BATHURST have claimed back-to-back Western Zone Premier League titles on home soil following Sunday's 45 run win over Dubbo at the Sportsground.
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The hosts completed their unbeaten run through the 2020-21 competition by reaching 199 and having Dubbo all out in the 44th over, led by a five wicket haul from Connor Slattery.
Both teams got off to solid starts with the bat but the 71-run second wicket stand for Bathurst between Ryan Peacock (39) and Bailey Brien (38), plus a late contribution from Imran Qureshi (25 not out), would prove crucial.
Bathurst have now won four titles (one of them shared with Dubbo) across the past five seasons, cementing them as the current team to beat in the region.
Winning captain Adam Ryan said it's a thrill to claim successive grand final victories over such a strong opponent.
"It's really special, especially for the older boys in the team who used to get done year after year by Dubbo. To finally turn the tables and build into something special is fantastic," he said.
"The deck had a lot of influence on today's play but also, being a grand final, pressure came into it as well. Both teams are great at building pressure and building discipline with the ball so it was a bit of a scrap to see who could withstand it longer."
Bathurst made their way to 1-101 before quickly falling to 5-122, though some small efforts down the order helped the hosts push towards 200.
Ryan scored 20 runs while Bathurst put on 44 runs across their last two wickets.
Mitch Taylor (10) and Jack Goodsell (10) batted well alongside Qureshi to push the total into more respectable territory.
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Dubbo were similarly well poised at 1-73 in their chase, led by a 50 from Ben Wheeler, but his dismissal sapped the momentum out of the pursuit.
Mat Skinner chipped in with 24, while a last-wicket stand from Jake Gardiner (12 not out) and Bailey Edmunds (11) forced Bathurst to work hard for the title-winning dismissal.
But Bathurst eventually got there, with Goodsell's wicket ensuring every Bathurst bowler finished with at least one dismissal.
Dave Henderson was economical with 1-18 from 10 overs.
Ryan said it was a challenging day with the bat in hand.
"The batting actually got harder as the innings went on. The ball got softer and as we took the pace off we started to set straighter fields - we both adjusted to that - and that made things hard," he said.
"You either had to risk it over the top to try and get runs or get creative, and sometimes with those risks that's when the wickets fell.
"Connor bowled really well and Mitch was excellent at the start. The other big thing for us was Bails and Peakers setting that really good platform for us with the bat.
"That put us in a good position because if we lost those other wickets a bit quicker then we're looking at something closer to 150."
Dubbo's full bowling roster also came away with at least one wicket apiece.
Gardiner led with 3-41 while Stephen Skinner (2-26) and Lee Price (2-39) were the next best with the ball.