Sport
3 February, 2025
Gidgee back in winners’ circle in latest round of ABC Shield
From the January 29 publication.

Gidgee batted well under pressure to score a three-wicket win against Gulargambone and move into third place on the Bendigo Bank ABC Shield ladder during round 10 on Saturday, January 18.
Gular made 9-153 from its 40 overs before Gidgee (7-156 in 38 overs) chased the target down with three wickets and two overs remaining at Gulargambone.
Tyne Chapman (59 not out) played the critical innings and was supported by Bevan McEwen (27) in a 50-run fifth wicket partnership.
Blaike Fernando (17), Elvy McEwen (17), captain Mark Stewart (11) and Brenton Williams (10) also made double figures for the victors.
Gular tried hard with both bat and ball, with Jaylem Peters (2-27 off eight overs) and Levi Peters (2-46 off eight overs) both claiming doubles while Preston Ah-See (1-26 off seven overs) and Peter Peters (1-20 off six overs) also bowled well.
With the bat, Gular’s best included Jaylem Peters (37), Preston Ah-See (26), Grant Millgate (24) and Jason Carter (20).
Daniel Smith (4-30 off eight overs) starred with the ball for Gidgee while Bevan McEwen (2-36) and Elvy McEwen (2-28) were also impressive in their eight overs each.
Meanwhile, Curban continued a golden run, with three wins and a no-result in its last four matches.
Ever since being bowled out for 42 against Gidgee in early December, Curban have recorded wins against Coonabarabran (December 14), Town Services (December 21) and now USC-Marthaguy (January 18).
Curban (5-120 from 32.2 overs) also chased well to defeat Warren-based outfit USC-Marthaguy (9-118 off 40 overs) at McGrane Oval in Gilgandra.
Andrew Freeth top-scored for USC-Marthaguy with 27 while Charles Howard (24), Richard Flinn (16) and Tim Jenkins (15) also made starts.
Virtually all of Curban’s bowling attack was ultra-economical.
Tom Eason might not have been but still contributed well with 2-19 off three overs.
Greg Younghusband (2-16 off five overs) also grabbed a double while Doug Kelly (1-14) and Scott Chandler (1-16) were hard to get away in eight-over spells for Curban.
Kelly (46) played a key knock in Curban’s win with Mark Williams (18) providing good support and Stewart Younghusband and Anthony Barry both finishing 11 not out.
Town Services (9-140 off 40 overs) were too strong for Coonabarabran (all out 96 in 30 overs) at Coonabarabran.
Ashley Hazelton (74) again anchored his side to a decent score, with support from Dale Parker (22), Adam Hazelton (14 not out) and Scott Basham (13).
Coonabarabran’s bowling was consistent with Cameron Whittall (2-11) and Ben Hjort (2-19) both tidy in eight-over stints while Oska Brooker (2-24) and Zane Jenner (1-23) did a good job in their seven-over spells.
Reduced to 3-11 early, Nick Willoughby (34) and Whittall (42) did their best to recover, but once they were removed by Alex Sutherland (2-17 off five overs) the home side lost its way to fall well short of the victory target.
Adam Hazelton (5-22 off seven overs) did the early damage for Town Services and Mark Temple (1-17 off eight overs) and Ashley Hazelton (1-8 off three overs) also applied pressure.
Biddon-Tooraweenah had the bye, but still hold second spot with four rounds left.