Bathurst added another triumph to their already-extraordinary President's Cup dynasty at Wade Park on Sunday, producing a complete performance to comfortably account for Orange and secure a ninth consecutive triumph.
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The Barracudas have had a mortgage of Mitchell Cricket Council's most prestigious trophy since 2009-10 - the last time Orange won it - and although skipper Jameel Qureshi is the first to admit his troops didn't always produce their best this summer he was stoked they did when it really mattered.
His bowling attack was superb in restricting the Bluebaggers to just 165 on a flat Wade Park deck and his younger brother Imran was even better in reply, finishing 88 not out to anchor the chase and lead Bathurst to an easy, seven-wicket win in just 31 overs.
"We've played some pretty ordinary cricket over the course of the summer so it was good to put in a good performance in this one and get the job done," Qureshi said, his brother's innings backing up the 63 he scored against the Bluebaggers last time around.
"Imran batted really well again, he's got himself a couple of half centuries against Orange this season which is good for him."
Outside continuing their stunning run of success Qureshi said his side had drawn motivation from this summer's Twenty20 Cup, the Barracudas were left wanting in that tournament after being found out by the Bluebaggers.
They went some of the way to earning redemption by hammering Orange in the preliminary rounds of the President's Cup, and truly earned it by handing the rebuilding Bluebaggers another heavy defeat in the decider.
We've played some pretty ordinary cricket ... so it was good to put in a good performance.
- Bathurst captain Jameel Qureshi
"That was a bit of a wake-up call that loss in the Twenty20 stuff," Qureshi said.
Apart from Matt Corben's innings-best 47 at the top and a lower-order surge from Ed Morrish (35) that pushed the Bluebaggers above 150, the hosts struggled against the miserly Bathurst attack, with wickets falling consistently enough to stifle any momentum.
The rout began when Matt Stephen (1-29) trapped Ryan Kurtz (2) in front before Mitch Taylor (3-32) sent in-form bats Kaleb Cook (14), Bailey Ferguson and Nick Dunlop packing, removing the latter two without scoring to leave Orange reeling at 4-26.
Although Corben, Hugh Le Lievre (21) and Jack Dodds (15) tried to spark a resurgence the Bluebaggers couldn't post anything more than a meagre 165, and at 8-114 even that looked unlikely before Morrish and Mitch Black (17) landed a small, late counter-punch.
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Bathurst never really looked troubled in the chase either as Imran Qureshi, Nic Broes (23) and Connor Slattery (23 not out) made sure their side cruised home with almost 20 overs to spare.
"We just didn't have any runs on the board. We picked a batting-heavy side and wanted to show some intent but we didn't really do that, and 165 just isn't enough against that kind of Bathurst side," Orange skipper Daryl Kennewell, in his last game for Orange, lamented.
"It was the same story as the last time we played Bathurst and it's been a similar story over the last few seasons but I think it is coming, making it to the final is an achievement for us even though we got beaten.
"I think we just need to value our wickets a little bit more and maybe even toughen up a bit at the crease.
We just didn't have enough runs on the board ... 165 just isn't enough against that kind of Bathurst side.
- Orange skipper Daryl Kennewell
"Cricket's a funny game though isn't it, we've got a guy like Bailey Ferguson who's averaging almost 100 for his club but got a duck, and Nick Dunlop scored 130-odd last week and got a duck too.
"I guess it just wasn't our day."
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
