An almighty collapse in the final match of the group stage has cost the Western Plains Outlaws a spot in the Plan B Regional Bash finals at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
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The Outlaws were sitting pretty at the top of the Thunder Pool 1 standings after a win over the Central West Wranglers on Saturday was followed by victory over the South Coast Crew on Sunday morning.
But a hugely disappointing 31-run loss to the Illawarra Flames in the afternoon, combined with the Wranglers' big back-to-back wins on Sunday, resulted in the Outlaws losing out on top spot to their Western Zone rivals.
Outlaws captain Jason Ryan was left dejected after the Flames loss as his highly regarded batting lineup could only muster 72 in reply to the hosts' 7/113.
"It was disappointing we threw out our worst batting performance at the end," Ryan said.
"We didn't bat overly well this (Sunday) morning and we should have done a number on South Coast and we let it slip and won by three wickets.
"We didn't bat to the best of our ability all day."
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Without leading quick Ben Patterson on Sunday it was left to Mat Skinner, Bailey Edmunds and youngster Riley Keen to do the work with the new ball and it was the latter who stood up in the all-important game against Illawarra.
Young speedster Keen took 3/24 while spinner Brock Larance (1/13 off four) kept things tight.
The target wasn't an insurmountable one but the Outlaws were on the back foot almost immediately on what was a tricky batting deck as openers Ben Wheeler and marquee player Tim Armstrong both departed without scoring.
It was 3/18 when Larance (6) fell and things went from bad to worse when Marty Jeffrey knicked behind for 4 to leave the Outlaws reeling at 4/23 in the seventh over.
Chris Morton (22) and Tom Coady (21) gave Ryan's men some hope but the scoreboard pressure proved too much while two direct hit runouts also helped the Flames in a commanding victory.
Our biggest worry was our bowling. But after those three games it was our strong point.
- Jason Ryan
As the Outlaws fell, the Wranglers had backed up a 20-run win over Illawarra by crushing the South Coast Crew.
Hugh Le Lievre's 4/21 helped restrict the Crew to 9/118 batting first and that total proved nowhere near enough as marquee man Blake Dean belted 57 from 27 and Henry Shoemark smacked 36 from just 11 balls to reach the target in just 8.5 overs.
It left the two Western Zone sides level at the top but the Wranglers' net run rate of 1.36 was vastly superior to the Outlaws' -0.04.
"We knew the Wranglers were doing a job on the South Coast so we just had to win the game. It was nothing about run-rate, we just knew we had to win," Ryan said, before examining his side's overall performance.
"Our biggest worry was our bowling. But after those three games it was our strong point.
"Before we started I said our strength is our batting but it ended up being the bowling and fielding.
"Our batting let us down in the end. We didn't stay patient and stay committed enough to win that last game but the way the boys bowled and fielded was superb."
The final results left a sour taste in the mouth of the Outlaws after what had been a positive campaign up to that point.
The bowling attack had shown its quality in Saturday's opening win over the Wranglers.
Morton (40 off 34) and Patterson (35 off 15) had done the job with the willow to help the Outlaws post 134 batting first at Orange's Wade Park.
Patterson them removed Nic Broes (5) early before Skinner (3/17 off four) knocked over one-time Big Bash League player Dean (6) and Ryan Peacock (3) to have the Wranglers 3/17.
The hosts never recovered from there, as Larance (2/19) and Edmunds (2/19) strangled the Wranglers lineup and restricted them to 9/111.
After the long trek to the Illawarra, the Outlaws further boosted their hopes of progressing to another finals day when holding their nerves against the South Coast Crew on Sunday morning.
It was again the bowlers who impressed, as the Crew were kept to 7/103 from their 20 overs.
Jacob Hill (2/18) and spinners Jeffrey (2/19) and Larance (2/16) were the pick of the bowlers while Skinner again delivered with the new ball, finishing with 1/16 from his four.
Wheeler (18) and Armstrong (21) got the Outlaws off to a handy start and at 2/66 shortly after things were going swimmingly.
But, in a sign of things to come, the loss of 4/23 at one point put the side under pressure before a three-wicket win was secured with 2.4 overs to spare.
"The boys were committed all weekend so you can't hold that against them," Ryan added.
"It's always great and I had a chat to the boys and told them the group we had all bought into what we wanted to do and all invested in it.
"They threw in 100 per cent so I can't fault them. They're a good bunch."
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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.
