CRICKET
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A DOMINANT Newcastle cruised to a Northern Country Championship in Gunnedah yesterday.
The Novocastrians overran Central Northern, Central Coast and North Coastal in three successive days, recording two six-wicket wins and yesterday’s thumping seven-wicket win over North Coastal at Kitchener Park.
After bowling NC out for 89 Newcastle scored 3-92 in 17.3 overs to complete their hat-trick.
Nick Foster was the bowling star yesterday, despite being the fifth bowler used.
Foster took 5-14 in seven overs, four of which were maidens to clean up the NC tail.
Opening bowlers Grant Stewart (2-15) and Bryan Warren (1-23) had caused early trouble, leaving NC 3-8, a position they never recovered from although allrounder Caleb Ziebell (22) and Andrew Lindsay (16) did add 41 for the fourth wicket.
Nathan Hudson (2-26) broke that partnership and then got Ziebell a run later before Foster speared through the rest.
Newcastle was also in a little trouble early at 2-13 after Lindsay (2-9) snared Matt Gawthrop (5) and Greg Hunt (0) to leave them 2-13. When Ziebell (1-24) claimed opener Jeff Goninan’s prized scalp for (9) Newcastle were 3-31.
Jason Sangha (15no) and Nathan Hudson (47no) then piled on 61 runs in an unbroken stand to lead the Mark Littlewood-captained side to the Northern Country Championship in an unbeaten weekend.
Host zone, Central Northern, was hoping to finish on a winning note after losing its first day game to Newcastle and bouncing back with a good second day win over North Coastal.
However they fell apart against Central Coast at Wolseley Park after a great start.
Central Northern made just 157 batting first.
At one stage they were 1-127 after Giles Manley (73) and Michael Dawson (32) had put together a century second wicket stand.
Manley hit nine fours and a six in his 110-ball stay while Dawson’s 95-ball innings yielded just the one boundary.
Central Coast’s Matt Jones (3-27) removed Manley, caught by Ryan Fenning and then four runs later Fenning also snared Dawson off the bowling of Jason Buckley (2-14) to leave CNZ 3-131
The side lost five more wickets without adding a run to plummet to 8-131.
Skipper Tom Groth (18no) managed to sneak the score past 150 with the help of teenagers Ryan Meppem (7) and Pat Magann (1).
But 157 was never enough with Adam Taylor (36) and skipper Blair Lindsay (27) knocking up a 56-run opening stand.
Matt Jones (58no) and Ryan Fenning (14no) then steered the coastal side to 3-159 and a seven-wicket wicket victory.
“We had a great start,” CNZ skipper Tom Groth said.
“Couldn’t have had a better one really but we lost those six wickets for nothing and it all fell apart.”
Needing to take wickets, CNZ also dropped three catches.