The Plan B Regional Bash final is the next goal for the Orana Outlaws after a brilliant win over the South Coast Crew at Bowral’s Bradman Oval on Sunday.
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Mat Skinner produced a standout all-round effort and was one of the main reasons the Outlaws defeated the South Coast Crew, taking 2/16 from four overs with the new ball before teaming up with Marty Jeffrey in a match-winning eight-wicket partnership.
Chasing the Crew’s total of 6/133 in the NSW country-wide Twenty20 tournament, the Outlaws were in all sorts of trouble at 7/56 in the 11th over but Skinner (31 not out) and Jeffrey (41 not out) saw their side through to victory with 10 balls to spare.
“Marty and Mat’s was the only meaningful partnership we had and it was the one that counted, it was very important,” victorious coach Jason Ryan said, before praising Skinner.
“I was talking to ‘Pilo’ (captain Nathan Pilon) about where to use him, with the new ball or at first change, but we gave him the new ball and he swung it around and bowled very well.
“The pitch was a bit slow so it suited him and he just moved it around enough.
“And then he came out and hit a few boundaries in the super over to win us the game.”
The victory means for the second straight year the Outlaws have qualified for the Plan B Regional Bash finals day, to be played at the prestigious Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday, December 11.
Last year the Outlaws went down to the eventual champions, the Border Bullets, in the semi but Ryan and his side are determined to go one better this season.
“It’s fantastic and that was the goal we set ourselves, to get there,” he said of the SCG.
“Now we reassess and now we want to win that semi and go one step better than we did last season.”
As well as Skinner and Jeffrey, Ben Strachan (1/16 off four overs) also performed well for the Outlaws on Sunday while Wes Giddings chimed in with 1/22 off four.
Ryan admitted it will be a tough task to choose his final 12-man side for the finals, after the likes of Jordan Moran, Ben Patterson and James O’Brien missed Sunday’s match but he said he had total faith in every member of his squad.
“We’ve always had the depth, that’s one of our strengths,” he said.
“Even if we’re 5/50 we still back ourselves to win and today that got proved right. It was very handy and we probably didn’t even bat as deep as well normally do.”
The Outlaws will meet the Wagga Wagga Sloggers in the semi-finals at the SCG, after they demolished the defending premiers, the Bullets, by seven wickets on Sunday.