Five things we learned from round 13 of the Bathurst Orange Inter District Cricket season

Is the top five starting to take shape with two rounds remaining? Do a couple of teams have it in them to make a late charge? Who's hitting form before finals?

Let's take a dive into the big topics to come out of Saturday's exciting round of play.

ONE of the more tired clichés you'll find is people saying 'Anyone can beat anyone on their day'... But you wouldn't blame any BOIDC captain for using that phrase after the latest batch of results.

Saturday had some of the most surprising collection of results this season, with three of the five games being won by the team sitting lower on the ladder.

That's something you can see often at the start or the middle of the season but it's a much more rare sight when you're this deep into the competition.

It's also a testament to the fighting spirit of a team like Centennials Bulls, who are simply playing to avoid the wooden spoon at this stage, and it's a showcase of what Rugby Union and City Colts can do when they avoid middle order wobbles.

Last versus first takes place this Saturday: CYMS vs Cavaliers. Are there more shocks to come?

HERE'S a great tip for trying to beat Orange City - get both Shaun Grenfell and Dave Boundy out early or you might find yourself in trouble.

The pair look to be two of the competition's most in-form batters at the right time of the season, and when one of them has come short of what they wanted to achieve then the other has stepped up and gone on with it.

Over last couple of games Orange City have been reminding everyone why they're the defending champions.

And let's not take the spotlight too far away from opening bowling Andrew Rutledge, either. Hard to believe he played the first four games of the season in second grade with the way he's been sending them down lately.

IT'S not just Bathurst City and ORC fighting for a way inside the top five, Centrals are still technically alive after their win over CYMS.

Here's what needs to happen.

City Colts need to lose their last two matches (the second of which is against Centrals), and both Bathurst City and ORC need to lose one of their two remaining games.

That last part gets an extra degree of difficulty for Centrals because the Tigers and Redbacks play each other next round.

Then Centrals obviously need to win their two remaining games, the first of which comes against Centennials this Saturday.

LOOK away now, teams outside the top five!

It's only early in the week but this weekend's weather prediction isn't exactly looking bright.

Saturday's Bathurst prediction has a 70 per cent chance of 10-20mm of rain in the afternoon, and the Orange prediction is even worse, with the same amount potentially falling at a 90 per cent chance.

This means that Saturday's latest round of result could prove to be extra valuable if the clouds decide to drench the Bathurst and Orange outfields.

A rained-out round would reduce the finals race to just six teams, and ORC would then need a bonus point victory and a City Colts defeat in the last round to get into the top five.

IT only took 10 BOIDC matches and four Bonnor Cup games for someone to show us that Cavaliers' first grade team can be beaten in the 2021-22 season.

Rugby Union finally broke down the air of invincibility around Cavs thanks to Saturday's top-of-the-table game.

It technically keeps Rugby's hopes of a minor premiership alive, but the top two result is the important thing - it gives them a second chance in the finals.

In a way it could prove to be a blessing for Cavaliers, as we've seen teams in the past go through an entire regular season unbeaten only to lose at the final hurdle.

That's not a thought that will linger with them.

Don't get me wrong: Cavaliers still the team to beat this season.

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