Palmerston 9/256 (50) defeated Southern Districts 255 (50) by 1 run.
Not only the game of the round, but clearly for the season thus far as a final ball thriller played out in front of the Woodroffe faithful on Saturday afternoon. With both sides essentially looking to establish a one-day finals gig, tensions ran high as the Power and Crocs traded blows across 600 balls and seven hours of high octane action; the Crocs finishing a solitary run shy of parity following a run out with No. 11 Andrew Bourne run out at the non-striker's end trying to find that tying final run. But before we get to the end, we have to go back to the beginning of Palmerston's innings. The men in maroon have been the surprise packet of the one-day competition to date, and their consistent scoring has proven hard for opposition bowling attacks to manage. Caleb Montague's outstanding 69 was in contrast to youngster Aidan Firman's continued aggression (34 off 41 balls), and Harsh Bimbral played his best innings this season with a 52 (71) littered with drives and lofted placement. Alex Bleakley's resurgence and consistency (43* off 50) saw his average top 80 in what eventuated to be a winning hand. Palmy were sitting pretty at 3/205 and looked set to dominate proceedings before the Crocs bounced back as always. A late-innings collapse of 7/49 stunted what looked to be a borderline 300 score, as quicks Lachie Bangs (2/50) and Pat Nagel (3/47) scaled things right back to "chaseable". Skipper Tim Garner (2/36) is always a quality performer in either discipline, his straight lines and changes of pace proved hard to get away at all stages.
Chasing 257 for victory meant that Souths needed a decent start, and the ACT's Nic Broes and Dylan Mullen set about doing just that with a bright 70-run stand at nearly five an over to lay a decent platform for those to follow. Broes looks right at home in Darwin, look for him to have a profound impact up top for the remainder of this season. Dean Fry has been looking good without going on all year, his 34 on Saturday a watershed in a frustrating run of starts which include five scores of 25+. Jackson Isakka has been in a similar boat until he got going here, his 89 (93) featured only seven boundaries as he utilised the space at Cazalys for maximum impact. Palmy captain Hamish Martin bowled Isakka with the score at 211, and the Power resumed favouritism before some frenzied lower order batting in partnership with Garner nearly saw the Crocs pull off a miracle. Words won't do the finish justice; check out the match replay and watch it for yourself. An absolute cracker of a game. PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Alex Bleakley (Palmerston)
Nightcliff 5/327 (50) defeated Tracy Village 9/192 (47) by 135 runs.
A David v Goliath battle where the more fancied opponent displayed their class over a valiant Village. This was truly Mansukh Singh's day; the NSW product has been either rocks or diamonds for the Tigers to date this season before producing some high quality batsmanship on Saturday. His 195 (146) featured 23 fours and six of the best before chipping a return catch to Arjun Sehrawat with a "daddy" ton within striking distance. There was support from Paul Wasiewicz (43 off 54) of which Singh contributed over 100 towards a 155-run stand, but all and sundry remarked at the big man's ability to dispatch length at pace over midwicket with ease throughout his knock. All the Tracy bowlers copped some stick apart from Sehrawat, whose 2/45 (10) saved a score closer to 400 from becoming a reality.
Things were always going to be difficult for a developing Villagers side who will continue to be competitive and upset more experience sides this season, but 327 was always going to prove too steep a mountain to climb in this fixture. Western Creek-Molonglo (ACT) opener Ansh Tiwary has been a shining light at the top of the order for Tracy, his composed 83 (125) proving there was not much respite from the Tigers attack despite defending a mammoth total. Tiwary's 223 runs at 44.6 have come as a hidden gem, a maiden ton in Darwin is not too far away based on his ability. Darcy Gregory-Francis has also been exceptional with four 40+ scores across formats, unfortunately retiring hurt on 35 from only 44 balls faced. His departure spelt the end of Tracy's hopes for a miracle, Nick Fleming (2/19) and Connor Carroll (2/44) being the standouts with the ball for Nightcliff. PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Mansukh Singh (Nightcliff)
Darwin 149 (42.2) lost to Waratah 1/150 (38) by nine wickets.
The Eagles will be smarting after a disappointing batting performance in the face of some highly disciplined Warriors bowling at Gardens Oval. Things didn't look good after Himesh Sandaradura (4/15) shrugged off his slow start to the season to bowl star Darwin opener Jacob Dickman for a duck. Dickman's exploits to date have been well documented; he still averages 65 in this format despite a "gozza" on Saturday. Daniel Kerber was the only Eagles stick to pass 30 (54 off 61) as the Tahs tightened the screws and targeted the pegs, all four of Sandaradura's poles were either bowled or lbw to highlight that strategy on the typically flat wicket. The evergreen Udara Weerasinghe belied his seemingly endless experience by chipping in with 3/27 (9.2) to continue his strong form and sit behind only Nightcliff legspinner Charlie Smith in the competition's wicket tally.
Tahs knew what needed to be done chasing a well-below par total, and despite losing star import and former Queensland-contracted opener Aryan Jain early to the in-form Dylan McMahon, captain Jagadesh Koduru (75 off 106) and Isaac Conway (68 off 118) worked their way through the Eagles pressure to get things done with 12 overs to spare. Koduru has been in crazy form this season, his 371 runs in one-day cricket have come at an average of 123.67 and included four scores above 65 from five starts. He is a class act and clearly alongside Dickman as the wicket to get in the competition. Conway's class was also on display with his trademark front and back foot driving through the off side and a big slog sweep for six off spin. The Tahs have locked in a finals spot and will also have two T20s to sink their teeth into over the next fortnight. PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Himesh Sandaradura (Waratah)