PARKES captain Anthony Heraghty believes Sunday's Western Premier League grand final win over Dubbo is one of the most special moments in his career.
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Heraghty, who has played for Parkes for close to a decade, led the way with 56 early as the visitors reached the target of 154 for the loss of just three wickets at Lady Cutler 1.
The game was controversially delayed by half an hour after the pitch received too much water in the previous 24 hours and that made the toss crucial. Parkes won and sent Dubbo in to bat and only Greg Buckley (55) showed any fight as Dubbo fell to their lowest total of the representative season - 153.
Heraghty and Peter Yelland (59) then put on 84 runs to set up the win and the skipper was ecstatic after the match.
"One of the best feelings ever, to be a part of something like that," Heraghty said. "It's not easy beating Dubbo at the best of times and to beat them on their home ground is a good feeling.
"We had nothing to lose, they're the bees knees of Western Zone cricket but we just turned up as mates and played well, we knew if we did everything right we were a chance."
Dubbo captain Tim Cox admitted the toss had a lot to do with the result but said it wasn't an excuse as both the batting and bowling weren't up to standard.
"The wicket was fairly soft this morning, not sure what happened there, but we lost the toss and that didn't help things but in saying that we didn't bat well, we played some shots that weren't there and never got partnerships going," he said.
"150 was well below par and it flattened out but unfortunately our bowling group wasn't on song today, we let them get away and bowled too much width early and they got away to a flyer."
Jordan Moran, Mitch Bower and Paul Hulthen all fell inside the first 20 overs for Dubbo as Parkes made the most of the conditions.
Buckley was the only player to pass 20, while for Parkes the best were Phil Dunford (3-19), Blake Smith (3-31) and Heraghty (2-36).
Heraghty came out firing with the bat and got his side to 0-61 after 10 overs and despite falling for 56 he had set up the win.
Yelland then guided the team home but fell to a sharp one-handed grab from Mitch Bower with just four runs to win.
Vince Umbers played well beyond his years to finish on 34 not out but Dunford and Yelland were the stars and Heraghty was full of praise for the veteran duo.
"'Stretch' (Dunford) just loves cricket, he'll play until he's about 80, he's a warhorse and a really good team man, he's good to have around the young fellas, he just turns up and knows what he's got to do," he said.
"The Dubbo boys were giving 'Pistol' (Yelland) a hard time out there, telling him he was batting slow but that's his job and that's his nature and it's worked for us more times than not. I've been opening with him for eight or nine years and he's quality."
Cox and the Dubbo side were left visibly disappointed after the match but after a season in which they reached the final four of the SCG Country Cup, the skipper said there was plenty to be proud of.
"We were poor in all aspects so it was disappointing to finish a good season like that, we're a bit dejected but we can hold our heads high and say we achieved a lot," Cox said.
