Orange District Junior Cricket Association under-14 Gold coach Andrew Litchfield sent his troops a simple message leading into Sunday’s Mitchell Cricket Council grand final – expect Bathurst to come hard at Wade Park.
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The black and gold caps have dominated the under-14 league this summer, going through the preliminary stages undefeated before easily winning last Sunday’s semi-final on the back of a chanceless Blake Weymouth ton, but Litchfield knows this weekend’s decider won’t be so easy.
Grand finals never are.
Utilising the old cliche of “cricket’s a funny game”, Litchfield said Orange can expect a fired-up Bathurst unit to take to Wade Park this weekend and hopes the side will react accordingly.
“This side has been quite dominant and hasn’t really been put under pressure yet, so they need to be prepared for that happen in the final on Sunday,” he said.
“Bathurst has some really good bats in their side. Full credit to them too, chasing 150-odd down without losing many wickets in a semi-final like they did last weekend against our other Orange side isn’t easy.
“Both Orange’s under-14 sides have had great seasons, having the Black team producing some good performances as a team and as individuals has really benefited the Gold side, it’s forced them to continue performing each week.”
This side ... hasn't really been put under pressure, so they need to be prepared for that to happen in the final.
- Orange under-14 coach Andrew Litchfield
Litchfield highlighted his side’s ability with the willow as a crucial factor in this weekend’s decider, although reflecting on Orange Gold’s season it’s clear the black and golds are a pretty well-rounded side.
Orange Gold has only been bowled out twice and – when batting first – has only failed to reach 200 once, in round one.
They’ve also only conceded more than 100 once, and that was against Orange Black.
With Lachlan Smith, Hugh McIntyre and Western Zone representatives Nick Warburton and Hugh Middleton spearheading, the Orange attack has rolled Lithgow, Mudgee – twice – Blue Mountains and Bathurst for under 100. Under 70 in all five cases in fact.
The Orange under 12s and under 16s will be also be fighting for their respective titles in Sunday’s deciders, which they’re defending from last summer as well.
The former side hosts Mudgee at Kinross Main Oval while the latter travels to take on Bathurst at The Scots School.
All three games kick off at 10am.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
