Western Zone went into this week’s Country Cricket NSW Colts Championships at Narrabri with a real sense of optimism.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Under the tutelage of experienced mentor Garth Dean and featuring a side headlined by Cricket Australian Under-19 National Championship players Brock Larance and Henry Railz, a place in the final at least was the target.
Through some poor luck and some “wrong decisions at times” it didn’t pan out that way as the side was left to play off for third spot in Thursday’s finals.
It wasn’t where the side wanted to be but it still delivered, producing its best performance of the season to down Riverina and finish its campaign on a high.
Western won the match by 83 runs, a number of players contributing with the bat before Bathurst duo Tanvir Singh and Nic Broes starred with the ball as Riverina was rolled for a paltry 96.
Western was sent into bat on Thursday and while Broes (6) departed early, the runs kept ticking over with captain Corey McDean and Railz at the crease.
McDean fell for 30 and when Larance (19) and Mitchell (0) departed it appeared the Western side could be headed for another below-par total to finish.
But Railz went on to top score with 39 and then Dubbo duo Tom Atlee (36) and Ben Wheeler (21) chipped in as Western finished its 40 overs with 8-179.
Riverina was never in the run chase as Singh struck early and then wickets continued to fall at regular intervals.
Opening bowler Singh finished with the wholly impressive figures of 3-9 from six overs while his Bathurst teammate Broes finished off the tail and claimed 3-15 from eight overs as Riverina failed to reach triple figures.
While the result was a positive, there was a sense of what could have been after both Western’s Twenty20 games finished tied and were decided in super overs.
A win over Central Coast was recorded by a loss to Newcastle signalled the end of Western’s title hopes.
“They [Newcastle] were cruising for a long period so for us to get the tie was a great result, just unfortunate that the super over didn't go our way,” coach Dean said after the defeat.
Broes top-scored in both Twenty20 matches, making 37 against Newcastle and then 25 against the Central Coast. Mitchell Taylor took 4-21 in the game against Newcastle while Martin Rudgley took 3-9 against Central Coast.
Despite being beaten by Western in the second of the Twenty20 matches, Central Coast qualified for the final against Newcasrtle and was proclaimed champion after a tight nine-run win.
DO YOU WANT MORE ORANGE AND REGIONAL SPORT?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below …