The boys in maroon produced a gutsy performance against Mitchell in the opening round of the inter-council matches, with Tom Atlee and Baye Wallace both playing starring roles.

Coach Mick Fraser described Atlee’s knock of 77 not at as “chanceless” while Wallace chipped in with 32 in his side’s total of 8/163.

Wallace then took three wickets as Mitchell was restricted to 138.

The victory was made even more impressive given standouts Thomas Nelson and Henry Railz were missing due to being called up to the senior Dubbo representative side.

“It was actually a pretty classy win,” Fraser said.

“Especially without the two blokes who were playing for Dubbo.

“We got sent in and the pitch had a bit of bounce in it and we got to 0-30 but were then 7-70, they bowled really well and hit the spot.

“But the star of the show was Tommy Atlee, it was chanceless and all class. He worked the ball around and only hit a couple of boundaries after he passed 50 and the pitch flattened out.

“And Baye was awesome in support.”

Fraser said his side’s bowlers weren’t at their best, as they took some time to get the best out of the pitch, but wickets were taken at regular intervals.

Wallace’s introduction really got things rolling for Macquarie and his 3-29 from seven overs helped seal the hard-fought win.

“It took us awhile to get going but Baye and Daniel Duffy (2-18 from seven) got us back to where we should have been and then we got the win,” Fraser said.

James ‘Busta’ Nelson (1-10 off seven) was also singled out for praise.

Next up for Macquarie is a clash with Lachlan on November 6, with Railz and Nelson set to return.

“All young cricketers can pretty much bat and bowl now so we’re a good side without those two,” Fraser said.

“But with those two we’re an awesome team.”