Orange secured a place in the Mitchell Cricket Council Colts decider with an easy first-up victory over Mudgee on Sunday, setting up a juicy match-up with Bathurst for grand final hosting rights this week in the process.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On the back of last weekend’s seven-wicket win at Wade Park the Baby Bluebaggers will travel to face the powerful Bathurst outfit on Australia Day, most likely at the Sportsground.
Although the two teams will meet again in the final regardless of the result – Bathurst also beat Mudgee first-up – Orange skipper Angus Cumming said his side is desperate to earn a home ground advantage, and potentially a psychological advantage as well.
“We’re in a good spot, going straight into the final does take a bit of pressure off us in this week’s game but we definitely still want to win that one, get the home final,” Cumming said, his side is searching for Orange’s first colts title since 2014-15.
“I think Bathurst will be a pretty similar side to us, they’ll be strong, guys like Ben Parsons and Luke Powell are very handy.”
Going straight into the final does take a bit of pressure off us in this week’s game but we still want to win.
- Orange skipper Angus Cumming
CYMS’ Mitch Winslade was the star for Orange on Sunday, picking up three wickets as the Baby Bluebaggers rolled Mudgee for 152 before making 61 as they romped home in just 25 overs.
Winslade finished with 3-12 from his seven overs, while Cumming (2-15), Harry Pearce (1-22), Tom Geyer (1-30), Fletcher Rose (1-24) and Hudson Izzard (1-7) all took scalps as well.
Although, Orange’s target would’ve been a whole lot smaller had it not conceded 41 sundries, 38 of which were wides.
Donald Hearn (27) and Lachlan Rayner (28) were the only two to make any significant inroads with the bat for Mudgee.
“Yeah, that wasn’t really good enough,” Cumming said.
“We had a few tired guys after playing in the heat on Saturday, and we just bowled too straight. It was all of us really, so that’s the big area to work on before Bathurst because I was pleased with the way we batted.”
Winslade and Orange City’s Joey Kay (62 not out) started the chase superbly with a 94-run opening stand before the former was caught, with Geyer (4) following soon after.
But together with Kay Charlie Mortimer (22) and Cumming (2 not out) got the job done.
“It makes it a lot easier when you’re 0-100 or so, that’s for sure,” Cumming said.
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.
