If you’d offered Orana Outlaws coach Jason Ryan a hard-fought loss in the Cricket NSW Plan B Regional Bash final a month ago he would have taken it.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Outlaws had endured a difficult title defence with rain ruining any chance of a match before Sunday’s finals day, while injuries and player unavailability meant it was an understrength side which made the trip to the hallowed turf of the Sydney Cricket Ground.
But despite that, Ryan’s men downed the Wagga Wagga Sloggers by three runs in a semi-final thriller before going down by 19 runs in the final against a supremely talented Newcastle Blasters outfit.
“I’ve got no regrets,” Ryan, who took a one-handed screamer behind the sticks in the final, said.
“None at all about the blokes who couldn’t go and the young fellas we brought in did a job, it was a really good effort by everyone to make the final.”
The three youngsters, Brock Larance, Henry Railz and Tom Atlee, were all playing on the SCG for the first time but each of them was heavily involved.
Railz claimed two wickets in the final while Larance top-scored with 33 opening the batting and got his side off to a flying start in response to the Blasters’ total of 169.
Mitch Bower was another who impressed in the final, getting his side back into the contest with 3-16 – a dropped catch by Railz costing him a late hat-trick – while he also hit a quickfire 19.
While no batsmen went on to make a big score, Dylan Hunter had made 54 for the Blasters, Ryan felt his Outlaws were still in the match until the final few overs.
“When I was batting with Strachany (Ben Strachan) and we needed about 40 off the last four overs I said to him we could go at 10 an over and leave ourselves 20 off the last because that’s still something,” he said.
“We sort of did that but it was only in that last over where we knew we were gone.”
The Outlaws were bowled out for 153 with two balls left in the innings.
While his side had to watch the Blasters lift the silverware, there was one particular moment which had Ryan smiling.
“For those three kids to get a couple of games on the SCG and contribute, that was a real highlight,” he said.
“They were nervous as heck before that first game but by the end of the night they were just enjoying it.
“They got two games out there on the SCG and that’s a memory that will stay with them for a long time.”
Ryan again hailed the Country Cricket NSW Twenty20 tournament as a “great concept” and said all his players loved the chance to be a part of it.
The Outlaws gathered together for a few post-match drinks but Ryan said it didn’t take his side long to start talking about next year and a fourth straight trip to the finals.
“We’ve got a good bunch of blokes here and three or four new ones came in this year so there’s a really good feeling around and everyone is enjoying it,” he said.
The run to the final also continued the strong performances of Western Zone sides in the last decade.
Western Zone has become a powerhouse in the Country Championship, dominating the competition alongside Newcastle, while the Outlaws are the most successful side in three years of the Plan B Regional Bash.
“Western Zone has changed the way people have looked at us,” Ryan said.
“Ten years ago we were just a bunch of hackers but Western Zone has been successful for the past seven or eight years and people have been taking notice of us so that’s pleasing.”
Orana has won one of three grand finals it’s played, beating the Northern Rivers Rock in last season’s decider.