On a sunny Grinsted Oval, with a huge crowd gathering nearby for the Forbes Rugby President's Lunch, Forbes' Lachlan Valley Building took on the Parkes Raptors in the Under 14s grand final.
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Forbes started confidently, seeing off Parkes' representative bowlers Ewan Moody and T Ball (1/6) before the loss of Hurford with the score at 7.
Harry McDonald (17) and captain Reece Matheson combined to further Forbes' total before both retired however Forbes continued to defy the Parkes bowling with notably Leroy McNamara (5) and Phillip Klingner (6) keeping runs ticking over.
The return of Matheson boosted the run rate, notably taking 10 runs off one over before being run out.
Klingner and McDonald combined with an excellent partnership for the last two overs to get Forbes to 4/66.
This total was significantly less than Forbes desired however they do have a very good bowling attack and the game was anyone's at this stage.
Parkes' innings was torn apart from the outset with some excellent bowling eventually leading to the dismissals with Thompson Hurford (two overs, 1 for 6) and Oliver Mayo (two overs, 1 for 1) cleaning up the Parkes openers to have Parkes 1/0 and 2/2 before Beasley claimed the wicket of T Ball with his first ball of the day.
Beasley's figures of two overs, two maidens, 1 for 0 as well as McDonald one maiden, 0/1, reflected Forbes' dominance as Parkes crashed to 4/4 including the invaluable wicket of Ewan Moody.
A screamer of a one-handed catch was taken by Cameron Gordon in slips
Kross (17) and J Ball (8) somewhat stabilised Parkes' middle order before Matheson (2/14 off 3) and Tom Greenhill (2/7 off 2) continued the pressure.
The return of Kross following his retirement saw Parkes creeping closer to the total and a tight finish and the minor premiers looking like their total was going to be chased down.
Excellent fielding by Klingner, Drady and Leroy McNamara created doubt in the running of the Parkes lower order.
It was McNamara's pressure and fine return from the boundary to Matheson who knocked the stumps over from side-on resulting in the run-out of J Ball that finished Parkes' innings 15 runs short.
Lachlan Valley Building were deservedly top of the table at the end of the regular season, and held their nerve in the field to bring home the premiership.
Matheson was excellent as a leader, and was supported by McDonald with the bat but it was the bowling of the entire team and the pressure they created that won them the title.
A fine day for Forbes Junior Cricket, winning two premierships from a possible two - see the separate story on the back page for our Under 12s success story.
Congratulations to all!
Yours in cricket, Plum
