They won five of their last five games, but Nulla have missed out on a berth in next week's Two Rivers First Grade cricket finals, along with the other three Macleay Valley cricket teams.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Nulla finished off their last round in style with a three-wicket victory against Wauchope at Andrews Parks Oval on Saturday, to go with their earlier wins against South West Rocks, Rovers, Beechwood and Frederickton.
But the slow start to the season proved costly as Nulla finished fifth on the ladder, just three points behind Beechwood. Meanwhile, the Rovers finished in sixth placed, followed by South West Rocks in seventh place and Federickton in ninth place.
"Nulla just missed out on finals which was a shame," Macleay Valley Cricket Association secretary Geoff Barrie said. "They were picking up a lot of steam towards the end there but just fell short."
The cricket season saw some impressive individual performances on display in the local teams.
Nulla's Troy Ward hit his way to 424 runs overall, while Rovers player Tom Powick picked up 279 runs throughout the season, and Frederickton's Jamie Cooper finished on 269 runs.
Nulla's Blake Giddy also had a stand out season after grabbing 27 wickets overall, followed by fellow player Ben Taylor who claimed 24 wickets, and South West Rocks player Liam Askew who claimed 19 wickets.
The Two Rivers First Grade Cricket competition saw a newly augmented format that featured a collaboration between the Hastings and Macleay Valley teams.
Barrie said he was happy to see the season return to normal without too many weather disruptions, but would like to see a first grade competition based solely in the Macleay Valley next year.
"The Two Rivers competition wasn't too bad, it went rather well, but hopefully next year we can just have first grade competition here," he said. "It's something we are looking to bring up in our next meeting."
Barrie said a local competition might encourage more junior participation in the community.
"The benefit would be that more younger players would be interested in playing with their first grade side because they would be able to see how the side is performing each weekend," he said.
IN OTHER NEWS:
