In what was quite a brilliant bowling performance, the Bathurst under 16s side cruised to 134-run win against Orange in the Mitchell Cricket Council.
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Bathurst batted first and scored 5-232 off 50 overs, with Sam Hall top scoring with 74 runs.
Opening batsmen Bailey Brien and Ben Cant scored 24 and 49 respectively.
Ben Mitchell came in at number four and scored 19 runs, before being bowled out by Orange’s Lachlan Griffith.
Nick Broes was run out on the final ball of the innings, finishing with a total of 48 runs.
When Orange went out to bat, the boys from the colour city could not comprehend the stunning bowling from Bathurst.
In total, the Bathurst bowlers scored a staggering 20 maidens from a possible 50.
Orange were restricted to just 7-98 off 50 overs.
Both Nick Broes (1-6 off 10 overs) and Mitchell Taylor (1-8 off eight overs) scored five maidens each.
Bathurst under 16s coach Shane Broes was happy with the boys performance.
“They were pretty polished and a bit better than recent games. They batted sensibly and it was an all round performance,” he said.
“The boys started well, with our partnerships. They kept working the ball into the spots to get ones and twos.
“The bowling was key on the day.”
The win for Bathurst means the team will finish the regular season undefeated and will host Lithgow in a semi final, at the Bathurst Showground on February 26.
Broes knows Lithgow will be no easy beats.
“Lithgow will be right on their game. We’ll have to be at our best [to win],” he said.
“They’re [Bathurst] capable boys though. We have about seven players in the CHS [Combined High Schools] Western team.”
Orange will play Mudgee in the other semi final and Bathurst will host the final on March 5, if they prevail in their match against Lithgow.
While the result was quite outstanding by the under 16s, the story was somewhat different for both the under 14s and under 12s.
Bathurst under 14s were bowled out for just 65 in 43.3 overs, before Orange Gold chased them by scoring 2-66 in just 19.1 overs
“It wasn’t one of our best days,” Bathurst under 14s coach Wal Brien said.
“Declan Faulkner batted well for us [top scoring with 24 runs]. But Orange batted and fielded really well.
“We were unlucky some things didn’t go our way and there is definitely some room for improvement.”
Thomas Lynch (1-8 off three overs) and Tom Siede (1-16 off five runs), were the only bowlers that took wickets for Bathurst.
Bathurst and Orange Gold both went into the game undefeated, with four wins from four.
Orange Gold’s win means they have now sealed the minor premiership.
Brien said the defeat might be good, as they head into the semi finals.
The under 14s will host Orange Black, at Morse Park 1 on February 26.
The under 12s slumped to a 13 run lose to Blue Mountains, at Brooke Moore Oval.
With a game in hand, Bathurst will host Orange on 26 February at Brooke Moore Oval.
With Bathurst in third, a win would deny Orange the minor premiership and final hosting rights.
Even if Bathurst manage to defeat Orange, it might not be enough for them to qualify for the top two and the final on March 5.