They started with a whimper. And although they did not finish with a bang, Central North's 2022 Country Championships campaign was a respectable one.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
After being routed by Pool A winners Newcastle in their opening match, on Friday, Central North edged North Coastal on Saturday before going down by three wickets to Greater Illawarra on Sunday.
On a windy Sunday at No 1 Oval, the scene of all of Central North's matches, the home side were put into bat and finished on 8-228 off 50 overs.
Young No 4 Adam McGuirk - Central North's top-scorer in the opening two matches - made 82 not out against Greater Illawarra, after openers Abel Carney (36) and Simon Norvill (33) combined for a 60-run opening stand.
Angus Cumming was Greater Illawarra's chief destroyer with 3-44 off 10 overs.
The visitors were cruising at 4-227, but then lost three wickets without advancing the total.
![Central North opener Abel Carney is in attack mode. Central North opener Abel Carney is in attack mode.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/KUhQizDbwW8WqAyPP4x5yp/861460a3-917c-4811-bca1-d3469a6e3120.jpg/r0_0_4035_2690_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
However, with only three runs needed for victory, they were not under serious pressure.
Zach Churchill top-scored for Greater Illawarra with 79, while Jono Rose made 50.
Central North opening bowler Jett Lee led the way for the home side with 2-52 off his 10 overs.
Jye Paterson, the Central North captain, said the locals finished the championships "10 times better" than how they started it.
"It was a good little kick in the ar*e the first game," he said.
Read also:
"And then it was a good way to finish to have the last two games be competitive like they were."
Against Newcastle, Paterson said Central North were "a bit open-eyed", but immediately regained their composure.
On Sunday, Greater Illawarra batted "really, really well" and deserved to get the win, he said.
Against North Coastal, McGuirk produced a match-winning effort as Central North pulled off what Paterson described as a "fighting" win.
Chasing 154, the home side were in trouble at 8-103.
But McGuirk, with support from Lee initially and then from Nathan Trindall, orchestrated a rescue mission that was completed with a lofted drive over the leg-side boundary off the second ball of the 39th over.
Central North - who finished last in their pool - had gone into the over needing three to win after Trindall had peeled off a boundary off the final ball of the previous over.
They finished on 9-157, with McGuirk unbeaten on 35 from 52 balls.
He "batted unreal", Paterson said.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News