Bathurst bested by one wicket in Central West Cricket Council under 12s match with Orange

Orange emerged one wicket winners at Brooke Moore Oval as they chased down Bathurst's score of 92, capping off a classic match dominated by brilliant bowling efforts and gritty, patient knocks with the willow.

Bathurst coach Andrew Larnarch said the team should not be dismayed but the outcome.

"It was a very good game. They should hold their heads high. They did very, very well," he said.

"If we had just batted our overs out and maybe added another 15 to 20 runs that might have been enough. The bowlers did a terrific job for us."

Bathurst won the toss and backed themselves to post a competitive target on a challenging pitch.

Lochlan Shoemark (22) showed plenty of patience for his score, as teammates struggled to get themselves settled at the crease.

Shoemark teamed up with Ned Anderson (21) for a 43-run fourth wicket stand to help Bathurst keep the push for a triple digit total alive.

However, despite some stubborn lower order resistance from the hosts they came up just short of that mark, with Orange's Ben Brazier (5-12 from seven overs) doing all the damage with the ball.

Winning hopes for Bathurst greatly improved when they took three wickets at the cost of zero runs to have Orange in trouble at 4-14.

Orange mounted a middle order rescue before losing their ninth wicket with the scores level.

Oliver Garard (13 not out) was able to find the winning runs to keep his team's unbeaten streak alive.

Larnarch said he is continually impressed by the development his young side is showing.

"It's going great. There's a fair few kids in this team who are bottom age and playing very well," he said.

"A few of our bowlers yesterday are only 10 and they did themselves very proud. I feel that we're going to have a very strong group of kids together over the next year."

The result guarantees Orange a spot in the under 12s grand final while Bathurst can join them there if they can take down Dubbo in their last game this Sunday.

Meanwhile, an all-round masterclass from Cooper Stephen helped Bathurst's under 14s team claim victory over Mudgee at Morse Park.

Stephen finished with leading figures of 2-11 to restrict Mudgee to 9-153 from their 50 overs and then top scored with an unbeaten 61 to help Bathurst chase down the total inside 38 overs.

Gilby Glawson (22) and Lachie Munns (21) were the next-best with the bat for Bathurst while Blayde Burke (2-17) and Glawson (2-19) each bagged a pair of wickets.

In other games on Sunday the Central West girls side went down to Dubbo's under 14s while in the under 16s Western Zone competition Bathurst were bested by Dubbo White.

This Sunday's only match sees Bathurst hosting Dubbo in under 12s, the under 14s with the bye, and the Bathurst under 16s with a two week break before they take on Lachlan.

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