Led by an incredible spell of death bowling by ACT Blue’s Felix Bennett, Country edged home over City in Tuesday night’s thrilling Western NSW Under-15 Select Twenty20 exhibition, holding out the Sydney-siders to claim a narrow, six-run win.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Chasing Country’s 7-125 the City outfit had worked their way to 5-114 in reply and with three overs left they looked likely to cruise to victory until Bennett – who’d taken 1-13 in his initial, two-over spell with the new ball – made his presence felt.
He returned to the attack in the 18th over and promptly produced a triple-wicket maiden to leave City reeling at 8-114 and needing 11 from 12 deliveries after that.
City did knock off five runs in the penultimate over but Mitchell’s Cooper Brien produced a run out too, before Bennett maintained his composure to concede only a single from the first four balls of the 20th over before snaring the final, match-sealing wicket with the fifth.
In his final two overs the young gun took a ridiculous 4-2, finishing with stunning figures of 5-15 from his four overs in a player-of-the-game performance.
Brien, from Bathurst, also had a big impact on the game with the bat, top-scoring in Country’s innings after they won the toss and batted first.
Brien blasted a 24-ball 30 from the top of the order before retiring as per the clash’s rules – put in place to ensure all of the composite sides’ players take a role – and combined with South Coast’s Sam McLennan (12) to add 26 for the first wicket.
The dig continued his recent form, Brien knocked up a mercurial, unbeaten 79 on Monday’s opening day of the carnival as Mitchell downed Mosman although he was removed for 10 on day two.
MORE IN CRICKET: Coote injury set to be a massive strain on Warriors’ attack
With Dubbo’s Preston Beauchamp (22) and Illawarra’s Nate Ruddock (12) also making inroads, Country worked their way to 5-102 before a crucial, quick-fire 26 from ACT Yellow’s Dylan Brick catapulted the side above 120.
The win victory squared the ledger after City claimed a five-wicket win in the under-13 carnival’s equivalent a week earlier.
DO YOU WANT MORE ORANGE SPORT?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below …
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
