Mother Nature can be a cruel mistress, as Bathurst found out in Sunday's Mitchell Cricket Council Colts grand final against Orange.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Thanks to a near-flawless, and unbeaten, 96 from skipper Ryan Peacock Bathurst was absolutely cruising in its innings at Orange’s Country Club Oval, a 300-plus score was well and truly on the cards at 6-241 with eight overs left.
Then the heavens opened, in a big way.
So much so the game was abandoned and, with a replay off the table once the game had started and no other available dates anyway, the title was handed to Orange thanks to its higher standing on the ladder leading into the decider.
The Baby Bluebaggers’ net run rate of 3.25 just edged Bathurst’s 3.02, after both sides thumped Mudgee in their tournament-openers.
While frustrating, Bathurst coach Shane Broes said the more disappointing part of the whole saga was actually the cancellation of last Friday’s game between the two sides.
Both sides were guaranteed a place in the final anyway so only hosting rights were on the line, but a communication issue left no pitches ready for the game.
“I think that’s the most disappointing part for us, that [Bathurst Regional Council] didn’t prepare a pitch for us on Friday so we didn’t get the chance to host,” he said.
“We know Orange was short for Friday’s game so it would’ve been a good chance but in saying that it did also rain here so we may not have got on anyway, and one thing you can’t control is the weather.
“At 6-241 with eight to go we were looking at around 300 and we’d scored [324] against Mudgee, the boys couldn’t have done much more, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Although he said his side was “pleased the trophy’s back”, Baby Bluebaggers coach Daryl Kennewell was the first to admit it was a less than ideal way to win.
“You always want to test yourself and win on the back of your performance. But it’s the nature of the beast sometimes,” Kennewell said.
“But it also shows how important, especially in a three-game competition, the early games can actually be.
“It is a shame in a way because Bathurst had batted really well, we wanted a crack at them with the bat and we’ve probably missed an opportunity to see a great game of cricket played out.”
All of Bathurst’s top six made starts on Sunday, with Nic Broes (15), Bailey Brien (17) and Sam Hall (18) all contributing before Peacock and Connor Slattery came together at 3-76.
They added 46 before the latter was dismissed for 24, before Peacock and Ben Mitchell (36) put on another 88 for the fifth wicket.
Bathurst’s skipper led from the front, blasting 12 fours in his superb 97-ball dig.
“That was probably Ryan’s best innings in a while,” Broes said.
“He was really concentrating on digging in and spending some time at the crease and he certainly did that. It was a shame the rain stopped him short of 100.”
Kennewell lauded Peacock’s performance too, saying the Western Zone star was “on fire”.
“He’s a real player of the future, that one,” Kennewell said.
“He batted really well, he was on fire. We were in a little bit of trouble. All the Bathurst guys had batted well, but we didn’t bowl great either.”
One positive for Bathurst is the fact just two of the side age-out next summer.
“We’ll be mainly unchanged, so I think we should still have a competitive side for next season,” Broes said.
“I do think Mitchell Cricket Council needs to have a look at the structure of the under 19s though, with it only being a three-game competition, and maybe have a look at making a few changes.”
On the representative scene, Bathurst’s focus now shifts to the open side’s Western Zone Premier League final against Dubbo on March 4.