BOIDC round seven: St Pat's Old Boys battle through the heat to restrict Bathurst City

Mitch Taylor took 5-9 off just 13 overs, while Connor Slattery bowled for 26 overs as temperatures peaked at 38 degrees around 3pm on the first day of the Bathurst Orange Inter District Cricket round seven match.

And while the Saints bowling effort has put the team in a strong position heading into what is expected to be a much cooler day two, the blue and whites may not get the chance to bat with rain forecast for the Bathurst region next weekend.

Regardless, Saints skipper Adam Ryan acknowledged the fantastic bowling from his side.

"It was one of our best bowling performances of the season so far," he said.

"Mitch took 5-9 and Connor did almost 26 overs straight, he got taken off one over in-between.

"It was really good how the bowlers bowled because this pitch, if you bowl short or gave width, you can still put them away. The bowlers were just disciplined and very patient.

"We gave them a bit of luck at the start with a few drop catches and a missed run out, but the pressure the bowlers built was what we needed to cause the three run-outs that we actually got."

The biggest threat for Saints - Redbacks captain and opener Joey Coughlan - was dismissed for just 41 runs, while Rory Daburger and Harrison Craig were the only other Bathurst City batsmen to achieve double-figure totals with 25 and 20 respectively.

With Taylor taking five wickets, the other two (not including the three run-outs) belonged to Slattery (1-43) and Ethan Ivory (1-29).

Ryan said it was difficult at times in the heat.

"It would've been nice to sit in the shade, but it wasn't to be," he said.

"Batting on Saturday would've been a good day, especially with potential inclement weather this coming weekend on the radar."

With only two games remaining after the Redbacks game for Saints - including one against top four hopefuls Centennials Bulls - Ryan admitted that his side can't afford any slip ups in day two of the round seven match or for the rest of the season.

"If we can get this win and another, it'll nearly put us in [the finals]. But going into finals, we want the momentum," he said.

When play returns on Saturday, Saints will continue with openers Andrew Brown (four) and Bailey Brien (one) both in, with the blue and whites sitting at 0-5 off eight overs.