REGARDLESS of how this weekend’s Bathurst District Cricket Association finals play out St Pat’s Old Boys will walk away with one title.
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But the club has the rare opportunity of making it three.
St Pat’s will feature in all three senior grade deciders to cap off what has been a remarkable season of cricket for the club.
The second grade final will be an all Saints affair between White and Blue, the first grade men aim to end their premiership drought against Rugby Union and the minor premier third grade team seek redemption against Bushrangers Jacks.
St Pat’s Gold almost gave the club a spot in the President’s Cup final but were stopped one game shy.
“It’s a bit unreal, especially with first grade making it to their first grand final since 1995-96, which goes back to the BOIDCA days,” Saints’ secretary Brad Broes said.
You only have to look at the statistics to see how special 2017-18 has been for Pat’s.
At the end of the regular season Saints finished with two unbeaten minor premiers (second grade White and third grade) and the club’s overall win-loss across the three grades finished 34-7.
Second grade entered two teams in last season’s competition but both came up short of the grand final.
This time around they’ve locked out the decider.
Pat’s have six of the top 10 runs scorers in second grade and four of the top 5 wicket takers.
Broes said the climb up the ladder has been amazing to watch unfold.
“Having our two second grade teams play each other is a big tick for us,” he said.
“Scott Traves has captained the White side to an undefeated year. Our Blue boys have found a way to win a lot of their games even when they didn’t look like doing so.
“It should be really great game.”
Broes himself almost got the Blue men home in the major semi-final with his score of 63, but Traves’ 70 at opener was enough to get White the first spot in the grand final.
Blue snuck into the grand final on their second attempt when they beat Bathurst City by just 13 runs in the preliminary final.
“When we decided to have two second grade teams it was because we’d had Pat’s Blue and Gold playing each other in the President’s Cup final, and there was a lot of talented players coming through,” Broes said.
“Now a lot of the guys from that final like Ben Mitchell, Sam Hall and Bailey Brien are playing first grade.”
Third grade received a shock loss against Bushrangers Jacks in the major semi-final and are seeking a turnaround this weekend.
A stunning all-round performance from Marcus Turnbull (3-21 and 72 not out) paved the way for the Bushies’ upset.
Pat’s will look to some of the grade’s leading players to get the job done.
Blake Collins (487) and Luke Thorncraft (424) finished as the two leading run scorers in third grade. They will be a key part of the Saints’ order, along with strike bowling threat Greg Reid.
“I think that loss was the perfect wake up call for them,” Broes said.
“They’ve dominated every other side in the competition, and hopefully that loss the other week spurs them on in the final.
“This sort of result is the major goal for us – getting all our sides into the grand finals.”