Win and win well.
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That is the assignment facing Bathurst after Sunday’s fourth round of the Western Zone Premier League, against Cowra, was washed-out.
Jameel Qureshi’s side went into 2017-18 as defending premiers, but lost against Dubbo then escaped with a one-wicket win against Orange, before Sunday’s washout.
That leaves Bathurst third spot, Qureshi now knows a win in the final round is a must if his side wants to qualify for the final. Even then it may not be enough.
The final round of the regular draw is set for January 14, with Bathurst hosting Parkes while Cowra travels to Dubbo.
“We will just have to wait and see what happens,” Qureshi said.
“I wouldn’t write [Cowra off against Dubbo]. We were going in with that (must-win) attitude against Cowra anyway.”
The decision to call off the match against Cowra was made early Saturday morning, but Qureshi was not surprised.
“I was driving that way on Friday and saw [the rain] all coming and I thought then it would be off. I hear Cowra got 80 millimetres, so there’s no way we were getting on,” he said.
“But I still think we’ve got a chance to make the final.
“We just have to concentrate on what we do best and try and get sides to play our cricket. That’s what worked well for us last year and the year before, so we’ll go back to that.
“We’ve got a few great young kids that are running around and a few senior players that have put their hand up still, it’s just exciting to be a part of the whole squad.
“At the end of the day, if we win against Dubbo we are sitting pretty aren’t we?
“But we lost, so we’ve put ourselves in that position, so we’ll just have to do our best to get out of it.”