THE South Australian Outbacks have again impressed after winning three of their first five games in the Australia Country Cricket Championships in Western Australia.
The side has significant connections to the South East with five players from the Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association making the cut.
North Sportsman’s Josh Fidler took on the role as captain and he is well supported by vice captain Dion Stratford from East Gambier.
North Sportsman’s brothers Nick and Matthew McInerney are also valuable players in the side, along with the Bulldogs’ Alex Hentschke.
The Outbacks were off to a solid start with a nail-biting victory over Victoria Country in their opening Twenty20 match.
Victoria won the toss and elected to bat, reaching 105 runs in the 20 overs.
South Australia went into its batting innings with confidence, but reached the winning total of 106 with just three balls remaining.
David Golder was best with the ball for the Outbacks with three wickets, followed by Nick McInerney with two.
Brodie O’Dea was most impressive with the bat, scoring a solid 53 runs from 63 faced balls, while Ben Parish (27) and Peter Wilson (10) were the others to make double figures.
The same day the Outbacks challenged East Asia Pacific for their second win of the championships.
South Australia won the toss and elected to bat, posting 6/158 from the 20 overs.
A 69-run partnership between Parish and Matthew McInerney was a game-changer.
Parish was clean bowled on 54, while McInerney was just short of his half-century on 41 from 29 balls.
Stratford also contributed with a solid 18 runs off 13 balls.
The Outbacks had the upper-hand early and were able to hold their opponents to 9/132 by the final delivery.
Hentschke was best with the ball, managing an impressive 3/29 off just three overs.
On day two Queensland Country proved a tough foe.
It held the Outbacks to 9/113 from 20 overs, while reaching the target from just 12.3 overs.
Wilson was best, posting 50 runs before he was run out, while Stratford and Joe Brown were next best with 17.
It was another disappointing performance from South Australia when it clashed with New South Wales Country in its second game of the day.
New South Wales had the upper-hand early, posting a solid 5/166 before putting the Outbacks in to bat.
Josh Pengelley (22), Jake Birchmore (14), Chris Graser (13) and Stratford (11) were the only four batsmen in the South Australian colours to reach double figures.
The Outbacks were all out after 16 overs.
They then bounced back for another tight three-run victory over Western Australia Country.
South Australia won the toss and elected to bat, posting 8/128 off the 20 overs.
Both Nick McInerney and Stratford topped the scoring with 35 runs apiece, while Birchmore (19) and Matthew McInerney (16) were next best.
Strong bowling from the Outbacks held Western Australia’s chances of victory at bay.
Sean Nottle, Pengelley and Fidler all claimed wickets from their four overs and were big contributors to the slow run rate.
The game came down to the final over, but the Outbacks were able to hold on for the win.
South Australia finished a respectable third in the competition, just missing out on a grand final position.
The final was eventually taken out by New South Wales Country over Queensland.
The Outbacks began their one-day format campaign yesterday against Queensland, before taking on East Asia Pacific today.
