Pictured: Newcastle were crowned Country Champions after defeating Western in the final
It’s that time of the year when regional cricket teams play their final matches of the season and the last two weekends saw a pair of closely contested NSW Country Cricket finals being played out.
The Country Plate, a knock-out competition for smaller (based on population) regional district cricket associations (DCA), had the season’s final played between Highlands DCA (Southern Districts) and Cessnock DCA (Central Northern) at Hurstville Oval during the last weekend of February, with Cessnock winning the title.
The Country Plate competition has teams working their way through a localised knock-out competition, with the winner of each of the zonal matches then competing in semi-finals and a final.
This season’s final saw Highlands DCA winning the toss and electing to bat first, compiling 193 from their 40 overs. Grant Pike was the best with the bat, scoring 43, with Cameron Belshaw scoring 32. Zac Kronholm was the best of the Cessnock bowlers taking 3-44 off the eight overs he bowled. Hudson Smith and Matthew Hopley took two wickets each.
In reply, Cessnock chased down the total, losing six wickets, and winning with four balls to spare. Captain Joey Butler scored an unbeaten 75 to lead his side home and was named player of the final.
The first weekend of March saw the replayed final of the Men’s Country Championships, which was washed out earlier in the season. The match was played between Newcastle and Western Zones at Pratten Park in Ashfield.
Newcastle won the toss and batted first and were well on their way to victory with opener Dylan Hunter scoring 147 off 103 balls, Logan Weston (39) and Josh Claridge (27 not out) chipped in with handy contributions, helping Newcastle get to 9/249 off their 50 overs. Western captain Marty Jeffrey was the best with the ball taking 3-43 off seven overs, while Mitch Bower and Lachlan Rummans took two wickets each.
In reply, Western’s run chase got off to a shaky start before Cooper Brien (81) and Thomas Nelson (40) rebuilt their innings to a hopeful 3/127. Thereafter, a change in the bowling to Daniel Chillingworth put the hopes of a successful run chase to bed, Chillingworth taking 5-11, eventually bowling Western out for 178. Dylan Hunter was named player of the final and awarded the Mark Curry Medal for his century.
The Bradman Cup v Green Shield State Challenge match is the one remaining final to be played on the Country Cricket Program. Scheduled to be played at North Dalton Park, Wollongong, on Sunday March 9, the respective winners of the metropolitan and country Under-16 competitions will play this one-off final. This season, country winners Greater Illawarra Zone will play against metro winners Norther District Cricket Club, to bring a thrilling end to the Country Cricket NSW 2025 season.