Cyclones blow away Blaze in NT decider

Suspended Australia batsman David Warner could appear in next summer's inaugural T20 Premier Cricket competition, after the City Cyclones won the Northern Territory Strike League final in Darwin on Sunday.

The Cyclones, for whom Warner played twice in his return to competitive cricket in Australia following the ball-tampering scandal, downed Desert Blaze by 29 runs in the decider of the four-week competition.

View the full match scorecard here

Neither Warner, nor fellow suspended batsman Cameron Bancroft, who had played for the Blaze, appeared in the final, as the Cyclones went back-to-back, their skipper Josh Doyle producing a magnificent all-round display in making 125 out of a total of 9-261, and taking 4-62 as the Blaze were bowled out for 232.

The victory sees the Cyclones become the first team to qualify for the new national T20 Premier Cricket tournament, which will be held at the back-end of next summer.

Warner vowed to turn out for the men in green in that 10-team tournament, set to be staged in Adelaide, after making 36 and 93 in his two innings in the Top End earlier this month.

The winner of each state and territory's respective T20 competitions will qualify for the national event, with Victoria and New South Wales to each send two teams (both finalists).

"Thanks NT Cricket for allowing me to come up and participate in the strike league," Warner wrote on Instagram. "I am very happy the Cyclones are now in the final. Fingers crossed for a spot in Adelaide March 3 next year. I'm there if we get up."

The inclusion of Warner and Bancroft earned the Strike League a major shot of publicity, with the competition increasingly seen as a viable option for professional cricketers seeking to play high-quality 'off-season' cricket.

"We have a really powerful cricket product that is attractive to players from all around the country, and all round the world," NT Cricket Chief Executive Joel Morrison told cricket.com.au today.

"And that's enormously beneficial for us, because we have our young, local Territory cricketers playing and training alongside elite cricketers for a whole month.

"There's no other tournament in Australia, and possibly the world that allows local club cricketers to spend a month training alongside elite professional cricketers.

"In addition, it also means we have a winter competition that can serve the rest of the country, whether it's players, or teams, or umpires or coaches who can come up here up for experience in ideal weather on first-class standard pitches and outfields.

"You no longer have to leave our shores if you want to keep playing quality level cricket during winter and with visa restrictions, it's getting a lot harder now for players who aren't professionals to go over and play in England.

"So we believe the Strike League offers enormous benefits for players who are young and developing, or who are on the cusp of breaking into the professional ranks."

Main image courtesy of NT Cricket