Gilgandra have won the Cricket NSW Country Plate at Homebush

Only two seasons after returning to representative cricket, Gilgandra pulled off one of their biggest victories in history at Cricket NSW Central in Homebush, defeating Griffith in the Country Plate Final by seven wickets.

Led by Ash Hazelton, the Gilgandra side has become a powerhouse in bush cricket, currently one of the top two teams in the Macquarie Valley Brewery Shield.

Gilgandra Cricket's Mat Zell said everything came together on the day for the group as they bowled out Griffith for just 68.

"We peaked on the day, Griffith was possibly a bit over-oared by the occasion," he said.

"They won the toss and batted but we bowled well from the start as we have done for the entire campaign. The young blokes got the job done and they are a credit to themselves as well as their clubs.

"We've got a really good mix of youth and experience, they've just gelled really well together. We've come a long way with rep cricket out here over the last two years, we hadn't played rep cricket for the last six or seven years until last year."

John Irving got Gilgandra into the action early when he removed Tim Rand for one, courtesy of a sharp stumping by NSW Country representative Matt Everett.

It was almost an instant replay just minutes later as the two combined again for the same dismissal, this time Haydn Pascoe was the man to go.

Only one of the Griffith batters made it into double figures as Irving and Harry Willoughby had the ball on a string.

Willoughby finished with 3/8 while Irving was also brilliant, taking 3/22 from eight overs.

Everett was arguably the star in the field but after picking up four stumpings, all of them down the leg side.

In reply, Gilgandra looked at ease during the chase and lost only three wickets when they eventually passed the total inside 18 overs.

Everett was named Player of the Final and Zell believes the group aren't short on brilliant leaders.

"We've got a bit of class with Matt Everett in the side, he is a class above," he said.

"Ash Hazelton and he lead the team around. The boys respond to them and certainly did so on the weekend in emphatic fashion, they were very, very good."

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Gilgandra advanced to the final after a win over Cessnock and Zell admitted Sunday's win was the icing on the cake of what has been a great season so far.

"I don't really want to single too many blokes out but Harry Willougby was outstanding with the ball as he has been all year," he said.

"He took 3/8 off eight overs and was just absolutely outstanding, he put a lot of pressure on them and Jack Irving at the other end was able to capitalise on Harry keeping it so tight.

"He got three leg-side stumpings off him with Matt (Everett) standing up, he got four stumpings for the game and the boys fielded well as they have done all year.

"They are a very well-drilled young team who just love cricket and love playing for each other, it was a really good way to finish our Plate campaign."

Playing at the brand-new Homebush facility, Gilgandra was one of the first teams to step foot on Cricket NSW's newest complex, something which won't be forgotten by a lot of players.

"It's got ICC status, it was the biggest game they've had there to date," Zell said.

"They've got a Second XI game there next weekend but to date, we were the first Country team to play there and the first final to be played.

"It was a great experience for our young blokes, the facilities there are outstanding. They've got 15 or 16 indoor nets, there is a beautiful viewing balcony and the ground itself is amazing.

"I think they've got something like 13 pitches in the middle, the centre square is huge. It was a really good experience for us, not just the young blokes but the older guys who haven't played on a ground like that before.

"You create some pretty good memories."

While Sunday's victory certainly was well enjoyed, the group will re-focus now and look ahead to their clash against Cobar in the final of the Brewery Shield at McGrane Oval, a title Zell knows the squad is hungry for.

"We've still got the Brewery Shield Final on Sunday against Cobar so we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves," he said.

"We'd love to win that so we could be the holders of the Brewery Shield, Western Zone and Country Plate, it would be nice to have all three of them.

"I don't know that it would've been done recently in this area."

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