At Northparkes Oval: Reedy Creek 5/174 in 30 overs (Stuart Milne 43, Shane Jessep 39, Grant Dunn 17, Ryan Dunn 28, Dale Ingram 2/27 off 6 & Chris Orr 1/16 off 4) defeated Honey Badgers 87 in 26 overs (Mal Bruce 22, C Hando 17no, Aaron Thorne 16, Stuart Milne 1/14 off 6, Ryan Dunn 1/15 off 6, Michael Ostler 5/9 off 4, Brayden Capple 3/21 off, Craig Chapple 1/6 off 2 & Cody Hall 0/2 off 2).

Reedy Creek (5pts) defeated Honey Badgers (0pts) by 87 runs.

In yet another highly contested match Reedy Creek gave good reason to suggest that they will be well in contention to achieve Premiership success this season.

Batting first, Reedy Creeks Grant Dun and Shane Jessep were both in good form until Aaron Thorne executed a stunning classic catch off the bowling of Dan Gordon to dismiss Grant Dunn.

Stuart Milne did not take long to move into good form as he hit 43 runs off 35 balls. Jessep (30) and Ryan Dunn (28) both batted well to give Reedy Creek the good score of 5/174 off 30 overs. In reply, Honey Badgers were never really able to get on top of a keen Reedy Creek team. Stuart Milne produced a superb ball to clean bowl Dan Gordon before Chris Orr was stumped in attempting to chase Ryan Dunn down the wicket. Michael Ostler then turned in a fine display to return the excellent figures of 5/11 off 4 overs to ensure Reedy Creek were well on the way to victory. Only Mal Bruce and Aaron Thorne were able to offer solid resistance for the Badgers. Youngster, Brayden Capple took 3 wickets and Cody Hall bowled 2 very accurate overs at the end of the innings while Cody Hando batted determinedly for 17no.

Raptors defeat Pitbulls by 23 runs

At Spicer Oval: Raptors 3/201 in 30 overs (Scott Knights 70 retired, Kyle Branscombe 70no, Max Keith 26no & Jacob Parker 3/18 off 6) defeated Pitbulls 7/178 off 30 overs (Paul Logan 88, Daniel Sladek 24, Jacob Parker 22, Nick Parker 18, Scott Knights 2/15 off 4 & Max Keith 2/22 off 5). Raptors (5pts) defeated Pitbulls (0pts) by 23 runs.

This game saw both teams score plenty of runs while batting out their allocated 30 overs. Raptors players Scott Knights and Kyle Branscombe both scored 70 runs apiece while Max Keith chimed in with a smart 26no. As per usual, Jacob Parker turned in another spirited display for the Pitbulls and claimed 3 wickets. In reply, Paul Logan batted very well to top score with 88 powerful runs. Daniel Sladek added 24 runs for the Pitbulls who eventually were only 23 runs short of victory.

Pythons have big form reversal to win by 2 wickets over Northparkes

At Keast 2: Northparkes 126 in 29.4 overs (M Farooq 74, Reuben Bondareff 10, Travis Spence 3/22 off 6, S Dalton 2/33 off 3, V Cheema 1/13 off 2 & Corey Rowbotham 1/16 off 2.3 overs) lost to Parkes Hotel Pythons 8/130 in 20.3 overs. Pythons (5pts) defeated Northparkes (0pts) by 2 wickets.

Obviously this was a close game but owing to the fact that Pythons did not attend to their job of completing their MyCricket match results their legion of fans are unable to read of their success. M Farooq played a major role for the Northparkes Cricket Club by scoring a very good 74 runs.

Matt Clarke inspires Star Hotel to victory over Bowling Club

At Keast 1: Star Hotel 8/198 declared after 19 overs (Matt Clarke 91, Tyson Spence 31, Dale Thorne 32, Tobey Thorne 14, Alex Prout 4/21 off 3.1 & S Bateson 2/44 off 3) defeated Bowling Club 10/34 in 10.5 overs (Matt Clarke 8/14 off 5.5, Dane Thorne 2/20 off 5). Star Hotel (5pts) defeated Bowling Club (0pts) by 164 runs.

Former Parkes representative player Matt Clarke turned in an amazing all round performance to spearhead Star Hotel to a crushing victory over Bowling Club. Matt smashed 91 runs off 34 balls with 10 fours and 6 sixes before he returned the stunning figures of 8/14 off 5.5 overs. Tyson Spence (31) and Dane Thorne (32) scored good quick runs for Star Hotel, while Alex Prout (better known for his Rugby League ability) took 4/21 for Bowling Club.

Parkes Cambridge advance to final

In the semi final of the Lachlan Premier Cricket Competition the Parkes Cambridge team scored a convincing 6 wicket victory over Cowra Valleys to advance to the final. Cambridge will now play Parkes Colts in the decider on Saturday 9/3/2019 at Woodward Oval.

Scores were: Cowra Valleys 115 in 39.1 overs (Sam Long 30, Jacob McNaught 17, S Wilson 10, Ben Houghton 16, Jonah Ruzgas 1/21 off 8, Shane Jones 1/18 off 7.1, Anthony Heraghty 5/34 off 10 & Anthony Riach 2/25 off 10) lost to Cambridge 4/116 off 31.3 overs (Zac Bayliss 35, Jonah Ruzgas 12, Anthony Heraghty 46no, Mitch Wright 13, Scott Wilson 2/29 off 10, Jackson Moodie 1/10 off 5 & Emerson Baratto 1/15 off 1.3). Cambridge won by 6 wickets.

As can be seen from the above scores Anthony Heraghty played a major role as he bowled well to capture 5/34 off 10 then backed up to score a quick fore 46no to steer Cambridge to an easy victory. Zac Bayliss was in good form to score 35 for Cambridge while Sam Long with 30 runs once again showed he’s a good prospect.

The final of the Lachlan Premier Cricket shapes as an interesting match. Colts have played good cricket right though the season whilst Cambridge will be sure to put up a keen effort.

At the conclusion of Saturday’s Final, the LCC Premier Cricket Trophy plus individual premiership medals will be presented to the winning team.

The Player of the Final will receive a special award, while the winners of the Lachlan Premier Cricket 2018/19 Best and Fairest Competition will also be announced. The best and fairest award has been determined on the basis of 3-2-1 points by the umpires during the season.

Grinsted Cup

Parkes have maintained a hold on the time honoured (100 years) Grinsted Cup after wins against Molong on 24/2 and Forbes on 3/3.

The Grinsted Cup will be dominated in Parkes over the winter after the Cup holders outclassed Forbes in the final challenge of the season.

The visitors were dismissed for 80 in 22 overs with five batsmen out for ducks. Parkes in reply also batted for 22 overs, losing 3 wickets in chasing the target.

The cup now goes into recess until October when celebrations are being scheduled to mark the start of season number 101.

Point Score – after matches played on 2/3/2019

Coolabah Cup: Raptors 25, Reedy Creek 21, Pitbulls 14, Galahs 10 & Honey Badgers 10.

Radiola Cup: Northparkes 24, Star Hotel 18, Bowling Club 11 & Pythons 7.

Draw – Saturday 9th March – all matches to commence at 1pm

Lachlan Premier Final:

Colts v Cambridge at Woodward Oval

Coolabah Cup:

Reedy Creek v Galahs at Spicer Oval. Raptors v Honey Badgers at Northparkes Oval. Pitbulls – Bye

Radiola Cup:

Pythons v Bowling Club at Keast 1. Star Hotel v Northparkes at Keast 2.

Also making news:

Western Rams women's side have two new captains

Parkes tennis juniors battle for individual honours