St Pats Old Boys: 2024-25 BurMac Bonnor Cup champions

St Pats Old Boys are the 2024-25 BurMac Bonnor Cup champions after defeating Orange CYMS in the Final last night.

On the back of a batting blitz in the powerplay, which had their score at 2/73 after 6 overs, Saints finished with 7/174 from their 20 overs.

After opener Andrew Brown lost his middle stump to Aditya Adey off the second ball of the match, Nic Broes joined Cooper Brien at the crease and the pair set about cashing in on the power play overs. Broes dispatched 2 balls over the Wade Park fence that over. When Broes was bowled by Brad Thomas for 21 in the 4th over, St Pats had already reached 50.

Bailey Brien joined his brother at the crease and the pair continued the early onslaught. The introduction of Ben Orme into the bowling attack in the 11th over paid immediate dividends with the dismissal of Bailey Brien, as the Saints had reached 101 and still scoring at 10 runs per over.

Ben Parsons then entered the fray as he and Cooper Brien pushed the score along to 133 before he was the 4th wicket to fall, as Saints had reached 133 in the 14th over. Two overs later Cooper brien was the next wicket to fall with the score on 144. Brien finished with 86 off 55 balls, which included 14 fours and 2 sixes.

Hugh Parsons whacked a couple of late sixes in his innings of 28, but the CYMS bowlers had fought back to slow the run rate slightly as St Pats Old Boys finished on 174, after earlier looking like threatening the 200 mark.

Lachlan Wykes picked up 2 late wickets to finish with 2/4 from his solitary over, while Clint Moxon took 2/34 from his 4 overs.

Facing a required run rate of nearly 9 runs per over, the CYMS chase didn’t get off to the start they would have liked as Ben Parsons removed Aditya Adey in his first over. When Parsons removed Joe Coughlan in his second over, CYMS were 2/18. Parsons then removed Tom Belmonte is his 3rd over, leaving CYMS 3/21 in the 5th over and starting to fall off the pace.

Brad Thomas and Rory Daburger then set about an innings rebuild, but when Nick Broes caught Thomas off his own bowling, CYMS hopes appeared to be fading with the green and golds 4/37 in the 8th over, the required run rate now over 11 per over. Greg Donaldson then joined Daburger at the crease and the pair added 24 runs from the next 18 balls before Daburger was bowled by Connor Slattery. Nic Broes then removed Donaldson in the next over, before Johnty French was run out off the next delivery, and CYMS had slumped to 7 for 66 in the 12th over.

Batting at number 10, Lachlan Wykes made 40 not out off 25 deliveries to help add some respectability to the CYMS score which included a final wicket partnership with his father, Brett. Ben Parsons was the pick of the St Pats Old Boys bowling, taking 3/20 from his 4 overs, with Blayde Burke (2/21) and Nic Broes (2/19) the other multiple wicket takers.

Cooper Brien was named player of the match.

St Pats Old Boys 7-174 (Cooper Brien 86, Hugh Parsons 28, Nic Broes 21; Lachlan Wykes 2/4, Clint Moxon 2/34) def Orange CYMS 9-131 (Lachlan Wykes 40no, Greg Donaldson 21, Rory Daburger 15; Ben Parsons 3/20, Nic Broes 2/19, Blayde Burke 2/21) by 43 runs