Aaron Hazlewood bowls Old Boys into grand final

The allrounder claimed a remarkable 14 wickets for the match, including eight in the first innings, as the premiers recorded a 56-run win over South Tamworth in a major semi-final full of twists and turns..

The game almost went the distance as Souths valiantly pursued the 224 they needed for victory in about three-and-a-quarter hours, Old Boys eventually bowling them out for 167 with around a quarter of an hour remaining.

Hazlewood was the undisputed star with his 8-33 in the first innings helping steam-roll Souths for just 55 after Old Boys had posted 127.

James Maltby (14) and Chris Massey (11) were the only batsmen to reach double figures as Hazlewood tore them apart in an hour of carnage on Saturday afternoon.

He struck in just his second over, sparking a collapse that saw Souths slump to 8-55 at stumps. Old Boys took only two overs on Sunday morning to wrap things up and then set about batting Souths out of the game.

That didn’t quite eventuate though with Ryan Meppem claiming a hat-trick in his third over to have them 6-50-odd for the second time in the game.

They fought their way to 6-126 at lunch with skipper Ben Middlebrook (46) and Abel Carney (44) digging in.

Souths’ hopes were reignited when Troy Osborne picked up Middlebrook in the second over after the break.

The game seemed to meander along for a while after that with Souths bowling tight but the wickets not forthcoming until the introduction of Josh Crowe brought about the end of Carney.

Old Boys batted on to make 151, Hazlewood following up his first innings duck with a first-baller.

But he more than made up for it with the ball, claiming 6-77 off 19 overs to give him his first double five-for.

Meppem also enjoyed his best return in Souths’ colours. After spinning his way to four wickets in the first innings, along with Troy Osborne, he snared 5-33 in the second.