Parkes’ three representative cricket teams played host to Young last Sunday in the final round of the Lachlan Cricket Council’s junior competition.
Parkes under 14s and 12s scored highly convincing and impressive victories while the 16s succumbed to a batting collapse to go down in dramatic fashion.
under 16s
Young 91 (Nick Corbett 36, Nathan Anderson 16, Toby Nash 3/12, Zac Bayliss 3/11, Mitchell Wheeldon 2/17) def Parkes 28 (Luke Grady 7, Nathan Anderson 3/4, Nick Corbett 3/6, Corey Cooper 2/6). Young won by 63 runs.
Young won the toss and elected to bat on a well-prepared pitch at Woodward Oval.
Nick Corbett took full toll on any over-pitched bowling during his aggressive innings of 36 runs.
Toby Nash produced a fine spell of bowling to cause Young plenty of concerns.
Mitchell Wheeldon also caused plenty of concern as he generated good pace and accuracy.
Young got to 3/64 at drinks before Parkes rallied as Luke Grady and Zac Bayliss tied the batsmen up with some tight bowling.
Bayliss turned in a superb effort to take 3/11 from five overs.
Vince Umbers, Wheeldon and Nash bowled well in their second spells to dismiss Young for 91.
Wicketkeeper Brodie Henderson snared two smart catches and Bayliss took a good catch prior to bowling.
Parkes would have fancied their chances of chasing the small total but suffered an inglorious batting collapse after some spirited bowling and fielding from a fired-up Young team.
They were bundled out for 28 with no one reaching double figures.
Although the Parkes under 16s will not make the semi finals, they can hold their heads high due to their excellent sportsmanship.
Coach Chris McDean is delighted with the good efforts and spirit his team displayed in the field against Young.
The Parkes team gave McDean a pleasant presentation in recognition of his enthusiastic, unstinting efforts during the season.
under 14s
Young 82 (M Cameron 46, S Beath 11, Tom Galvin 3/7, Mat King 2/5, Jarrod McDean 1/5) lost to Parkes 2/87 (Tom Galvin 44*, Mat King 30, J Whinum 1/5). Parkes won by 8 wickets.
The previously undefeated Young team were met by a Parkes team that suffered a big loss to Cowra in their last start.
The Parkes team that played on Sunday was completely rejuvenated and demonstrated they can be a distinct premiership threat.
Tight bowling and fielding contributed to Young’s total of 82 off 38 overs.
Opening bowler Jye Dillon gained a huge breakthrough when Sam Carty took a brilliant catch to dismiss Young’s star batsman Jonte Powderly for a duck.
Young made a good recovery to be 65 before Jock Wright dismissed M Cameron for a fine 46.
All Parkes bowlers worked hard but Tom Galvin and Mat King deserve special mention for their excellent figures.
In reply, Parkes received a shock start to their innings with Jock Wright out LBW in the second over.
The situation called for determination, concentration and good technique.
Mat King and Tom Galvin demonstrated these requirements as they added 73 for the second wicket.
Both players batted slowly early but as they gained confidence they began to play shots all around the wicket.
They guided a vastly improved Parkes team to a well deserved victory.
Young Junior Cricket President Mark Powderly was very impressed by the Parkes team.
Parkes coaches Terry Galvin and Craig Macaulay were beaming at the conclusion of the match and were very proud of the whole team.
under 12s
Young 39 (Nic Hall 21, Jonah Ruzgas 3/2, Ben Glasheen 1/4, James Mackenzie 1/1) last to Parkes 2/42 (Josh Duffy 15, Jonah Ruzgas 12*). Parkes won by 8 wickets.
Like the under 14s team, Parkes came into this game after suffering a large loss at Cowra before Christmas.
Again, an entirely different attitude and spirit was reflected by the Parkes team as they recorded a convincing victory.
All Parkes bowlers were impressive with Jonah Ruzgas leading the way with his left-arm medium pacers to take 3/2 from 3.4 overs.
Josh Duffy stood out in the field as he took three catches.
With only 39 runs to chase, Josh Duffy and Jonah Ruzgas batted sensibly to pass Young’s score after only 14 overs.
Parkes coaches Anthony Ruzgas and Ian Ward will now be able to maintain the good efforts of the team as the finals approach.
semi finals
Parkes under 14s and 12s are assured of places in the semi finals set down for February 19.
The teams and venues will not be known until games are played on February 12.
The finals will be played on February 26.
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