Orange’s hope of winning the 2017-18 Mitchell Cricket Council President’s Cup is now officially over, thanks to a “frustrating” third round loss to the Blue Mountains at Lithgow on Sunday.
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Orange went in on the back of two dominant wins over Parkes, in Western Zone Premier League, and Mudgee, so skipper Daryl Kennewell was hopeful of taking down the Cattle Dogs to all but ensure a spot in the final.
It wasn’t to be.
After restricting the Cattle Dogs to 136 on a tricky Tony Luchetti Sportsground wicket the Bluebaggers slumped to just 89 in reply, leaving Kennewell and his troops to wonder what could’ve been.
They’re now forced to watch on as the Blue Mountains face Bathurst in the decider, despite the last preliminary round being left to play.
“Everything about it was frustrating, it just wasn’t good cricket,” Kennewell said.
“The conditions weren’t great, the outfield was inches long and lush and the wicket was as green as anything, but we didn’t play to those conditions at all.
“We probably bowled too well really, of the 232 balls we bowled we would’ve beaten the outside edge 100 times. With a few chances going wide too and their batsmen just swinging and missing, it got frustrating and I think we let that get to us, myself particularly.
“We had no luck there but still kept them to 136, which was good. But we didn’t apply ourselves at all with the bat.
“We made a point of playing straight because we needed to on that wicket, then didn’t. It was a disappointing way to bow out of contention.”
Kennewell made a point of finding a positive in the loss though, that silver lining being Gus Cumming and Lachie Coyte’s performances.
“They batted well in the middle overs, toughed it out, showed plenty of character,” Kennewell said.
“They didn’t get heaps, Gus top scored and he only got 22, but it was really encouraging to see them knuckle down after we lost our more senior guys at the top of the order.
“The future’s very bright, and I actually can’t wait to watch the colts play together later this season.”
Orange faces Lithgow in its final President’s Cup clash on February 18. The decider will be played the following week.
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.
