Magic Molong pull off Rod Hartas Trophy upset over Orange

The team which was made up of players from Cudal, Millthorpe, Canowindra and of course Molong, made a return to the representative scene this year after a few seasons in the wilderness.

"Going into the game I suppose people felt like they were carrying it a little bit and thinking it was up to them to do a little bit extra or put that more effort in," Traves said.

"It's been a while since we won a representative game for Molong so it was more about keeping the faith going because we've been close to winning it, it was just about going that extra mile to win one."

The most recent example of this came just the week prior, when they bowled a red-hot Gulgong side out for 130, only to be skittled themselves for 75 in the chase.

That's why their five-wicket win at Riawena Oval against Orange was that much more special.

The home side won the toss and elected to bat, but the loss of Tom West and Jack Dodds early on left them sitting at 2-11.

Rory Daburger (54) and captain Cam Rasmussen (19) steadied the ship and guided them past 60, but that was when Traves took over.

He snared the next five wickets, before Orange were eventually bowled out for 141.

Traves finished with figures of 5-33 off ten overs.

"At the start there it looked like the game was going to get away from us and it looked like we could've been chasing 250 or something," Traves said.

"But hitting those right areas and moving the field for certain batsmen brought one or two breakthroughs and the rest followed on."

In reply, things looked as though they may go the way of the Gulgong game, as Molong fell to 3-25 thanks to some sharp bowling from openers Kyle Buckley (2-20) and Campbell Warburton (1-25). But up stepped the Austin brothers Sam and Jamie to rescue the innings.

Sam fell for 53 with the game well in hand, while Jamie finished unbeaten on 64 to clinch the victory.

"I was a little nervous at the start, but the two Austin brothers play for us (Canowindra) on the Saturday, so playing with them every weekend you know what they're capable of doing so you learn to relax a little bit," Traves said.

"So we were just watching them work their magic out there."

Molong will host their next game on January 30 against a Blue Mountains team which downed Gulgong by seven wickets on Sunday, while Orange will travel to take on Mudgee.

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