, Central Coast Cricket