He didn't make much impact with the new ball but when he returned to the crease with bat in hand Bathurst City marquee Ben Patterson proved his class in the biggest way.
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Cavaliers' top order rode Patterson's pace at Wade Park on Friday night and he went wicketless as the maroons posted 4-145, although he finished with 0-26 so was still economical.
It looked as though his presence might not translate into a Redbacks victory when the Bathurst side slumped to 1-2 in reply, which brought the former Dubbo tearaway to the crease.
He hit some pretty big [sixes]... it was pretty incredible to watch.
- Redbacks' Joey Coughlan, on Ben Patterson
He promptly went ballistic.
Patterson belted four boundaries and an incredible nine maximums and faced just 58 balls on his way to a match-winning 93 not out.
Cohen Scubert (11) was the only other Redbacks bat to pass double figures but it mattered little with Patterson causing carnage and the finishing the game with monster six, Bathurst City winning with three wickets and two overs to spare.
"He hit some very big ones," injured Bathurst City skipper Joey Coughlan said.
"The one he hit to finish the game would've landed on [Peisley Street] if a tree hadn't got in the way, still took a massive branch off it though.
"It was pretty incredible to watch."
Patterson's crunching dig came after Hugh Middleton (42 from 32) and Kaleb Cook (30 from 42) had done most of the damage for Cavaliers.
The three-wicket victory was Redbacks' second of the 2019-20 tournament and puts the side in good stead to earn a finals berth, while it leaves Cavaliers in danger of missing out.
Redbacks now sit alongside the similarly-unbeaten CYMS at the top of the standings, where they'll be joined by either Orange City or Lithgow following next Friday's clash.
Redbacks' road to the finals remains a tough one though, they'll face Lithgow next up on December 20 before their final preliminary clash against reigning champions St Pat's Old Boys in the new year.
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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.
