Redbacks rise to occasion to take out thrilling Presidents Cup final

Bathurst City McKay managed to scrape home in their pursuit of 137, set by minor premiers St Pat's White, to claim a long awaited Presidents Cup premiership for the Redbacks.

The qualifying final had gone the way of the Saints, quite convincingly, but the grand final was a real nail-biter.

Redbacks' Cam Sutton was named player of the final as he took 6-14 while number nine batter Jason Mortlock's late flurry of boundaries saw him top score for the winning side with 26.

Brett Roach was strong in defeat for the Saints as he took 4-28 from his 16 overs while teammate Kim Taylor top scored across both sides with 41.

Mortlock appeared to be steering McKay towards a title before his dismissal left his side seven runs short of victory.

Redbacks then lost their ninth wicket with the scores level.

Ryan Watson was able to help the ball away short to the on side for a single, leading to jubilant scenes from both his teammates and other Redbacks clubmates in attendance.

Redbacks captain Cameron Smith was stoked to see his team learn from their mistakes in the qualifying final a fortnight earlier.

"It was an emotional rollercoaster, for sure. Our guys bowled and fielded really well, though we were a bit impatient at times with the bat," he said.

"It deserved to be a close game with how we've both gone this year."

Redbacks ended up finishing the season with two sides inside the top three, after Quigley went down to McKay in the all-Bathurst City preliminary final.

"It's a great feeling. A lot of work has gone into the club over the last four or so years to get Redbacks back into Presidents Cup," Smith said.

"All our juniors for both sides have been a mainstay, and have been a big reason for the success of both sides this year."

Persistent light rain made its presence felt throughout Sunday afternoon, which slowed up the outfield for Redbacks but also made handling the ball a challenge for the Saints.

Saints skipper Scott Traves said the conditions were tricky to work with but believes his side just left a few too many runs out in the middle.

"Losing the toss and getting put in on a little bit of a soft top - it wasn't terrible though - hurt, but we didn't bat as well as we should have. Unfortunately the weather came in today and we had to bowl with a cake of soap and it was pretty tough. It wasn't until late that we got to change it," he said.

"One decision can cost you a game sometimes ... and I believe there was a run out there, but you can only go with what the umpire calls.

"Redbacks are a good bunch of blokes though. They put in hard all year, and so did our guys, so it was a fitting grand final in the end."

Pat's were sent in to bat by Redbacks on Saturday and lost their first wicket quickly but Traves (25) and Flynn Waddell (21) began to steer their side into a more promising position.

The game's momentum continued to ebb and flow as Redbacks ended that partnership and took two more quick wickets to have the Saints 4-49 in the 18^th over.

Once again Pat's got back the ascendancy when Taylor and Oliver Hamer (25) put on 64 runs for the fifth wicket.

The last swing of the momentum pendulum came through Taylor's stumping, which would lead to Redbacks getting through the tail relatively quickly.

Sutton did most of the damage to the Saints' lower order, picking up a double wicket maiden in the process and also snaring up the last wicket of the innings to have St Pat's all out in the 53^rd over.

By the end of day one McKay were at 1-17.

Opener Mark Langford hit 23 before Redbacks had a similar moment to Pat's with the bat as they went from 2-58 to 5-58 in the blink of an eye.

Sutton (13) and Shaun Urza (19) put on 34 runs together to get Redbacks in striking distance of the title, before their dismissals in the space of two overs had the score at 7-93.

Mortlock provided some much needed spark for Bathurst City when he latched onto a series of short deliveries and put them away for boundaries.

His wicket had hearts in the mouths of the team but the final wicket partnership - worth just a single run - would be enough to get Redbacks home in an upset win.