A gorgeous Sunday morning was the scene of the Brisbane Premier League’s first semi-final, with the Darling Dingoes facing off against the Northern Kings. Captain Steve McGiffin of the Dingoes won the toss and elected to bowl first. Both teams boasted incredible talent with the likes of Sam Truloff, Blake Maher, Josh Brown and Jack Cooper lining up. This clash was sure to be nothing short of a belter with a spot in the inaugural Brisbane Premier League Final on the line.
Bowling first for the Dingoes was a set play, aiming to limit the Kings battling line up to as little as possible, basing their game plan around their effort in the field. Jack Cooper and the in-form Josh Brown opened the batting for the Kings, and while the devastating best of Josh Brown wasn’t seen, Jack Cooper got his side off to a fast start with 19 runs from 10 balls including two 6’s. Sam Wilson came to the crease and got amongst the fun as well, hitting two maximums of his own in his 18 runs from 15 balls.
However, with both men both dismissed immediately after sending one over the fence each as the Dingoes were wrestling back momentum. Opening bowler for the Dingoes Saveen Nanayakkara took the first two wickets of the match, with Michael Topp chiming in towards the middle with two quick wickets of his own, just missing out on an incredible hat-trick spanning over two overs. Brendan McNae took two of his own, along with Aryan Jain getting one, rounding out an incredible bowling display from the Dingoes.
“(Sam) Truloff in particular is a really good chaser, he seems to pace things really well. Off the back of that Giff (Steve McGiffin), Blake (Maher) and Brandon Faber feed off of that and get partnerships” said coach Anthony Wilson, looking forward to a winning run chase.
The Darling Dingoes limited the Northern Kings to 7/145 from their 20 overs.
Aryan Jain and Brandon Faber got the Dingoes off to a solid start in the run chase, where Jain struck 26 runs from 20 balls with three boundaries, as Faber supported with 16 runs from 17 balls. Jack O’Neill was the man to remove both Dingoes openers, as Norths had their opponents 2/46 from 6 overs.
Captain Steve McGiffin found himself at the crease with Sam Truloff, as McGiffin scored 45 not from 37 balls with three 4’s and a six. Identified by coach Wilson as the man to lead the run chase, Truloff was the man who owned the run chase. Truloff led the way again, hitting eight boundaries on his way to 52 not out from 31 balls. It was a clinical run chase from the Dingoes pair who gave very little opportunity for the Kings to defend their total.
The Darling Dingoes won the first Brisbane Premier League Semi Final, chasing down the Kings total of 146 with 8 wickets and 18 balls to spare.
