Newtown captain Mat Skinner belts five sixes in MoneyQuest Megahit final-defining innings

Macquarie had the Tigers 4/90 in the 14^th over at No. 1 Oval and momentum was starting to shift to the Blues.

But Skinner changed all that and a brutal knocked helped his side claim the Twenty20 premiership for 2022/23.

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The Western Zone all-rounder whacked five sixes on his way to 45 not out from 22 balls as the Tigers finished with 6/160 from their 20 overs.

Their bowling attack then strangled the Blues, who could only manage 9/98 in reply.

"It was one of those little tricky moments," Skinner said of when he went to bat.

"We were getting close to the 100 mark and it was a period where we could kick on and get that 160-170 or we could lose a few more wickets and scratch to 120 or 130.

"It was good to come away with the big one."

Skinner said he felt a little scratchy at the start of his innings but after singles as his first two scoring shots he soon found his groove.

Spinners Tyson Deebank and Lyle Robertson were who he targeted during his quickfire innings.

"I just targeted that short cow corner boundary and backed myself to do it," he said.

"It started coming off pretty well after I got one out of the guts. The rest flowed from that."

Despite the power in Macquarie's batting lineup, the depth the Tigers possess with the ball proved decisive.

Steve Skinner's 3/10 from four overs was key to the side's success while Pruthviraj Parmar took 1/10 from his four overs.

Mat Skinner took 1/15 to cap a fine all-round game while seven different bowlers were used in the convincing 62-run victory.

"We've had lots of depth with the batting and a lot of bowling options," Skinner said of his side's undefeated Megahit campaign.

Despite Newtown being so often suited to the short format, Friday's result marked the club's first Twenty20 premiership since the 2018/19 season.

"The last couple of years we've been a little off the mark but this year a lot of blokes put their hand up to have a crack and it was a really good result," Skinner said.

"It's something we always put up the top, making finals and trying to win it.

"We've got a pretty aggressive team on the Saturdays so Twenty20 suits all of our cricket. It's something everyone really jumps onboard and wants to play.

"I think we had 20-odd people always putting their hand up wanting a game of cricket and some other clubs struggle to get guys on the paddock."

The title win is also a welcome confidence boost ahead of the looming Whitney Cup finals.

Despite plenty of disruptions and people leaving the club and leaving town, Newtown are set to finish the regular season in third behind competition front-runners Colts and CYMS.

"We're just plugging along doing our thing at the moment," Skinner said.

"We've used a lot of blokes in first grade and I think we've lost seven first graders throughout the year so it's been rocky to try and get the same team on the paddock.

"But the depth in our club, to have seven first graders leave and to still be making finals and being competitive is a testament to the new blokes who've come to town and wanted to join us and the depth coming through."

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