Brilliant Briggs blasts 183 runs

A DARWIN junior who was just as good as South Australia stars Jake Weatherald and Tom Andrews played one of the best innings his captain has ever seen against Waratah at Kahlin Oval yesterday.

Opener Tom Briggs made a superb 183 from 188 balls in his team’s mammoth 8-430 from 80 overs.

“Tom’s innings was unbelievable — one of the best knocks I’ve seen,” Darwin captain Luke Zanchetta said. “He’s a Darwin junior who grew up playing with Jake Weatherald and Tom Andrews and still won four or five junior awards.

“He hit the ball all around the ground and put the bad balls away, which is really important on a small ground like Kahlin.”

Much was said about this top-of-the-table clash heading into day one of the match yesterday.

But with Darwin not losing a long-format game against its arch rivals since 2014, and with the Eagles dominating the club championship so far this year, Zanchetta warned against taking the opposition lightly.

“We’re on top on the A,B, C and D-grade ladders so it’s easy to get complacent,” he said. “But our batters were unselfish today — Jack Williams got run out on the last ball of the innings attempting a run he didn’t have to for the benefit of the team.”

Jacob Dickman continued his impressive Strike League form for the NT Invitational team against the Bangladesh Academy, with a classy 66 from 90 balls.

Dickman was dropped to Bgrade earlier this year after registering a pair of ducks, but bounced back with two tons for the City Cyclones in the Strike League, and an exceptional 102 not out against the Bangladesh touring team.

Meanwhile, PINT is 2-81 in reply to Palmerston’s 228 allout at Cazalys Oval.

Towering PINT opening bowler Matt Bacon kept the Palmerston batsmen honest with 5-52.

And Tracy Village is 1-18 in reply to Nightcliff’s 210 all-out at Tracy Village Oval.

All-rounder Lahiru Anthony top-scored for Nightcliff with 64 from 77 balls.