ON a bowling-friendly Morse Park wicket it was always going to take something special to stop Bathurst's under 14s attack in their Central West Cricket Council grand final.
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And once Bathurst found their momentum in the field Orange didn't stand a chance.
Bathurst took out the decider by 66 runs, hitting a hard earned 8-125 on a deteriorating wicket before rolling Orange for 59 in the 29th over to complete a near-perfect season's play.
Orange had scored an upset win over Bathurst in their previous clash but the hosts had learned their lessons from that slip up, especially in the field.
Bathurst claimed every catch that came their way in Orange's innings and their bowlers were on fire from the opening overs.
The wickets were shared around through Cooper Stephen (2-4), Rupert Begg (2-6), Mark Sheather (2-7) and Charlie Rendall (2-7).
Murray Staines (1-1) and Mac Hutchings (1-9) claimed the other dismissals.
Hugh Taylor (32) and Connor Brown's (27) opening stand would also prove vital for Bathurst.
Winning coach Greg Innes said his side certainly saved some of their best cricket for the most important day of the season.
"People were saying to me that the earlier loss to Orange might not have been the worst thing. I don't like losing any games but it might have been a necessary wake up call for them," he said.
"I think they were confident without being overconfident. I said to them if they played to the best of their ability, which they did. The batting might not have been all there but I put that down to the wicket a bit."
If there was ever a toss to win this season it was during the grand final and Innes said that was one big step towards victory.
"The wicket was a little bit under prepared. It had been prepared for the girls CHS Championships but there hadn't been much done since then," he said.
"We won the toss and we were always going to bat, because I believe getting runs on the board is the best thing you can do in a grand final.
"Hughie and Connor put on 59 but then we fell away, losing three wickets in one over, but Ruben Newton hit 30 and Mark Sheather got 16. We got to 125, which I thought was worth somewhere around 180 on that wicket."
Bathurst put on 53 runs over their last three wickets to put the pressure on Orange's batsmen.
Only one Orange player, Hayden Griffith (20), would finish in double figures.
Bathurst cleaned up Orange's last four wickets at the cost of only two runs.
"The wicket was only getting worse towards the end of our innings, which made me happy, and our guys came out fired up and bowling sensationally," Innes said.
"We had them 5-26 at drinks and from there it was a matter of keeping the foot on the throat, which they did for the first time this year.
"There were six catches given and six taken, which was fantastic. Orange were never going to get those runs as long as they didn't let them go."
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