Central North crowned Bradman Cup champions after flawless campaign

Central North have claimed the 2025/26 Bradman Cup, ending a 10-year drought with a dominant, undefeated campaign in Albury to secure just the third title in the zone’s history.

The Under 16 side sealed the trophy with a commanding seven-wicket win over Southern Districts, making light work of a target of 208 to surge past the total with more than seven overs in hand and only three wickets lost. 

Despite the final round of the carnival being abandoned due to extreme heat, Central North won all six of its matches to finish 10 points clear of second-placed Central Coast, setting the benchmark across the tournament. 

Their success was built on a ruthless bowling attack that proved almost impossible to break. Central North conceded just 26 wickets across the entire carnival, 16 fewer than the next best side while taking a competition-high 64 wickets at an average of just 16. 

Captain Charlie Lovegrove was central to the triumph, producing an outstanding all-round performance. The leg-spinning skipper scored 193 runs at 48, took seven wickets at 21.7, held five catches and executed a memorable run-out to earn the Nathan Lyon Medal as Player of the Tournament. 

With the bat, Cailan Hartwell was a class above despite playing up an age group. He finished as the leading run-scorer of the carnival with 286 runs at an impressive average of 71.5. 

The 2025/26 Bradman Cup brought together the best young cricketers from all eight NSW Country Cricket Zones, with Albury hosting four days of highly competitive and high-quality cricket despite the challenging conditions. 

Central North will now go on to face the winner of the AW Green Shield (NSW Premier Cricket’s Under 16 competition) to determine the state champions. 

Cricket NSW extends their thanks to the Albury Wodonga Cricket Association for hosting the carnival, along with all local curators and ground staff, scorers, umpires, players and parents for their efforts in making the tournament such a success. 

Full competition results are available here.