THEY made it harder on themselves at times but Bathurst’s under 16s premier league side ended their regular season campaign with a 14 run win over hosts Lachlan on Sunday.
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Led by strong performances from Cooper Brien and Ethan Muller with the bat and ball respectively Bathurst stopped Lachlan just short of their 149 total in the match at Cowra.
On an unpredictable ground and a slow outfield Bathurst found runs hard to come by but they treated their wickets with respect.
The third wicket partnership between Brien (61) and opener Hamish Siegert (37) proved the match-winning combination.
The pair were productive over their 16 overs together before Siegert was bowled by Sam Austin.
Brien almost stayed for the remainder of the Bathurst innings before he departed to leave the score at 5-142.
Bathurst lost three more wickets in their late rush for runs.
Harry Bayliss (30 not out) proved a rock for Lachlan in their run chase but support from his teammates was difficult to come across.
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Bathurst’s Muller had a big day with the ball as he claimed 3-16 from 10 overs with three maidens.
Lachlan were also patient with the bat but Bathurst’s bowling pressure was too much to take. Lachlan were all out inside the final two overs.
It wasn’t a perfect performance but Bathurst coach Clint Bryant was happy to come home with a team of winners.
“We ended up bowling 20 wides but we were by far the better side. Besides the wides our bowling attack was pretty disciplined,” he said.
“It’s a great warmup for our Mitchell Cup final against Orange in two weeks.
“Ethan Muller was by far our best bowler. Once his overs were out they got away from us a little bit but we dragged them back eventually.
“We made it hard for ourselves. It was a game we probably should have won a lot easier.”