Sport
9 December, 2025
Tahir fireworks ends Gilgandra’s chance at Brewery Shield title
Western Zone winners will play the highest-ranked side from Lachlan Valley will play in January.
Dubbo skipper Khurram Tahir’s blistering 68 set up the visitors’ Brewery Shield final success against Gilgandra District Cricket Association, but not all is lost as the Ashley Hazelton-led side will contest the Western Zone play-offs of the Cricket NSW Country Plate, likely next month.
Dubbo (5-118 off 22.2 overs) successfully chased down the Gilgandra District Cricket Association’s moderate total of 117 all out (44.3 overs) in the Macquarie Valley Cricket Council Brewery Shield decider at McGrane Oval, Gilgandra on Sunday, December 7.
The Gilgandra association were sent in by Dubbo after rain Saturday night and early-morning showers delayed the start of the fixture and there was a further rain stoppage during the home side’s batting innings.
Biddon-Tooraweenah’s Lachlan Ferguson (42) anchored the GDCA innings with a determined 39.4 over stay at the crease, facing 116 balls.
However, key early losses of Gilgandra and Town Services skipper Hazelton (three) caught in the deep before gun Coonabarabran bat Nick Willoughby (five) copped a low one meant the Gilgandra association was always under pressure.
Gular skipper Brandon Hammond (16) was the GDCA’s next best with the bat, sharing a 38-run third-wicket stand with top-scorer Ferguson.
From 3-56, Gilgandra pushed up to 5-105 but when Dubbo’s Andrew Ridge (3-14 off seven overs) had Ferguson adjudged leg before wicket in the 40th over it signalled the beginning of the end with Coonabarabran all-rounder Cameron Whittall (10) also disappearing with the total on 105.
The GDCA was all out soon after with Harvey Marchant (3-22 off 4.3 overs) also impressing for Dubbo with Tahir (1-13 off five overs), Saad Khan (1-8 off eight overs, three maidens), Andrew Powyer (1-19 off nine overs) and Ali Mumtaz (1-20 off seven overs) all bowling well.
Hazelton felt a total of 150 to 160 would have been enough and said the McGrane Oval conditions were typical, noting that he would have batted anyway if the coin fell the GDCA’s way.
“It didn’t affect us at all,” he said.
“We have played here long enough to know the surface.
“We needed Lachlan’s innings … it was important to keep them in the field as long as we could.
“If we batted the whole 50 overs, (I think) we were a very good chance.”
The southern end was the most challenging to bat from with some low bounce, with most runs being scored at the northern end, Hazelton said.
“It was the same for both sides,” he said. “Dubbo batted better, bowled better and fielded better than us.”
Defending a low total, early wickets were going to be key for the Gilgandra and they picked up four scalps in the first 10.2 overs to reduce Dubbo to 4-44.
Only Asher Azam (22) could get going early as Hammond and Biddon-Tooraweenah’s Jon Kilby (3-19 from 8.2 overs) did the early damage for the Gilgandra association.
“That was as good as I’ve seen him bowl in the last few years,” Hazelton said of Kilby.
“He was always on a good length, having the batsmen in two minds whether to go forward or back.”
However, Tahir again took a liking to the McGrane Oval surface and Gilgandra association bowling.
After smashing 67 from 35 balls in the round three match the Sunday previous at Gilgandra, he was at it again with a match-winning 68 from 33 balls in the final.
Tahir averaged a boundary every 2.5 balls in a simply destructive innings.
Hazelton said Gilgandra bowled too full to Tahir, who batted correctly but with power.
Tahir’s fifth-wicket partnership of 67 with Abuzar Nawaz (11 not out) was crucial.
When Tahir was dismissed in the 20th over, Dubbo needed just seven more runs for victory,
The Gilgandra association’s fielding and catching also wasn’t at the level it needed to be, Hazelton said.
“Once KT (Tahir) was out we would have been a chance, but there just wasn’t enough runs left to defend, we needed that 150 or 160 (run) total” Hazelton said.
“KT was in everything … the pick of their bowlers and batted well. Very straight and correct, anything full he hit straight down the ground.”
Brandon Hammond (1-21 off five overs) and Tyne Chapman (1-27 off four overs) were the Gilgandra association’s other wicket-takers.
The silver-lining is as the highest-ranked lower population side in the competition, Gilgandra progresses through to the Country Plate play-offs as the Macquarie Valley Cricket Council representative.
The GDCA won that entire competition back in 2022/2023, defeating Griffith in the final at Cricket Central in Sydney.
