TYRENDARRA has continued to showcase their elite status in the 2023-24 Hamilton and District Cricket Association season, as they romped to a huge win over Portland Tigers in Thursday evening’s Twenty20 grand final at Alexandra Park, winning by 112 runs.
However, the game certainly didn’t start on their terms, with the Tigers picking up three early wickets via Artie Harvey and Paul Procter.
With the Darras in a precarious position, it was Sam Wilson and, as has often been the case this season, Jordi Withers who stepped up to wrestle the momentum back in their favour.
They put on 76 runs together to take their team’s score to exactly 100, with Withers notching up 74 not out off just 38 balls with six sixes to his name, while Wilson added 36.
Harvey finished with exceptional figures of 2-16 off four, while Procter was the Tigers’ next best bowler with two of his own.
Sadly for the Tigers, this was where the successes for the evening finished, as the Darras ripped through their batting order to have them all out for 51.
Wilson was once again a prominent feature, picking up four wickets, while Darren Killmister and Jack Cocks picked up two apiece, with Dylan Murray and James Williams rounding out the 10 for the match.
“It was great to get the win, especially after we had a bad start with the bat losing a few wickets early,” Darras skipper Cam Mather said.
“For Jordi, Sam and Mark (Pitt) to get on with it the way they did was massive for us.
“Jordi was really good again; he got his eye in early and went after it when he got the opportunity.”
Mather said their efforts with both the ball and in the field were also exceptional.
“(Killmister) and Sam did a lot of the damage for us there, they bowled really well, and to constrain them to just 50 was a great outcome.”
The Darras will now contest the Sungold Cup early next year, with Mather saying it’s an opportunity for them to do better than previous years.
“In the past when we’ve gone over there, we struggled to post good scores with the bat, so that’s going to be the real challenge we set ourselves this time around is to put a defensible total on the board.”
