Bathurst District Cricket Association's top first grade moments of the decade

Double centuries, eight wicket hauls, memorable grand final achievements and club dynasties - we've seen it all.

As Bathurst reforges its old partnership with Orange this season, it's worth looking back on the top moments the city's players and clubs enjoyed when the district flew solo.

More in our 'Best of the Decade' series:

When Rugby Union were sitting at 4-23 in their fixture against Bathurst City in December of 2012 they were in a desperate position against an unstoppable Redbacks outfit.

Enter 17-year-old Max Hope.

Hope had come to the crease at 1-1 and watched several teammates fall by the wayside in the early stages of the team's innings.

But the teenager wasn't deterred as he smashed 38 fours and two sixes in a performance he'd never come close to except "in backyard cricket or on the PlayStation".

It remains by far the highest individual total amassed in BDCA's MyCricket era.

The game was one of the greatest Bathurst cricket matches in modern times, as Redbacks were determined in their pursuit of Rugby's 436 but would end up short on 379.

Redbacks were a team in form during Bathurst Orange Inter District Cricket competition's later days before its splintering in 2007 - finishing the top Bathurst team three seasons in a row - but their best dynasty was still to come.

It all started in the 2012-13 season where Redbacks blew through the City Colts order in a one-sided grand final, giving their rivals a taste of what was to come for the seasons ahead.

After winning the next season courtesy of a grand final washout Redbacks were temporarily halted by Colts who claimed a scrappy three wicket win.

But over the next two grand finals, with a thrilling 13 run win over Colts and a four wicket victory against Rugby Union, Redbacks reminded everyone who the kings of the city were.

In the 2014-15 BDCA semi-final Matt Lawson claimed competition record figures of 8-33 for City Colts against Rugby Union - bettering his own mark of 7-11 at the top of the standings.

Proving that lightning does indeed strike the same place twice, Lawson then returned the next season for Bathurst City to achieve identical figures of 8-33 against the same opponent.

Except this time Lawson went a step better and did it in the preliminary final.

Legends of competitions are those who perform when the stakes are high, and with those back-to-back finals performances Lawson cemented his place as such.

Lawson's prominence in the BDCA bowling hall of fame (for five wicket hauls) demonstrates what he nightmare he was to face over the early to mid 2010s.

Many players will find the going tough when they make that step up to the top grade but when Callum Hotham was brought up to the City Colts firsts in early 2013 he was a picture of composure.

The 16-year-old achieved the rare feat of being the youngest player to ever hit a BDCA first grade ton, and the fact he did it on debut makes it all the more remarkable.

Then you factor in the match situation and you have to wonder how it didn't all get the better of the youngster.

Hotham resumed on 24 in the second day's play with Colts at 4-88 in pursuit of 208.

He chipped away at the target with precision and, with the help of a lower order fightback, he and his team reached the required score with one wicket in hand.

Five wicket hauls aren't uncommon in Bathurst District Cricket but over the history of online records kept since 2011-12 there's only four players who have achieved one in a grand final, and the best of them is Matt Willis.

Willis, better known for his batting prowess, finished with 5-14 off just 28 deliveries, which was quite the achievement for a man who believed he didn't "have natural ability with the ball".

The Redbacks man had hit a century in a grand final defeat but, unexpectedly, his bowling would take Bathurst City to a grand final victory.

Willis finished just shy of a 10-wicket game, taking combined figures of 9-23 across both innings.

Ben Parsons (5-28), Luke Powell (5-44) and Adam Orme (5-49) deserve a wrap here as the other players to pick up five-wicket grand final hauls.

Before Jameel Qureshi joined Rugby Union he took apart his future club with just the second double century since the BDCA's online records began, smashing 208 for the Blayney Bushrangers.

The Blayney batsman came to the crease with the score at 2-24 and he guided his club to the target of 168 without the team dropping another wicket.

Qureshi and his brother Imran, who finished with the second highest score of the innings on 57, put together an epic 156 run partnership to win the match. Blayney would go on to post 378.

It was a big moment of relief for Qureshi who had been stopped just four runs shy of a century earlier in the season.

Colts left themselves well short of their desired total when they posted 170 at the Sportsground in their semi-final against Redbacks but it didn't matter because Stephen stepped up with a stunning bowling display.

Stephen picked up all but two of Bathurst City's wickets in his 23.3 overs, also bowling eight maidens.

His bowling had Redbacks playing loose shots throughout the days as seven of the eight wickets came on the back of catches.

Stephen had been a force for Colts throughout the 2015-16 without finding that breakthrough five wicket haul, but when he found it he made it one to remember.

Broes produced one of the all-time greatest all-round BDCA seasons in 2018-19, and the highlight of his huge year was his 186 for the Saints against City Colts.

Colts had no answer for a junior star at the top of his game, who played a chance-less innings up until the moment he was caught just shy of his double century.

Broes finished the season on 601 runs - more than 200 clear of his nearest rival - and claimed 31 wickets at an average of 8.97 to also top the wicket-takers list by 11 dismissals.

He finished the season with seven 50-plus scores across BDCA first grade and Royal Hotel Cup.