Playing at home hasn’t been an advantage during the start of the O’Farrell Cup season.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Young overcame the long trip and a new level of competition to take home Riverina cricket’s most prestigious prize.
Off the back of a strong batting performance from captain Sam Langford, Young held on for a 23-run win over Griffith at Exies Oval on Sunday.
Despite losing opening partner Smithie Goodman (2) early, Langford took it to the Griffith attack.
He put on a 79-run partnership with Geoff Palmer (30) before being dismissed for 57 runs off 64 balls.
Luke Cosgrove (23) continued to add on the runs before Young struck trouble.
They lost 5-17 until a late revival from Wayd Miller (14 not out) and Callum Taylor (13).
They pair on 22 for the final wicket before Young were bowled out for 170.
Thrilled to come away with the cup, Goodman thought the last-wicket stand proved to be the difference in the end.
“We started really well then had a bit of a collapse and that last wicket partnership and the last 20 runs gave us the buffer that we needed,” Goodman said.
“It ended up being invaluable.”
Griffith then got off to the worst possible start as the former Kooringal Colts paceman Taylor ripped through the line-up.
Taylor took the first three wickets to see Griffith slip to 3-40.
Pat Whittard (41) launched an recovery attempt before Duncan Cameron cleaned up the tail.
Both Taylor and Cameron finished with four wickets as Griffith was bowled out for 147 with 12 overs remaining.
Goodman was impressed by the speed of the left armer Taylor.
“He (Taylor) was scary in the first couple of overs,” he said.
“He was 2-0 off the first couple of overs and was really sending it through.
“In his second spell he bowled really fast and set up the rest of the game for us.”
Goodman rated Griffith Young’s biggest challenge so far and was pleased by how the well the team responded.
“It is awesome,” he said.
“We have had a really good season so far and we’ve continued on with it.
“They (Griffith) were probably the toughest team we’ve had all year.”
It was the first time Young has challenged for the O’Farrell Cup in 11 years and now they are looking to be the first team to defend the cup this season.
In successive challenges this season West Wyalong, Leeton and Griffith have failed to hold onto the cup.
It follows a similar trend last season when five associations, Wagga, Temora, Griffith, Leeton and West Wyalong, held the cup in five weeks.
Young will host Temora in the O’Farrell Cup on Sunday but its heavy representative schedule could cause some headaches with another Stribley Shield round also on the cards.