Three teams confirmed a spot in the semi finals following round 12 matches played over the weekend. Cavaliers, St Pats Old Boys and Orange CYMS are all assured a place in the semi finals, while Rugby Union are in a strong position to claim the remaining place.
Orange City are the only team outside of the top 4 that are still a mathematical chance of making the finals, but the Warriors need maximum points from their final two matches plus other results go their way if they are to have any chance.
Orange City v Cavaliers
Cavaliers have extended their lead at the top of the table to 13 points after they picked up maximum points on the weekend.
Orange City batted first, after winning the toss at Wade Park on Saturday and the Cavaliers bowling lineup assumed control early as they regularly picked up wickets to keep Orange City from building any meaningful partnerships. Orange City were eventually dismissed for 119 in their first innings inside 58 overs, with Bailey Ferguson taking 4/20 and Shaun Churchill top-scoring with 33.
With lightning and rain shaving 14 overs off the day’s play, Cavaliers quickly set about chasing the total, knocking 40 runs off the chase by stumps, losing a solitary wicket. Cavaliers continued their quick push for runs when play resumed on Sunday as they declared their first innings closed at 2/165 at the first drinks break. Bailey Ferguson made 78 off only 58 deliveries, while Rory Kalnins finished unbeaten on 56 and Matt Corben on 27.
With 71 overs remaining in the day, the Orange City opening batters made their way back out to the middle for a second time as they set about the task of batting the day out to deny Cavaliers the chance of an outright victory. However, the Cavaliers bowling attack continued where the left off in the first innings as City were dismissed for 136 with overs remaining in the day. Brett Causer top-scored for City with 32, while Shaun Churchill and Brant Mann both made 23. Toby Middleton and Kyle Buckley picked up 3 wickets each.
With the skies darkening to the north, Cavaliers wasted no time in peeling off the 91 runs required, with Bailey Ferguson again leading the way with an undefeated 67 to help his team to victory in 10 overs.
Cavaliers 2(dec)-165 (Bailey Ferguson 78, Rory Kalnins 56*, Matt Corben 27*; Tynan Southcombe 1/28, Ed Morrish 1/50) & 3-91 (Bailey Ferguson 67*; Shaun Grenfell 1/8, Tynan Southcombe 1/20, Ed Morrish 1/23) defeated Orange City 119 (Shaun Churchill 33, Fletcher Byrne 28; Bailey Ferguson 4/20, Josh Ward 2/11, Kyle Buckley 2/26) & 136 (Brett Causer 32, Shaun Churchill 23, Brant Mann 23; Toby Middleton 3/13, Kyle Buckley 3/42, Bailey Ferguson 2/20, Tom Blowes 2/27) outright by 7 wickets
Bathurst City v St Pats Old Boys
At the end of a rain interrupted day 1, only 33.1 overs had been played at Bathurst Sportsground with Bathurst City 5-90.
Continuing their innings on Sunday, Bathurst City added a further 42 runs to their tally before they were eventually dismissed for 132. Blake Kreuzberger (34) and Jed Cruickshank (31) were the best with the bat for Redbacks, while Ben Parsons and Blayde Burke picked up 3 wickets each.
In reply, St Pats Old Boys made a good start to their chase as openers Bailey Brien and Andrew Brown put on 47 for the first wicket before Brien was dismissed by LJ Mostert for 24. Kreuzberger then picked with the wicket of Cooper Brien a short time later to have Saints at 2/50.
Mostert then picked up a further 2 wickets to leave St Pats 4/66, before bagging another 2 in the 33rd over. When Kreuzberger picked up 2 more wickets a few overs later, St Pats Old Boys still needed another 18 runs with only the 2 wickets in hand. From there, Ben Parsons and Jay Webber guided Saints home, scoring the required runs for a first innings win. Mostert finished with 5 wickets and Kreuzberger 3.
St Pats Old Boys 8-134 (Derryn Clayton 30, Bailey Brien 24, Andrew Brown 24; LJ Mostert 5/38, Blake Kreuzberger 3/59) defeated Bathurst City 132 (Blake Kreuzberger 34, Jed Cruickshank 31; Ben Parsons 3/37, Blayde Burke 3/44, Connor Slattery 2/27) on first innings
City Colts v Rugby Union
Rugby Union have pulled 25 points clear of 5th placed Orange City after defeating City Colts on first innings at Loco Oval over the weekend.
Hugh Taylor peeled off his second century in consecutive matches to help his team to 307, with Tanvir Singh also making 81, the pair putting on 139 runs for the third wicket. In their response, City Colts managed 217 with skipper Russell Gardner making an unbeaten 77, while Tanvir Singh topped off a good all-round match, taking 3 wickets.
Rugby Union 307 (Hugh Taylor 101, Tanvir Singh 81, Kobe Muir 29*, Ryan Peacock 28, Sam MacPherson 22; David Henderson 5/125, Craig Hanrahan 2/3, David Rogerson 2/83) def City Colts 217 (Russell Gardner 77*, Tyler Horton 44, Robert Clifford 25; Tanvir Singh 3/53, Hugh Taylor 2/8, Patrick Cant 2/14) on first innings
Orange CYMS v Centrals
Orange CYMS have forced their way back into 3rd place after picking up maximum points against Centrals over the weekend.
After knocking over Centrals for 65 in their first dig, CYMS quickly set about claiming first innings points, as they declared their first innings closed at 1/107 to chase an outright result. Aditya Adey picked up 5/19 with the ball and scored a quickfire 60 not out with the bat in the first innings.
Batting for a second time, Centrals fared a bit better as they made 125 in their second dig, with Rupert Begg topping the scoring with 53 for Centrals and Rory Daburger picking up 5 wickets for CYMS. With plenty of time left in the day’s play, CYMS chased the 84 required for victory in 22 overs, losing 5 wickets along the way.
Orange CYMS 1(dec)-107 (Aditya Adey 60*, Joe Coughlan 24; Roshan Eiseman 1/31) & 5-86 (Joe Coughlan 26, Antony Spruce 23; Aijdan Mannering 2/27) def Centrals 65 (Riley Davis 26; Aditya Adey 5/19, Lachlan Wykes 4/10) & 125 (Rupert Begg 53, George Olsen 21; Rory Daburger 5/29, Clint Moxon 2/15) outright by 5 wickets
Next Round
Round 13 will go a long way to sorting out the positions in the top 4 with second placed St Pats Old Boys (63 points) travelling to Orange to play third placed Orange CYMS (62 points) at Riawena Oval. Competition leaders, Cavaliers (76 points) will make their way to Bathurst to play fourth placed Rugby Union (56 points) at the Sportsground.
In other matches, Centrals take on Bathurst City at Wade Park and City Colts will host Orange City at Loco Oval.