DUBBO skipper Mitch Bower claimed his side were making the trip to Orange as underdogs and that's exactly the way they played on Sunday as they slumped to a seven-wicket loss in the final round of the Western Zone Premier League (WZPL).
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With almost an entire team of regulars missing from the line-up, it was always going to be a test for Dubbo at the Country Club Oval and it was made even more difficult when they were dismissed for just 174.
Orange cruised to the total for the loss of just three wickets but Bower said the unavailability of a wealth of talent was due mainly to members of the team having family commitments more than taking their final round opposition lightly.
He said the players on show just didn't perform.
"We didn't think (174) would be enough, we knew it would be something to bowl at if we bowled well and got a few quick wickets," he said.
"Not going on and getting the wickets through the middle killed us.
"They played well and we didn't play well enough to win."
There was delight in the Orange camp as captain Richie Venner led from the front and backed up his claim before the match that his side need to play aggressive cricket to win.
Venner, 62 not out, smashed back-to-back-to-back sixes to finish off Dubbo, the late flurry of maximums an entertaining footnote on an unbeaten 111-run fifth-wicket partnership with Dave Neil (66no) as the hosts passed Dubbo's 174 in just the 30th over.
Having lost to Parkes and Cowra without the side's batters making much of an impact, Venner said being dubbed competition easy beats wasn't a tag that sat well with the playing group.
"Not at all," Venner said.
"We need to inspire guys playing club cricket to want to come on and play for Orange to better themselves, which inadvertently betters club cricket.
"That's the brand and the style of cricket we need to start to play to make Orange a little bit of a force and not be the easy beats."
Earlier, Orange bowlers Daryl Kennewell (3-20), Hugh Le Lievre (3-60) and Venner (3-11) all took bags of three wickets to help remove Dubbo's battling line-up, with the only form of resistance coming from former Orange City all-rounder Stuart Naden (44).
Dubbo's loss means Bathurst hold on to top spot in the WZPL, gaining the automatic spot in the final and also home ground advantage.
Dubbo, who finished second, now have to back up this weekend at home, where they will meet Cowra in the semi-final.
Cowra sealed their spot in the top three with a shock win over Parkes in a low-scoring thriller at Northparkes Oval.