BOURNEMOUTH'S teenage keeper/batsman Ben Rogers has a New Year date at the Sydney Showground to look forward to.
That is after his glovework behind the stumps helped his adopted Greater Illawarra representative team reach the final of the New South Wales CA Plan B T20 Bash.
Rogers, who is spending the winter playing for Albion Park Eagles in Sydney's southern suburbs, snapped up four catches, a stumping and had an assist with a run out as Greater Illawarra beat 2022 champions Newcastle by 21 runs in the northern group final in Tamworth, a cool seven-and-a-half hour coach ride away.
Rogers’s batting skills were not needed but his glove work impressed the locals as he snared four of the top five Newcastle batsman and finished things off in the final over with a diving catch to complete a surprise victory for his side.
The Grand Final is due to be played at the Showground on January 17, as a prelude to the Big Bash League fixture between Sydney Thunder and the Melbourne Renegades.
Rogers continues his Greater Illawarra action in the NSW McDonalds Country Championship, with three 50-over games against North Coastal and Central Northern zones before a rematch against Newcastle.
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