Young talent breaks through in NSW Country cricket carnival

NORTH Coast fell one game short of breaking an 18-year drought in a six-wicket loss against Central Coast in the men’s NSW Country cricket final.

Batting first, North Coast was dismissed for 207, with player-coach Pat Rosser leading the resistance from the lower order, top-scoring with 66.

Central Coast chased the target in confident fashion, reaching the total in the 30th over, led by an unbeaten 81 from Liam O’Farrell, sealing the region’s first NSW Country title.

The loss brought an end to a strong campaign for North Coast, which went through the five preliminary rounds unbeaten.

Young players Lachlan Barnes, Kai Dalli and Hayden Wilson all got a taste of senior representative cricket for the first time.

Captain Alec Williams said the emergence of younger players was one of the most pleasing aspects of the campaign.

“We were a little bit worried once we lost a few guys before the tournament, but I can’t speak highly enough of the guys who came in,” he said.

“The whole idea was to get that team culture back and build towards the future.

“Credit has to go to Pat Rosser, Aaron Bryant and the rest of our coaching staff for making it happen.”

Goonellabah Workers Sports opener Jack Cooper played a key role in that run, scoring two centuries during the tournament.

The 25-year-old is the youngest brother of Tom Cooper, who played first-class cricket with South Australia for more than a decade.

His older brother Ben Cooper was due to play in the team but had to pull out before the early rounds with a hand injury.

North Coast was also forced to contend with the late withdrawal of Cudgen all-rounder Caleb Ziebell, widely regarded as the standout player in the Far North Coast LJ Hooker League competition.

Despite the absences, the side retained plenty of experience with Williams, a NSW Country representative returning from injury for the final.

The team also had an even mix of players from the Far North Coast and Mid North Coast for the first time in several years.