The under 16s travelled to Cowra on Sunday for the grand final, and the under 14s hosted Parkes at Gus Smith Oval in Young, and both teams did enough to collect the silverware.
In the under 16s Young batted first and limped their way to 96 of 35 overs. Jayke Parish, the quiet achiever in the team, with 23 was the top scorer and Ben Broderick 20 was next best.
Beau Shoard and Nic Bush were the other significant contributors with 14 and 12 respectively.
Young took to the field to defend this smallish total and bowled very well from the start.
Wickets fell regularly and Cowra were unable to get any sort of momentum. Nathan Anderson was the leading wicket taker with 3 for 16 but all the bowlers contributed.
Nic Corbett 0 for 10 off 5 overs, Ben Broderick 2 for 7, Luke Williams 2 for 7, Beau Shoard 2 for 3 and Corey Cooper, always manages to knock over the tail, 1 for 23. Cowra were all bowled out for 66 with only one batsman reaching double figures.
This was truly a team effort and all the boys need to be congratulated, especially Jack Bush and Michael Broderick who make a huge commitment to the team and travel around to play.
Luke Sneddon was also a big part of this team but was unavailable for the final.
In the under 14s, Young also won the toss and batted first, but a brilliant bowling performance from Parkes, with some aggressive fast bowling had them in the box seat as Young were dismissed in 35 overs for only 91.
Young put on a bowling and fielding performance far beyond anything they had displayed all season. The opening bowlers of Brady LeStrange and Jack Whinam ripped a hole in the Parkes top order. Brady finished the match with 5 for 12 and Jack picked up one early wicket.
James Cusack showed great control bowling his top spinning leg spinners to great effect taking 3 for 16. The fielding was very tight and no easy runs were to be found by Parkes.
Bailey Coombes pulled down two fantastic catches that would feature on any KFC Classic catch reel to finish the innings. Parkes were bowled out, also for 66.
This was a most satisfying win for the Young team as Parkes were the only team they had beaten them in the round games. Coach Powderly congratulated the whole squad which consisted of 15 keen players throughout the season.
It is semi finals time in our local Saturday competition with the winners of this week’s matches to play the grand finals next Saturday followed by a barbeque and presentation ceremony at Gus Smith Oval at the completion.
The wet weather has played havoc with us this season and if rain intervenes this week the 2 highest placed teams will be put through to the grand finals next weekend.
Teams 3 and 4 will also be able to play a final match on the same day to finish their seaon before the presentations.
This week’s draw: U15s: Rapicare First Aid (1) V Framaglass (4) at Cranfield Oval, Mark Powderly Electrical (2) V U14 Boorowa (3) at Gus Smith 2;
U12s: U12 TBC (1) V Delta Agribusiness (4) at Sawpit Gully, Connelly’s Office National (2) V JMH Kitchens (3) at Burrangong;
U10s: Tegra (1) V Kay McDonald Trophies (4) at Young Nth School, Richard Mellish Insurance Services (2) V Schoies Plumbing (3) at Young High School;
U17s: grand final to be played on Wednesday, March 21, at Keith Cullen Oval, Wilders Bakery V Boorowa U17s.