BATHURST'S bid to take out the weekend's Western Zone Under 18s Carnival was thwarted by a spirited middle order fight back from Orange on Sunday afternoon.
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Having thumped the Chairman's XI side by 10 wickets only a day earlier Bathurst entered the final against Orange high on confidence.
Neither team was short of motivation, knowing that strong showings could lead to a place in the Western representative squad.
An in-form Cooper Brien led the way with 64 runs to help Bathurst post 179, and the reply appeared dire for Orange at 6-74.
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But from that point on it was the two Harrys - May (56) and West (46 not out) - who crafted an inspired 96 run partnership to send Orange to what looked an unlikely victory earlier in the day.
Orange caught the total with three wickets and five overs still in hand.
The partnership was one of several brilliant achievements across the weekend's games, where a couple of players all but assured themselves of a place in the Western squad.
Hugh Middleton was unstoppable on the Morse Park turf, belting 132 in Saturday's win over Dubbo and backing that up with 4-19 off 10 overs in the game against Bathurst.
Dubbo's Ben Wheeler scored 100 not out in the third place playoff victory against the Chairmain's XI on Sunday, bringing up his ton with the second last scoring shot of the game.
Bathurst opening bastmen Bailey Brien and Hamish Siegert hit unbeaten knocks of 88 and 74 respectively to win Saturday's opener against the Chairman's XI, while on the opposing side Lachie Endacott stood out with his 77 not out.
Ethan Muller was the pick of Bathurst's bowlers. He finished with combined figures of 4-41 from his 20 overs.
"The boys did a really great job all weekend. It's just a shame it didn't come together at the end of it," Bathurst captain Bailey Brien said.
"We had a lot of balls land in gaps and a couple of missed chances but that's just the way the game goes sometimes.
"We've just to move on from it, and the boys put up a really great fight."
Bathurst has dominated the representative team in recent years though it will be interesting to see if Sunday's loss will factor into player selections.
Despite the mixed bag of results there were still Bathurst players putting their hands up.
Brien and Siegert's partnership against the Chairman's XI was the big bright spot for the home team over the two games, and several teammates had great spells with the ball.
"Hamish Siegert was great in yesterday game and Cooper played really well today," Brien said.
"Hamish and I just had a good day. We worked great as a partnership. He's always great to bat with.
"I thought Jack Goodsell bowled really well over the two days, and so did Ethan Muller."
The final makeup of the Western Zone Under 18s team isn't expected to be known until later this week.