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New South Wales pinched the Dean Jones Trophy after an evening that swung from wash-out fears to a nervy chase, eventually beating Tasmania by five wickets in Hobart.
The basics first: rain dominated Wednesday, reducing the final to 24 overs a side. Had the match been abandoned, ladder-leaders Tasmania would have been champions. Instead, a completed toss four hours earlier meant play could start at 6.15pm, and NSW grabbed their lifeline.
Bowling first on a tacky pitch, the visitors ripped through the top order. Ben Dwarshuis and Sean Abbott shared the new ball and, helped by thick cloud and a hint of swing, left the hosts 25 for 5. Skipper Jordan Silk’s run-out – a mix-up under pressure – summed up the Tigers’ mood.
Tasmania eventually crawled to 118 for 9. Short boundaries always promised a chaseable total, yet nobody in the NSW camp pretended it was straightforward. At 73 for 5 the game was alive. Then captain Kurtis Patterson settled matters, finishing 52 not out from 57 deliveries. He was the only batter truly at ease, guiding his side home with seven balls to spare.
“I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet to be honest. We were about 10 minutes more rain away from not even getting on the field,” Patterson said. “It’s wild how the day panned out.”
He laughed about the down-time in the dressing room: “The people who were allowed a phone in there [the dressing rooms] were looking at that radar like you wouldn’t believe and trying to move the clouds with their hands. You get lucky sometimes.”
Dwarshuis (3 for 17) and Abbott (3 for 25) not only set up the win but added calm heads that the group leaned on. Patterson knows their value: “They’ve got so much finals experience in white-ball cricket with both NSW and the Sixers. They’re guys I can give the first over to and they’re guys I can give the 50th and everything in between and use them as my strike weapons, too. All three phases, they tick all those boxes.”
He added: “They’re both magnificent movers in the field and they both offer a bit with the bat. They actually help the balance of our team in a lot of other ways, too, and allow us to be flexible with line-ups and different things like that.” Dwarshuis underlined that point, clearing long-off for six just when the chase began to tighten.
Personal form
Patterson’s half-century completed a prolific tournament: 565 runs at an average north of 113, plus three hundreds. Added to an unbeaten 173 in the Sheffield Shield last month, the left-hander is back in national discussion, though he insists that talk stays in the background.
“I’ve absolutely got a desire to get back and play cricket for Australia and probably for different reasons to be honest,” he explained. “When I was a kid, you do it because it’s what every kid wants and you want that baggy green. Now, that environment looks like such a fun place to play cricket. It looks like a place where I think I’d learn a lot and get better.
“You obviously want to test yourself against the best around the world. That desire is there but to be honest with you, it sits in the back of the mind once you’re in season. It’s one game after the other in different formats so there’s not a lot of time to spend thinking about Australian stuff.”
Tasmanian reflection
For Silk’s men, the defeat stung. They had started the campaign with five straight wins and earned hosting rights, only to stumble at the final hurdle. “It’s pretty raw,” the captain admitted before heading to address his players. Their bowlers fought gamely – Gabe Bell removing Daniel Hughes early and Lawrence Neil-Smith producing a hostile burst – but the damage had been done with the bat.
Analysis
The match reinforced two familiar truths about late-season domestic finals: weather can dictate terms, and white-ball experience often trumps raw form. NSW’s decision to recall Abbott and Dwarshuis after the T20 World Cup proved decisive, their new-ball spell effectively reducing the contest to a low-pressure chase. Tasmania, so dominant earlier, lacked the pragmatic calm required on a shortened night.
Yet there is little between the sides. Silk’s young top order – Tim Ward and Charlie Wakim in particular – will view this as a lesson in tempo during reduced-overs cricket, where pushing to 140 rather than 118 can be decisive.
As for NSW, the trophy returns to Sydney for the first time in four seasons. The players celebrated modestly, aware they were “about 10 minutes” from not playing at all. Imperfect cricket on an imperfect day – but silverware all the same.
