BATHURST were left ruing a number of missed chances in the field after being blasted out of the SCG Country Cup by Dubbo yesterday.
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Dubbo won through to the final eight of the competition as they defeated Bathurst by eight wickets on the Western Plains city’s No. 2 Oval.
In early trouble, Bathurst recovered to make 174, but could not defend the total, missing a number of chances in the field.
Captain Daniel Casey said Bathurst could not afford to do that against a side of Dubbo’s quality.
“From the situation we were in with the bat we did well, and if we had taken our chances in the field and created a bit more pressure you never know what could have happened,” he said.
“Against a quality team you can’t miss those chances and still expect to go close, especially defending a low total like that.
“We only had the one win against Parkes, but hopefully we can improve on that and keep sticking it to teams like Dubbo and Parkes.
“We’ve only got a young team and there’s plenty of talent coming through, so hopefully in the next couple of years we can be right up there.”
Dubbo captain Tim Cox admitted his side will have to improve when they travel to Wollongong in the coming weeks for the finals of the statewide competition, but was still pleased his team chased down Bathurst’s total with minimal fuss.
All four batsmen used contributed. Mitch Bower’s 54 not out was the top score, while Greg Buckley finished the game quickly, smashing four sixes in his 41 not out.
“Making the final eight was the first goal and we did that today, although [we won while] not playing our best cricket. We were poor in a lot of areas,” Cox said.
“Our fielding was shocking and our catching was terrible, so we’ll need to improve that a lot, but we were able to restrict them. If we’d been offered 174 at the start of the day we would have taken it.
“And our batting looks good in the book. We could have maybe pushed things around a bit more and been under a little less pressure, but Greg and Mitch finished it off in a professional style.”
Casey won the toss and batted, but Dubbo began the better to have the visitors in all sorts of trouble at 3-11 with key batsmen Joey Coughlan (two) and Jameel Qureshi (one) back in the sheds.
Youngster Callum Hotham made 41, while Casey (42 not out) and Western Zone representative Josh Toole (36) helped get the innings back on track in a 75-run partnership.
Dubbo leg spinner Ryan Medley claimed 3-43, while Cox (2-11), Ben Patterson (2-30) and Ben Taylor (2-20) were the other wicket-takers.
The run chase began perfectly for Dubbo as Jason Ryan and Paul Hulthen set a solid platform before Ryan was run out for 43 with the score on 60.
Bower then joined Hulthen and added 52 before Hulthen was dismissed by Qureshi for 34.
With 67 still needed for victory and 14 overs remaining, Buckley decided he wanted to end it quickly and, after getting settled, he blasted his side to victory.
Cox said his side will be at full strength for the finals series in Wollongong.
While he reiterated the fact his side need to rediscover their top form, he said there was a real belief Dubbo can make an impact against the best in the state.
“At the next level, which is a massive step up, we need to improve a lot of things,” he said.
“But everyone is keen and committed and we know we’ve got a realistic chance this year if we stay together, so it’s up to us now.”