THEY say that the slate is sometimes wiped clean when a finals series gets underway, but sometimes regular season results can prove vital.
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Look no further than Saturday's Bathurst District Cricket Association's Presidents Cup final, where rain left the match incomplete and meant minor premiers St Pat's Old Boys claimed the trophy for 2023-24.
The Saints were defending their total of 9-101 at Morse Park 1, with opponents City Colts in a handy position of 2-38, when the weather had its say in the result.
With the match drawn the result went to the team that finished higher on the ladder.
It wasn't the way that Pat's skipper Jeffrey Roffe had pictured winning the title but said it was nice for his side to reap the rewards for a consistent season of cricket.
"It's one way to win it, but not the way we wanted to do it. It's much better to win it on the field," he said.
Jack Larsen (23 not out from 67 deliveries) provided a crucial knock in the lower Saints order to help his side reach triple figures by the end of their 40 overs.
Opener Jacob Roffe also provided a valuable 22 runs at the top.
Four different Colts bowlers - Poppi Stephen, Matt Lawson, Ned Anderson and Hamish Comerford - came away with two wickets each.
The title continues the Saints' strong run of form over recent years in Presidents Cup.
A team determined to go all the way
Roffe said it takes the perfect balance of junior and senior talent to make a title-winning team, and a strong to culture to boot.
"Presidents Cup goes in cycles," he said.
"You can get juniors who come in, who can be quite young, and then it builds up over the next couple of years, and we were quite fortunate to have a pretty strong group around the 14 to 15-year-old group.
"There will be quite a few in our team who will look into moving up into second grade next year. There might be a bit of a gap sometimes, because some of them play school cricket, but those kids still have a strong affiliation with their local club.
"We want the younger players doing as much as possible, and us older players are there to guide them around. With some of us senior guys over 50 we're often relying on the younger ones to do the work."
Colts' Matt Lawson had blasted 19 runs from 10 deliveries, with Ned Anderson (1 not out) at the other end, when the rain hit.
Opening bowlers Harry Fearnley and Ben Eardley had split the wickets evenly between them.
"Colts were playing very well and I'd say they were on top," Roffe said.
"Matt [Stephen, Colts captain] was very gracious at the end so full credit to them. They've got a few of the younger juniors in this competition so I'm sure they'll be very strong next year."
Squad worth keeping an eye on
While naturally disappointing not to come away with the title after being in such a promising position it was a season where Colts still delivered on several of their goals.
Skipper Matt Stephen said it's a side full of promising players for the future.
"We call them the 'Baby Blues' for a reason. They're the youngest team by far and they all stepped up unbelievably," he said.
"The bigger the game the more that they seem to shine. There's a few 12 and 13-year-olds and it can be a bit daunting for them playing grade cricket but we made it very clear that it's about having fun and learning.
"I think they ended up having fun in spades and learned a lot. I could not be more proud of the way they handled themselves."