Sutherland have stormed into the Twenty20 Cup final after scoring a thrilling victory over Sydney on Sunday.
The Sharks return to the Sydney Cricket Ground to face local rivals St George in the preliminary final on Sunday, looking to go one better than last season when they were beaten finalists.
The winners will advance to take on either Sydney University or Penrith in the decider on Sunday night.
At Drummoyne Oval on Sunday, Sydney skipper Daniel Smith won the toss and elected to bat, with young English batsman Zak Crawley stealing the show.
The 20-year-old from Kent smashed 100 not out from just 42 balls, his innings including five fours and nine sixes as Sydney plundered 71 runs from their final four overs.
The hosts finished with 5-198 from their 20 overs and were in the box seat at the innings break.
But Sutherland started their innings strongly, with Peter Saroukos (29) and Jarryd Biviano (27) putting on 50 for the first wicket.
The fall of Biviano brought Steve Smith to the wicket, with the former Australia captain masterfully controlling Sutherland’s run chase despite the Sharks losing Saroukos, Jamie Brown (0) and Tom Doyle (4) in quick succession.
Smith had 61 from just 33 deliveries when he was dismissed with Sutherland having moved to 5-142. Chris Williams (21) fell shortly after, leaving Sutherland captain Ben Dwarshuis and Daniel Rixon needing 55 from the final five overs.
The pair whittled down the total, requiring eight from the last over. Dwarshuis managed to hit the first delivery for six before tieing the scores with a single.
Rixon (27 not out) and Dwarshuis (28 not out) then scampered through for another single to seal an epic victory with two balls to spare.
“It was an awesome win,” Dwarshuis told the Leader.
“Any time you chase down just under 200 is a really good effort and the boys did so well.
“It was a little bit nerve-wracking at the end there. It’s always tight when it comes down to the last over. It doesn’t matter how many you need. I was fortunate enough to hit a six the first ball.
“Once Dan got that last one it was a nice feeling. They’re a very good side, they came first in our pool with a massive net run rate. They took a lot of momentum into their bowling innings.
“But we just said our batting could do it. We gave our openers the clear message to take the game on which they did and they set the game up.
“I think we were 75 off the six overs of our power play so we were ahead of the game. The pitch was really nice as well and there was a short side that a lot of batsmen took on.”
Dwarshuis paid tribute to Smith’s knock which helped keep Sutherland in the contest at a crucial period.
“Steve in the middle there really controlled it. He found the boundary at the right time and kept the run rate at the right level and allowed me and Dan at the end to come in and play to a clear plan,” he said.
“It’s so important to have a guy like Steve there. We lost both openers pretty early. Jamie went first ball as well so we lost three wickets really quickly which can halt your momentum.
“He took calculated risks. And a guy like that batting on that wicket is a nice recipe. He controlled the game. I walked past him as he got out and he was very disappointed he didn’t go all the way and get the job done himself.
“But he certainly did enough. As well as his leggies, him being able to bowl four overs as a captain it allows us to pick another bat. And it shows how crucial that was picking Dan to bat eight, he hit 27 off 13 balls to win us the game. That’s the benefit of having him there as opposed to a bowler.”
Sutherland’s preliminary final against St George at the Sydney Cricket Ground starts at 11am on Sunday.
