Sport
28 December, 2025
BEST OF 2025: Fielding delivers grand final spot for Town Services over Curban
First published March 14, 2025. Town Services produced their best fielding performance of the season in an emphatic eight-wicket Ben-digo Bank ABC Shield preliminary final win against minor premiers Curban at McGrane Oval, Gilgandra on Saturday, March 8.
The second 2024/2025 Gilgandra District Cricket Association (GDCA) grand final qualifier pitted the best side across the first 14 rounds (Curban) against the side with an impressive run of late-season form (Town Services) and it was finals impetus that counted.
Pat Lummis, the GDCA patron who is also a long-serving former GDCA committee member and well-known as a past Curban scorer for decades, presided over the coin toss as special guest.
Curban skipper Scott Chandler won the toss and elected to bat. However, Chandler said after the contest that the coin flip was all his side won on the day.
“We were never in it really,” he said.
“If you’d looked at us batting, you’d have thought there was something wrong with the wicket.
“But it was a pretty good (batting) wicket … and that showed when Town Services batted.
“We just never got going. We tried hard and we’ve had an improved season overall to make finals, but Town Services were too good.”
Town Services’ spearhead Scott Basham (2-10 off six overs) picked up wickets with the first and third balls of his fifth overs, with Isaac Grimshaw taking a catch to dismiss Luke Haling (six) and Town Services skipper Ashley Hazelton executing a stumping to knock over Jasen Starr off only the second ball he faced. From 2-9, it became 3-15 when Doug Kelly (seven) was run out before Andrew Peart (20) and Greg Younghusband (eight) produced Curban’s best partnership of the innings, 24 runs. However, wickets continued to fall in a steady stream and Curban was bowled out for just 63 in 22.1 overs.
Alex Sutherland had the great figures of 4-19 from six overs, while Mark Temple (3-17 off 5.1 overs) was also in the wickets and Adam Hazelton (0-15 off six overs) gave nothing away.
Ashley Hazelton said it was his Town Services’ best fielding performance of 2024/2025.
“We took all our chances and were lucky to snare the wicket of Doug Kelly early with a run out after some great fielding by Alex Sutherland that probably set the tone for the match,” the Town Services’ skipper said.
“Our bowlers all bowled well attacked the stumps and made it very hard for them to score runs. It was a great performance from all our players.
“Again Alex Sutherland was in everything using the breeze he was swinging the ball quite a bit and really troubled the Curban batters picking up some crucial wickets to keep them to a score we felt comfortable chasing.”
Chandler said while he did not see Kelly’s run-out as a turning point as there was a partial recovery afterwards, he admitted it was a key dismissal. The Curban skipper added Ashley Hazelton’s two stumpings to dismiss Starr and Greg Younghusband were crucial.
