Parsons propels Saints into BOIDC preliminary final

The St Pat's Old Boys player put on an all-round masterclass to guide his side to a 76 run minor semi-final victory over Orange City at the Sportsground.

Parsons' patient 65 runs off 144 deliveries helped the hosts reach 254 runs, before he cleaned up the Warriors' middle order and tail with figures of 5-51 off 22.5 overs.

Bailey Brien (81 runs) continued his red hot run of form to finish as the match's top scorer while Percy Raveneau (3-27 from 20 overs) took key wickets in the Orange City top order.

Warriors opener James Goldston-Morris (55) was game in defeat for the visitors, whose middle order all made reasonable starts but failed to go on with a big score.

It's the second win for the Saints in successive weeks against Orange City, with the previous weekend's success giving Pat's crucial hosting rights for the minor semi-final.

The Saints will go on to face Orange CYMS in the preliminary final at Wade Park this weekend.

The winner of that match will take on defending champions Cavaliers in the decider.

For Parsons it was a draining but rewarding two days on cricket against the Warriors.

"I'm pretty sore. I don't think I've batted for that long in my life. It was pretty slow and boring. Back-to-back Saturday-Sunday is something different but it was a great result," he said.

"It felt great. There's been a couple of games where we've either batted or bowled well but haven't quite put the two together. This was a well rounded performance.

"Bails was unreal with the bat up top, as was Derryn [Clatyon, 31 off 23] at the end. He was hitting them nicely.

"The start was a bit shaky but Percy and Bailey bowled tight and I just got a bit lucky at the end to pick up the last five."

Skipper Adam Ryan had no hesitation throwing Parsons the new ball, even after a lengthy day out in the middle with the willow.

He then bowled 11 straight overs to start the match (with a one over break in the middle of the spell to switch ends), and bowled nearly 12 successive overs at the end.

At one stage he took a wicket in three straight overs to flip momentum completely back in his team's favour.

"I started up front and finished it off. I usually don't get my hands on the new ball so that was something a bit different," Parsons said.

"I was happy to bowl where needed. It's great for our team to have so many guys that we're able to chuck the ball to."

Parsons has proven to be a valuable pickup for the Saints this season after coming across from ORC.

It's been a busy time of sport for Parsons, who's in his fourth year of a physiotherapy degree, but he's always been keen to make the trip for cricket.

"I'm back in Wollongong on Monday and I've got placements all around the state in five week blocks, so I'll be back and forth over these next few weeks to come hopefully," he said.

"There's a bit of extra driving involved but that's alright."

A century from both a Cavs and CYMS player grabbed the headlines but at the end of the day it was the former basking in victory.

Bailey Ferguson put on 112 in Cavs' first innings as the defending premiers flew past CYMS' opening effort of 178 - finishing all out for 253.

The green and gold needed someone to step up and it was skipper Thomas Belmonte who duly obliged, whacking an incredible 104 off just 46 balls.

CYMS declared at 5-178 to try and win the game but Cavs held their nerve to be first into the grand final on March 23-24.

Ferguson also took 3-41 while Lachlan Wykes was the pick of the CYMS bowlers, claiming 4-29.