Far West is primed for an assault on the inaugural Cricket NSW Youth Championships after back-to-back wins on Monday.
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It wasn't always pretty, particularly in the morning's match against ACT/Southern District Barons, but it was good enough to take the hosts to a record of three wins from four games with three rounds remaining in the under 14s competition.
Far West is one of three sides having scored three wins so far in the Thunder Conference, while the Illawarra Highlanders finished Monday as the lone undefeated side.
One more round is played in Dubbo on Tuesday before the final two rounds later this year.
Far West, a side with a strong Dubbo presence, took on the previously unbeaten Barons first-up on Monday.
After showing an improved effort with the bat in Sunday's second game, the lineup was better again against the Barons as they accumulated an imposing 4/138 off their 20 overs.
"It was a good start but lost a few in the middle," Far West captain Riley Keen said.
"But we got it back up at the end."
Keen was the main contributor, backing up his handy efforts in Sunday's game with a vital 46 not out from 29 balls against the Barons.
He hit six boundaries in his knock, while there were key contributions from Daniel Smith (25) and Fletcher Hyde (24).
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The total seemed like enough but the Barons showed a huge amount of fight in the chase.
Nicholas Allen (46) kept the runs ticking over at the top of the order and while Patty Cant removed him, the Barons kept threatening.
In the end Far Wests's total was a mountain to high for the Barons to climb as they finished at 5/120.
Keen capped off his game with 1/15 while Condobolin teammate Ryan Goodsell snagged 2/24.
"We lost it a bit in the middle but then tried to bowl a more consistent line outside off and that worked," Keen said.
"We got more wickets after that. We got away with the win and everyone did their job in the field and we took good catches."
Keen, who said he was excited to be named captain of the representative side, then saw his Far West team prove too strong for the Greater Southern Marlins in the afternoon game.
Ty Sissian was a standout in the win, taking 1/3 from two overs as the Marlins were restricted to 6/100 before top-scoring with 32 not out from 38 balls in the successful chase.
Shepherd was the other to impress with the ball in the afternoon win, taking 2/13 from four overs.
Far West reached the target inside 16 overs with seven wickets to spare.
The Highlanders, who beat Far West in the opening game of the competition, remains undefeated.
The Ilawarra side defeated both CAW Murray and Murrumbidgee on Monday.
Far West meets CAW Murray from 10am on Tuesday at Lady Cutler 3 while the Highlanders tackle the ACT/Southern District Barons at Lady Cutler 1.
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
