Western went within a couple of sessions of winning the zone’s first Country Cricket NSW under 16s championship title since 1997 when it took on the Central Coast in Thursday’s final at the Bathurst Sportsground.

But a low and slow deck proved Western’s undoing, the Coasties claiming victory by 70 runs on the carnival’s final day.

Hemsworth says Western will learn from Thursday’s loss and has the chance to mount another serious challenge on the cup in 2019 with a promising batch of successful Kookaburra Cup players to filter into the side next summer.

“Bradman Cup week is a huge learning curve for all of them,” Hemsworth said.

“At 15, 16, most of the boys have got excellent technique, from that stand-point they don’t take a great deal away.

“It’s the tactical stuff they learn most. Situational awareness, just that pressure-cooker environment and how to react and perform.

“Four boys are eligible for next year’s cup, and our Kookaburra Cup side won too. Things are still looking good for next three years.”

Western looked on top early with the ball, but some big hitting late allowed the Central Coast total to balloon somewhat to 8-202.

Aside from a pair of 43s from Sam Hall and Ben Mitchell in the middle-order, Western lost steady wickets with the bat to fall 70 runs short.

The decider loss overshadowed a brilliant campaign prior to the final, with Western arguably the dominant side with three pool wins.

“It was very disappointing how it all turned out,” Hemsworth said.

“We had the ability in that game to take control and take it out, but to Central Coast’s credit they stuck in there and got the win.

“It would have been nice to have them around 170 180, that’s probably a fair indication of their batting.”

Hemsworth, from Bathurst, says the Sportsground wicket is traditionally a low bouncing deck, one Western didn’t really handle as the run chase’s pressure mounted.

“It was a difficult pitch … it started to skid on a bit. That’s a traditional sportsground deck,” he said.

“Our boys probably weren’t experienced enough to adjust to it.”

Hemsworth was thrilled with the work of Bailey Brien and Ben Wheeler with the ball, although both were picked as batsmen, while Ben Mitchell had a fine all-round carnival.

“And Brock Larance is all class. He’s easily the most dynamic bat in Country NSW that age. Fantastic talent,” Hemsworth added.