Chasing 190 for victory in the second of two trials in Orange for the Western Zone Bradman Cup side, the first match on Saturday having been washed out, Valleys were cruising at 4-183 with five overs to bat.

Four wickets to Pearson-Bourke, another to Bathurst’s Luke Powell and a run-out later, Valleys had inexplicably lost 6-0 and crashed out of the contest.

It meant a huge sigh of relief for Mitchell coach Tony Wells who had declared his side’s innings closed with a few overs still to bat in a bid to get the opposition in to bat as quickly as possible in the unpredictable weather.

“It was unbelievable,” he said.

“We had them in trouble early. Luke Powell made the initial breakthrough and they were 2-22, but suddenly they were 2-113. Jonty Powderly got them going forward and he put on a good stand with Ben Knaggs.

“Powell bowled Knaggs and then Powderly fell when they were on 183 and from there they just fell in a heap. Ned Pearson-Bourke was fantastic and finished with 6-20; Luke Powell took 3-19.

“We held our catches, we got a run-out and fielded brilliantly and it was a total turnaround from the day before.”

Earlier, Mitchell captain Peacock showed his class with a sensational hundred that rescued his team from the brink of oblivion barely a few overs into the game.

Batting first, fellow Bathurst players Connor Slattery (four), Mark Day (two) and Orange-based Bathurst City batsman Cohen Schubert (nought) all fell cheaply and Mitchell soon found themselves in dire trouble at 4-17.

Showing patience and no lack of considerable skill against the swinging ball, Peacock took his time and got some help from Charlie Mortimer (10) to get the score up to 4-62.

Another Bathurst batsman in Kieran Lindsay also performed well to contribute a valuable 26, helping Peacock through to 93 not out.

When Lindsay departed, Orange batsman Hugh Britton decided it was time to up the ante and clubbed 34 not out at better than a run a ball, while Peacock steadily plotted his way to three figures, bringing it up in the 48th over.

“He played a very intelligent knock. A lot of his ones and twos early on would have been four on a dry day, but the outfield was wet and very slow,” Wells said.

“The bowling was good, the ball swung into the 20th over – when a four-piece ball is doing that, it is an indicator of how hard batting was.

“He [Peacock] also captained them very well.”

A day earlier, Valleys batted first in the opening game and were reasonably poised at 5-113 when rain intervened.

Charlie Kempston (43) and Pat Berry (40) had given their side a good platform, while Powell and Britton were among the better performers with the ball.

The Bradman Cup side from Western Zone will be announced this week and will gather at All Saints’ College for a camp later this month.