BATHURST'S senior cricketers have earned their first piece of silverware for the season, bringing home the Western Zone Plate after a convincing victory over Cobar on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Great performances were easy to find across the board for Bathurst in their 115-run win at Dubbo's Victoria Park.
Mark Day scored 78 from 54 balls to lead Bathurst to 6-281 at the conclusion of their innings, and he received plenty of support from Ben Cant (48), Tyler Horton (42) and Rory Daburger (38).
Bathurst's opening bowlers Kurt Toole (3-29) and Aiden Macauley (3-20) terrorised the Cobar top order before Harrison Craig's (4-47) left arm spin finished the job.
Cobar middle order batsman James McClure (70 not out) tried his best to keep his team in the contest when the chips were down but he ran out of partners at the other end.
Bathurst's Brad Broes said it was great for Bathurst to put previous disappointment behind them.
"We only needed three guys to take the wickets, with Kurt Toole, Aiden Macauley and Harrison Craig taking three, three and four respectively. That was awesome," he said.
"We blew it two years ago last time Bathurst had a plate side so it was nice to get that redemption."
Bathurst entered the contest ready for anything after Cobar easily dispatched Dubbo in the semi-final.
After losing Andrew Brown (7) early Daburger and Cant put on a patient partnership of 106 to put Bathurst back in the driver's seat.
The next century partnership, between Horton and Day, was a far more explosive one.
Thanks to the foundation laid by Daburger and Cant, the next pairing were able to up the run rate across the 108-run feast and make a 300 total a realistic possibility.
A slow down towards the end of the innings kept Bathurst short of that mark but their strong start with the ball immediately put Cobar on the back foot.
Toole and Macauley were on point from the opening overs as they left Cobar in peril at 5-38.
Wickets continued to fall around McClure as he tried his best to lead a rescue mission.
Craig ended his run through the Western Zone Plate on a high as his four wicket haul saw him finish with an average of 12.4 through the three matches.
The Western Zone Plate was an opportunity for Bathurst's non-Premier League to earn valuable match time, and their victory on Sunday shows the city's depth in the sport is exceptional.
Bathurst used 22 different players across their three matches in the series.
Broes said the dominance of Bathurst's second string team continues to put pressure on players in the top squad.
"That's why we entered a team, to give those guys outside of the Premier League team a chance to play rep cricket and to try and work their way up," he said.
"We've got the likes of Ben Cant, Rory Daburger and Mark Day who all had their chance to make an impression and I think they have all contributed throughout the season."
Bathurst will be aiming for the Western Zone double when they resume their unbeaten Premier League season in January.