But no-one was ready for his onslaught with the bat - one that would see the City Colts player named the BOIDC player of the season for 2020-21.

Gardner finished his campaign with 665 runs, putting him well clear of nearest challenger Dave Neil (494) on the regular season leaderboard.

He had an average of 73.89 from 12 innings (second highest in the competition) and a highest score of 156 not out in the round five meeting with Centrals - the highest individual score of any batsman this season.

Gardner was pleased to hold the individual trophy aloft on grand final day but he said he'd trade it to be out in the middle of the field on the last match of the season.

"It's a bit of a mixed feeling. It's great to be able to come back and be proud of what you can achieve individually - and I'm proud the team's effort too - but we were just a little bit shy of the finals," he said.

"But this was certainly not something I expected when coming back to play this year."

The most impressive aspect of Gardner's campaign was his consistency.

When Gardner hit 80 in the round four clash with Centennials Bulls little did he know that it would begin a stunning seven-inning streak of half centuries.

His average over that stretch was 121.6.

The run only came to an end when he was stopped just short of making it eight in a row when he was out for 48 against Orange City.

Gardner didn't come into the season with any major expectations, only hoping to do what he could to help Colts make progress this season.

"I really didn't know how I would go when I started playing so I was pleasantly surprised," he said.

"I just needed to work a little bit harder and ensure that I could be out there to do the job for the team. I want to be out there enjoying the game and that's what came through during the year.

Gardner said he's keen to return in 2021-22 with City Colts.

"I'll hopefully be back for more," he said.

"We'll see how the body and mind goes but I love the sport and I love Bathurst cricket so it would be great to keep playing if I can."

Bathurst City's Clint Moxon finished as the season's highest wicket taker with 30 wickets, beating St Pat's Old Boys' Mitch Taylor (28), Rugby Union's Hugh McIntyre (26) and Centrals' Ed Dodds (26).

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