Bathurst wins Western Zone Premier League game against Cowra, books grand final rematch with Dubbo

An unbeaten 76 run partnership between Cooper Brien (70 from 55 deliveries) and Ben Cant (27 from 23) saw Bathurst chase down the visitors' score of 9-163 in just 23 overs.

The victory sets up another grand final meeting with Dubbo this Sunday at Victoria Park.

Bathurst skipper Adam Ryan took great delight in the way Brien and Cant closed out the match.

"Ben and Cooper put on a great partnership together. That was what we needed," he said.

"Cooper, holding himself to his own standards, probably isn't quite where he wants to be, but he's doing such a good job and it's just a matter of time before triple figures come up. It's great seeing him being rewarded for the hard work that he's putting in."

Bathurst's bowling attack was led by Jack Goodsell's 3-36, while Nic Broes (2-20) and debut player Jacob Ryan (2-31) also claimed multiple wickets.

Sam Macpherson (1-18) was economical while Dave Henderson (1-38) claimed the remaining wicket for Bathurst.

It could have been a much worse outcome for Cowra if not for a determined 70 not out from their number three batsman Jacob McNaught.

"We were down some troops there, especially in our bowling attack, but young Jacob came in and bowled really well for us today, so did Hendo," Ryan said.

"This was the first time Jacob was able to bowl a ball at this level. He was named to play Orange but that game was washed out. They had some explosive bats at the start that went after him but he kept his line and length and he was able to do a great job.

"The efforts in the field were what we needed. We had to work hard right until the end in that aspect, and then to go out and do what we did with the bat was really good."

Ryan Peacock (24) and Nic Broes (15) were the other Bathurst batsmen to make a quick start before Brien and Cant took over.

Dubbo secured their finals spot with a 145 run win over Orange on Sunday.

Bathurst will be chasing their third consecutive WZPL title in this Sunday's decider, having beaten Dubbo in the last two grand finals.

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