26/09/2025
Better luck next time Silly Mid-On
INNER WEST CHAMPIONS - AUBURN ALL STARS
The Inner West competition saw the cream rise to the top this season, with the top 4 all posting between 10-12 victories each. 5th place managed 5 victories showing the gap in the field. A dominant top 4 suggested the finals would be competitive, and the teams all stepped up to show the talent in the Inner West. Silly Mid-On narrowly won through to the grand final in a tight qualifier against the Boogeymen. The 4th place Hawksbolt survived a scare against the 5th place Sydney Bright Stars in the Eliminator Final. Hawksbolt then looked on track for an upset against Auburn All Stars in the knockout but had 209 chased down in less than 18 overs! The final day saw Auburn All Stars go big in the Challenger against The Boogeymen, posting 220. Cruising through with a 37-run victory, they would need to back up against Silly Mid-On.
Silly Mid-On went in as favourites, but Auburn is a classy side. Silly Mid-On started perfectly with Usman Hai and Taha Khan, putting together an excellent 2nd wicket partnership. Hamza Shad picked up 3 wickets to rock the Silly Mid-On middle order. A brief but productive stay at the crease for number 7 Abid Ismail yielded 24 (11). The flow of wickets saw Taha and Usman back at the crease. Usman didn't add much to his total finishing on 55 (32). Taha was magnificent with an exceptional 76* (22) in a final. Auburn Skipper Farooq Shad was the only economical bowler finishing with 1/20 in a crucial spell to limit Silly Mid-On to 7/198.
Silly Mid-On knew if they could get global number 6 batsman Wade Kherk cheaply, they'd go a long way to securing the result. The pressure was on Auburn with a big total to chase. Wade did what Wade does and peeled off 52* (20) to set up the chase. Ali Nawaz 50* (23) took over proceedings. There were other important cameos as Auburn made inroads. Naveed Ashraf picked up 4 wickets. Taha Khan picked up the 5th in a player of the match display. Auburn stuck to the task to chase to total down with 4 balls to spare in an exciting finish!
Auburn All Stars thoroughly deserved the title after an amazing playoff series. In all 3 knockout matches, they posted over 200 runs!