The Lithgow Lightning team picked up its first win of the 2019-20 Royal Hotel Cup on Friday, November 1 but captain Ben Sheehan said they will have to continue to improve if they want to progress further in the competition.
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The win all but ended the plucky Kinross side's hopes of a rare semi-final berth.
With two losses from their opening two games the students will need a minor miracle if they're to make the finals for the first time since 2014-15.
On Friday night, the students did make Lithgow work for their 24-run victory.
Sheehan said the team "got off to a flyer" at Wade Park in Orange.
Jon Cronin made his presence felt from the top of the Lithgow order, pummeling 69 from just 50 balls to inspire his side's formidable total of 6/171.
Kobe Hunter (31 from 20) and Nick Miller (23 from 15) chipped in towards the back end of the innings.
With Kinross at the crease, Chris Redding was in form with the ball, taking 2-27 off four overs, with Hunter also taking 2-11.
Young talent Will Hutchison and Blake Caldwell each contributed to the total.
Sheehan said Caldwell helped in the team's efforts to "suffocate" the Kinross innings.
Kinross worked their way to 7-147. With too much work left to do late in the innings, they were unable to reel in Lithgow's target.
While it was a welcome start to the Lightning's season, Sheehan said there was plenty to improve.
"We were a bit sloppy in the field at times," he said.
"If we made the most of our chances, we should have been able to bowl them out.
"But it's our first game of Twenty20, it takes some time to switch back into it."
There will be no room for error when Lithgow takes on Orange City in their next match on November 29. The teams will meet at Wade Park.
City has plenty of potential to score big totals, Sheehan said.
"We have to be better to get further in the competition."
In other round matches, Cavaliers' win over Centrals was an absolute thriller on Saturday, November 2, the maroons eventually prevailing by the thinnest of margins.
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Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
