The Tigers secured top place in Pool A and maintained their unblemished Twenty20 record with a victory over Wollongong. 

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Wollongong reached 7/138 off their 20 overs. Helensburgh were able to comfortably chase the total down, reaching the target with the loss of three wickets in the 19^th over.

“It was a pretty good win,” McCrae said. “Obviously they’re a very good side, so it was good to get a win leading into the semis.”

Wollongong jumped out to a hot start, with opener Tim Laws scoring 31 off just 15 deliveries. However, his dismissal on the final ball of the powerplay triggered a slowing of the run rate and the Tigers were able to reign their opopnents in.

Chris Macnamara (1/12) and Steve Blissenden (3/24) starred for Helensburgh with the ball, with much of Macnamara’s spell taking place during the powerplay. 

“Chris Macnamara was really good and we got Steve Blissenden back from injury, he bowled really well through the middle. Chris bowled his four overs straight, when the fielders were up, he did a really good job bowling through that powerplay period.”

Wollongong captain Dave Studholme lamented a number of missed opportunities with both the bat and ball, after numerous batsmen failed to turn starts into a big score.

“It’s a little bit disappointing,” Studholme said. “I thought we had enough runs, we just didn’t bowl well enough. I think we could have got another 10 to 15 more runs, but I still thought it was a defendable total. 

“We just lacked discipline in the bowling, we didn’t bowl to the fields and didn’t bowl to our plans.”

Helensburgh will face Dapto in next Sunday’s semi-final after the Canaries fell to Keira and slipped to second in Pool B. Batting first, Dapto reached 6/143. 

Keira made light work of the run chase, with half centuries to Ryan Smith (53) and Dan Constable (56*) laying the platform for a comprehensive eight-wicket victory.

University leapfrogged Dapto into first place after defeating Port Kembla. University bowled Port out for 111 before reaching 5/112 in 17.4 overs. Mitchell Hearn did the damage with both bat and ball for University, with 3/11 off 3.4 overs before scoring a pivotal 57 not out.

Michael Stephenson top scored for Balgownie with 42 as they made their way to 9/129 in their clash with Northern Districts. However, it wasn’t enough, with the Butchers reaching 6/130 off 19.1 overs.

Corrimal was the only team batting first to win on Saturday, with the Cougars winning their first Twenty20 game of the season. Led by Jaymee Dillon (51*) and Daniel Baldwin (51), Corrimal scored 4/148. Wests Illawarra were only able to reach 9/120 in reply.

University are scheduled to face Balgownie in the second semi-final. However a query has been raised over Balgownie’s use of ineligible players earlier in the season.