The Colts then made short work of their run chase to score 1/98 in 20.1 overs, only losing the wicket of opening batsmen Peter Yelland off the last ball of the game as Peter was stumped off a wide that gave Colts victory.

It would be fair to say that the Dunford brothers, Phil and Paul, played major roles in the Parkes Colts Premiership success as Phil secured the excellent bowling figures 5/24 off nine overs including three maiden overs. The effort resulted in umpires Mark Ryan and Glenn Pepper determining that Phil Dunford be awarded player of the match.

Paul Dunford continued his rich rein of batting excellence to score a dominant 59no with seven fours in 70 minutes to pilot the Colts home to a most emphatic nine wicket victory. Paul Dunford received top assistance from his opening partner in Peter Yelland (27 runs) as they mastered the Bowling Club attack. Paul Dunford was rewarded after the match when Lachlan Cricket Council Secretary/Treasurer Greg Morrissey announced that he was joint winner for the Lachlan Premier Cricket Best and Fairest Award.

Myles Smith, a teammate, was the joint recipient of this award. Special mention must be made of Cowra Bowling Club's blockbusting, very talented player Michael Curtale, who also fared well in the points allocation. Michael Curtale scored a masterful 49 runs in 70 minutes with five fours and two mighty sixes to provide the backbone of the Cowra Bowling Club innings of 97.

Match scores were; Cowra Bowling Club 10/97 in 35.2 overs (Michael Curtale 49, Lachlan Morrison 10, Phil Dunford 5/24 off 9, Andrew Britt 2/19 off 5, Brent Tucker 1/10 off 6 and Zac Larkins 1/5 off 3) lost to Parkes Colts 1/98 in 20.1 overs (Paul Dunford 59no & Peter Yelland 27).

The match began with a superb bowling blitz from Colts bowlers Brent Tucker and Andrew Britt as they smashed through the early order Bowling Club batting. Andrew Britt by securing two wickets in his opening over gained plenty of approval from his teammates.

The entry of Phil Dunford to the bowling crease saw wickets tumble but Michael Curtale's valiant nine ensured that Bowling Club stayed in the game. The Colts team have given some of their younger players ample opportunity to develop their skills during the season so young Zac Larkins was delighted to take a wicket with his first ball before finishing with the very tidy figures of 1/5 off three overs.

In reply Colts openers Pater Yelland and Paul Dunford carried on the tradition of great Australian opening pairs such as Bob Simpson and Bill Lawry, Geoff Marsh and Mark Taylor in guiding the Colts to a memorable victory. In the after-match presentation ceremony both captains Israel Symington and Michael Curtale spoke of how they enjoyed playing Lachlan Premier Cricket in 2019/2020. President of Lachlan Cricket Council Peter Yelland made special mention of the other participating teams in Lachlan Premier Cricket in Parkes Cats, Parkes Raptors and Cowra Valleys for their excellent involvement during the season.

Umpires Glenn Pepper (of Parkes) and Mark Ryan (of Cowra) carried out their duties in a most efficient and capable fashion.

Individual premiership medallions were presented to the Parkes Colts team of Peter Yelland, Paul Dunford, Myles Smith, Phil Dunford, Israel Symington, Andrew Britt, Brent Tucker, Peter Larkins, Joseph Tanswell, Ryan Dunn, Luke Clarke & Zac Larkins. The Lachlan Premier Cricket Trophy was accepted by the Colts team as well as the Kelly Cup for the leading 'A Grade' team in Parkes for 2019/20.

Coolabah Cup

Reedy Creek score comfortable victory over Northparkes CC

The PDCA 'B Grade' Premiership Coolabah Cup Final played at Spicer Oval on 14/3/2020 saw Reedy Creek turn in a very powerful batting performance to total 1/204 off their allocated 30 overs with Shane Jessep (103no) and Stuart Milne (77) arresting the keen North Parkes bowling attack to provide a very sizeable victory tally. In reply Northparkes did well to total 7/176 in 30 overs to go down by 28 runs in a match umpired by the very capable Trevor Chatman.

Scores were; Reedy Creek 1/204 off 30 overs (Shane Jessep 103no, Stuart Milne 77, Dylan Morgan 1/28 off 3 and Brad Reardon 0/24 off 6) defeated North Parkes CC 7/176 in 30 overs (Nick Baird 38, Chris Higgins 31, Corey Rowbotham 23, Reuben Bondareff 23, Dylan Morgan 16, Brad Wales 15, Ian Ward 10no, Craig Chapple 3/37 off 5, Paul Carty 1/34 off 6, Jack Milne 1/13 off 2 and Grant Dunn 1/5 off 1).

Reedy Creek's combination of seasoned well skilled players and a sprinkling of young cricketers has seen their club do well in the 2019/2020 season while Northparkes also have given young players a good chance under the guidance of skilful older players.

Radiola Cup

Star Hotel have a big win over Bowling Club

Star Hotel 9/161 in 30 overs (Luke Greenwood 27, Dane Thorne 24, T Spence 21, Andrew Bourke 12, B Clarke 11, Robert Lennox 3/33 off 6, Nathan Hessel 2/31 off 6, Declan Daley 2/28 off 5 & Matt Swindle 1/22 off 6) defeated Bowling Club 51 off 13.3 overs (Matt Swindle 21, Dylan Manks 10no, Dane Thorne 3/6 off 3, Jayden Pusterla 1/15 off 4, T Spence 1/7 off 2.3 and B Clarke 1/2 of 1). Star Hotel did well to bat out their allocated 30 overs at North Parkes Oval whilst Bowling Club were challenged by not having a full complement of players on hand. Both teams played the match in good spirit.

PDCA Presentation

The Executive of PDCA in Scott Knights (President), Luke Nash (Secretary), Paul Dunford (Treasurer) and Dan Gordon (Vice-President) hosted a very pleasant end of season awards night at Parkes Leagues Club on Saturday, March 14. Parkes Leagues are the major sponsor of the PDCA representative team. President, Scott Knights (3rd year as president) thanked his fellow executive members, club delegates, umpires, scorers, Parkes Sports Council, Parkes Champion Post ad Radio Station two pack for promoting senior cricket in Parkes.

Award winners for 2019/20 were;

Coolabah Cup:

PDCA Championship Player: Dan Gordon (Honey Badgers)

Batting Aggregate: Aaron Thorne (Honey Badgers) - 320 runs

Batting Average: Stuart Milne (Reedy Creek) - 189 runs

Bowling Aggregate: Bradley Parker (Galahs) - 22 wickets

Bowling Average: Matthew Clarke (Star Hotel) - 7.58

Most Catches: Brad Parker (Galahs), Joe Van Opynen (Galahs) and Blake Manks (Bowling Club) all took 5 catches

U21s Batting: Reuben Bondareff (Northparkes CC) - 102 runs

U21s Bowling: Nathan Hessel (Bowling) - 18 wickets

The Duncan Macdonald award for service to Parkes Cricket went to Phil Dunford

The President's award went to Luke Nash

By Greg Morrissey OAM