Rod Hartas Trophy handed to Bathurst after Mudgee forfeit final

In fact getting onto the pitch has been a problem that has faced the Bathurst team throughout the Rod Hartas Trophy season, with rain playing a big part in the regular season.

Bathurst manager Matt Willis said it's disappointed that Mudgee forfeited the match.

"A hundred per cent it was disappointing, it sucks," Willis said on Mudgee forfeiting.

"But there's not much we can do about it. I think Mudgee tried to suggest another date but because that doesn't work for us, they stuck with the draw that was made before the start of the season.

"I got a phone call from Campbell Graham on Thursday night saying they couldn't get a team together.

"It is a bit of shame, but that's why you play the whole season, to put yourself first in case it is a washout or something else something."

Regardless of the forfeit, Willis acknowledged the solid performance of the Bathurst team, which also featured the same squad that played in the Western Zone Plate competition.

"We were undefeated for the [Rod Hartas Trophy] season and the same boys in that team also took out the Western Zone Plate knockout competition," Willis said.

It's an even more impressive result for Bathurst cricket in general, considering the senior representative side took out the Western Zone Premier League grand final against Dubbo last Sunday.

"Campbell and I were speaking about it on Thursday night, saying we couldn't remember a time before that both senior rep teams in Bathurst have been undefeated for the entire season," he said.

"You would look at that as a massive success, but in saying that as well, there's always room for improvement.

"When you look at our clubs, we've got third and fourth in the BOIDC, so that's another trophy Bathurst would like to grab as well. All attention will move to that moving forward."

Bathurst were well on its way to victory against Mudgee in the first round of the Rod Hartas Trophy back in November, however, rain halted the team's progress and it was later abandon.

The round two match against Blue Mountains was the only time this season that the Bathurst team managed to play an entire match in the Rod Hartas Trophy, with the visitors snatching a big seven-wicket in Katoomba.

The third and final round of the competition for Bathurst was an away trip to Gulgong earlier this month, however, that match never got started with rain washing the match out.

Bathurst eventually finished top of the regular season ladder, with the top two to play a final, however, Mudgee decided to forfeit.