Two excellent performances with the ball proved the catalyst as Orange reclaimed the Mitchell Cricket Council Twenty20 Cup on Sunday afternoon, the Bluebaggers sealing the trophy for the second time in the burgeoning competition’s three-season span.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Bluebaggers’ attack strangled Bathurst to inspire a stunning opening-round boilover victory that ended the reigning champions’ defence, before doing the same in the decider against a plucky Blue Mountains side that caused an upset of their own against Lithgow earlier in the day.
Orange resigned Bathurst to 5-34 early at Jack Brabham Park and eventually restricted them to 8-108 before, remarkably, recovering from 5-16 in their chase to win by three wickets with an over to spare.
The decider was a reasonably straight-forward win, the Bluebaggers skittling the Cattle Dogs for 95 and then running it down with four wickets in hand.
As well as lauding his bowlers’ efforts, Kennewell praised his troops’ ability to stay switched on after such a heart-pumping victory first-up.
“They can be hard to back up from, those come-from-behind type wins, so it was great to see the guys do that in the final,” he said.
“It was definitely our performance with the ball that put us in the position to win both games, we just bowled really, really well.
“On the wicket we were playing on anything short would just go so you had to keep it tight and the boys did that really well, with different blokes standing up in each game and getting the job done.
“We’ve been working towards getting a solid bunch of guys together regularly for a couple of seasons now and that’s happening, which I think is definitely transferring into results. It’s good to get this trophy back.”
It was definitely our performance with the ball that put us in the position to win both games.
- Orange skipper Daryl Kennewell
Kennewell pointed to the Royal Hotel Cup as one huge factor in the Bluebaggers’ success in the competition although they relinquished the title to Bathurst last summer, saying that experience in the shortest format makes a huge difference.
"The more you play this form of the game you more you learn, and I think more than anything it’s the little things we’ve all learned from playing the Royal Hotel Cup that make a difference,” he explained.
“Mainly things like ticking the scoreboard over, consistently working singles and running well. It’s all well and good to be able to hit boundaries and sixes, but if you’re playing out a lot of dots in between it offsets it a bit.
“I think that’s where Bathurst went wrong against us, they were looking for those big shots and they didn’t always come.”
That was a point Bathurst skipper Jameel Qureshi agreed with after his side lost to Orange, saying he’d “given the boys a bit of a blast” for trying to go too big, too often.
In that game Cavaliers’ Matt Corben proved the linchpin.
After coming to the crease at 2-9 in Orange’s chase and watching three more bats come and go while just seven runs were added, he took charge with some excellent support from his lower order.
Finishing with a composed 37 not out, Corben added 38 with Angus Cumming (17) to give Orange a chance and then put on another 38 with club teammate Mitch Black to seal the win, the latter contributing a quick-fire, unbeaten 30.
Cumming was in the thick of things early in the decider too, as was Black.
They snared 3-19 and 2-16 respectively, joining Fletcher Rose (2-10) as Orange’s best bowlers as the Cattle Dogs limped to 95, with Marc Edwards’ 20 the top score.
The Bluebaggers lost more wickets than they’d have liked in the chase but still made it over the line comfortably, Corben (24) once again top-scoring with Cumming (19 not out) making sure they got home.
“Again, I can’t speak highly enough of the bowling unit, everyone did such a great job,” Kennewell said.
“But Matty Corben, after batting for a long time on Saturday in the heat, did an excellent job as well and so did the other guys who did the job with the bat.”
Cattle Dogs skipper Zac Opdam praised the Bluebaggers in his post-game, presentation speech, admitting his side had done well to make it to the final.
“We called a few blokes in on Saturday night,” he said.
“Congratulations to Orange though, you deserved it.”
Orange will now look to add more silverware to their trophy cabinet in the back end of the President’s Cup and Western Zone Premier League seasons.
The Bluebaggers are guaranteed a spot in the former competition’s final regardless of final round results, and are still a chance to make the decider in the latter too.
DO YOU WANT MORE ORANGE SPORT?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below …