DUBBO Brewery Shield manager Mick Davis is adamant the competition means something again after his side claimed an easy eight-wicket win over Cobar in the final at No.2 Oval on Sunday.
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Led by a five-wicket haul from left-arm quick Dan Horrocks and a quickfire 37 from Mat Skinner, Dubbo dominated the contest and wrapped up the title before the barbecue lunch was even prepared.
It was a top result for the squad, which played elimination cricket for most of the season after a narrow loss to Nyngan in the opening round.
After that point each game became must-win as Dubbo diced with elimination, with Davis crediting the core group of players for the team’s success.
“Obviously on Sunday it was Dan and Mat that did most of the damage but throughout the season everyone chipped in,” Davis said.
“Jacob Hill went within a point of winning the competition’s best and fairest and I thought guys like Zac Murphy, Aidan Bennewith and Nathan Jones all played good cricket.
“We had Nathan Munro leading the side and he’s obviously a class player.
“He tied for the best and fairest award but the other guys really rallied around him and made this happen.
“It’s nice to win but I think the best thing is that these boys now realise that we have them pinpointed as senior rep cricketers and the Brewery Shield is the pathway to them reaching that level. It means something again.”
After winning the toss on Sunday, Cobar elected to bat but it proved the wrong move as their top order failed to cope with the low bounce on offer at No.2 Oval.
Phil Harley (14) top scored for the visitors as they were rolled for just 62 in the 27th over.
Horrocks finished with 5-12 off seven overs while Jacob Bruce (2-10 off eight), Lachlan Strachan (2-21 off six) and Adrian Carey (1-15 off six) also got among the wickets.
In reply Dubbo needed just 10 overs to reach the target, with Skinner belting three sixes and three boundaries in his quickfire innings.
Harley didn’t quite have the same effect with the ball for Cobar, bowling a maiden first up but finishing with figures of 0-37 off three overs.
“In hindsight I think Cobar probably should have bowled first as they weren’t really used to the conditions,” Davis said.
“They get a bit more bounce in their pitches out there and they had no time to adapt and I think the fact we had five lbws probably suggests they didn’t handle the conditions.
“It also suggests our boys bowled well and it was good for them to end their season with such a good win.”
