The final round of the Bathurst Orange Inter District Cricket (BOIDC) before the Christmas break threw up a couple of surprises as teams looked to end 2023 on a high.
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The unbeaten Cavaliers and CYMS met at Riawena Oval for a grand final rematch and it was a result few would have seen coming.
Across town at Bloomfield, Ed Morrish made a return that had everyone taking notice while in Bathurst, City Colts looked to exorcise their horrific performance from last week.
Here's who we thought stood out.
Ed Morrish - City
The Warriors captain marked his return to action with a near century.
In scoring 96 off 95, Morrish helped pick his team up from 3-71, putting on a 56-run partnership with Angus Cornish and then an 94-run stand with Brett Causer.
He was eventually caught by Josh Knox off the bowling of Liam Cain four runs short of what would have been a remarkable ton.
Thomas Belmonte - Orange CYMS
Sticking with the Orange theme and Belmonte's quickfire 77 off 49 played a huge part in CYMS' upset win over Cavaliers.
![Thomas Belmonte and Joey Coughlan share a laugh and a drink during CYMS' clash with Cavaliers. Picture by Jude Keogh Thomas Belmonte and Joey Coughlan share a laugh and a drink during CYMS' clash with Cavaliers. Picture by Jude Keogh](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/131358433/84b7abfc-f0be-49ca-8d44-07355c9da1db.JPG/r2367_789_5853_3137_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
He whacked four sixes and eight fours and ticked along at a strike rate of 157.
Another fine captain's knock to kickstart the team of the week.
Clint Moxon - Bathurst City
The Redbacks' hopes of victory against Orange City took a blow early in their innings, going down to 3-60 in pursuit of 250.
Moxon did his best to give his side a sniff of victory, putting on a near run-a-ball 58 to breathe some life into the run chase.
When he was caught by Angus Cornish off Brett Causer, City were 6-182 and they would only make it to 208 at the end of the 40 overs.
Bailey Brien - St Pats
A sensible innings from Brien as wickets fell around him.
The opener recorded 44 off 80 balls, keeping his head despite St Pat's struggling to handle the City Colts' attack.
He eventually departed with his side precariously placed at 4-91 and only getting to 175 after 40 overs.
Connor Slattery - St Pats
No sooner had Brien departed then Derryn Clayton joined him to leave St Pat's 5-91 at the Bathurst Sportsground.
Slattery managed to help his side save face, scoring a crucial 40 off 38 balls to move their final innings total into respectable and very defendable territory
Connor Brown - City Colts
Just how defendable St Pat's total was became clear as City Colts' top order hit a snag.
They went from 1-39 to 6-114 and it looked like a lost cause when Brown headed out to the crease.
But he did exactly what he needed to, notching 18 off 31 and hitting the winning run in the final over.
Greg Donaldson - City Colts
A great all-round effort from Donaldson on Saturday.
He bowled the full eight overs for a decent return of 2-33 and then backed it up with a determined stand with the bat.
He scored a crucial 35 batting at nine, departing with his side only needing five more runs to win.
Max Richards - CYMS
CYMS' total of 230 was solid but certainly reachable by a Cavaliers side who has met every challenge thrown at them this season.
Enter Richards.
The youngster bamboozled the premiers' middle order, taking 4-24 off his five overs.
Not a bad way to hit back after last season's grand final.
Hugh Middleton - Cavaliers
On the opposing side, Middleton also had a solid day out with the ball at Riawena Oval.
He took 3-22 in five and a bit overs in what was a tidy spell to limit the damage caused by the CYMS batters.
David Henderson - City Colts
City Colts were abysmal last week, bowled out for 52 in an afternoon to forget.
While they may have made hard work of their run chase their bowlers put them in a great position, Henderson included.
He took the two dangerous wickets of Andrew Brown and rep star Ben Parsons for final figures of 2-23 off a full eight overs.
Connor Slattery - St Pats
Let's stay in Bathurst for a second and take a look at Slattery's haul.
Defending just 175 is not easy but Slattery did extremely well to gift his side a shot at the points, although they would fall short.
He took the wickets of Henry Shoemark, Thomas Murray and Daniel Casey for final figures of 3-35.