Bathurst District Cricket Association: ORC upsets unbeaten Rugby Union in third grade grand final

In a match dominated by the bowlers ORC were able to successfully defend their total of 136 at Police Paddock, removing Rugby for 72 runs.

The old adage of 'third time lucky' came true for the Tigers who had been bested in both previous clashes against Rugby during the regular season.

The ORC squad came into game with four losses to their name while Rugby were yet to taste defeat.

ORC were sent into bat for the grand final and got off to a slow start but the fourth and most important half century of the season for captain Vibushna Lingabala helped the Tigers see off some strong bowling from Rugby.

Rugby were matching pace with the bat before a dream spell from Nathan Cancherla (5-3) swiftly brought an end to the chase and delivered Tigers the title.

"It's an amazing feeling. We were the underdogs going into that final. They were obviously the heavy favourites but we were really looking forward to it. They're a good bunch of guys and we get along with them quite well," Lingabala said.

"We were sent in to bat, and we normally bowl first. That's just something that's been working for us this season, so I'm not sure if it was a bit of strategy from Rugby. We thought that 150 would be a good score for us, given the bowling attack we had on the day.

"We were only 0-30 or so at first drinks so we were a bit behind the 8-ball at the start but we knew once we could see off some of their opening bowlers like Pete Francis we could score 80-plus over the second half and put on a defendable total.

"Nathan, our first change bowler, ended up tearing them apart. They had an opening stand of 41 but once Nathan came on we just skittled through them."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: