NSW clubs eye National T20 finals

The march towards the first finals of the National Premier Cricket Twenty20 Championships continued with high-class action in the NSW Premier competition across the weekend.

Steve Smith headlined a host of impressive performances as he turned out for his club side Sutherland on Sunday. Two teams from the NSW Premier T20 competition will join eight others from around the country in Adelaide in early March for the first national event.

Smith took two wickets and contributed a quickfire knock of 40 – that included three huge sixes – from just 21 deliveries, that helped his side to a narrow four-wicket triumph over Manly-Warringah at Manly Oval in the Kingsgrove Sports Twenty20 Cup.

Smith, who has turned out in NSW Premier Cricket's first-grade competition for Sutherland five times this season, saw 31 runs taken from his three overs of part-time leg-spin against Manly-Warringah, but the 29-year-old was able to claim two wickets, and also had a catch.

The former national skipper entertained the 2000-strong crowd with some sublime hitting on the small confines of Manly Oval.

Former Australia allrounder Shane Watson - who will turn out for the Sydney Thunder in this year's KFC BBL - contributed 33 with the bat for Sutherland, while current NSW Blues players Ben Dwarshuis (42 not out) and Austin Waugh (32) also played their part in the win.

The star of the show for Manly-Warringah was Sydney Thunder allrounder Chris Green, who scored 72 not out from 44 balls and then picked up two wickets, including the prized scalp of Smith, who was excellently caught by diving wicketkeeper Jay Lenton.

In Manly's second match of the day, Green added another 61 not out from 48 balls as they chased down UTS North Sydney's 8-160 with a ball to spare.

Another suspended Australia star turned out on Sunday, with David Warner scoring 63 (32b) and 54 (48b) for Randwick Petersham during their two Twenty20 contests against Mosman and Gordon, respectively.

Warner has already committed to appearing at the National Premier T20 Championships after the City Cyclones won the NT Strike League in Darwin during the winter. Warner played with the City Cyclones in his first competitive matches on Australian soil following his ban. 

His returns on the weekend took him past 4,000 career first-grade runs at 44.58.

But perhaps the most impressive performance on the day came from Sydney batsman Ryan Felsch, who belted the second-highest ever score in a NSW Premier Cricket T20 competition with a brilliant knock of 127.

Felsch brought up his 100 from just 47 deliveries and ended his 55-ball innings with 10 fours and nine sixes as Sydney easily accounted for University of NSW Cricket Club at Drummoyne Oval.