Bowral side get home in close finish over Wingello

Bowral United, the modern day equivalent of the club with whom Sir Donald Bradman learned his cricket as a youngster, triumphed in the final of the Highlands District Cricket Association's 2002/03 first grade competition in rural New South Wales at the weekend,

They narrowly beating Wingello, the village from which The Don's former Test team-mate, leg-spinner Bill O'Reilly, hailed.

With the HDCA set for centenary celebrations next summer, the clubs that have produced the Southern Highlands' two favourite cricketing sons went head-to-head in a nail-biting season finale which rain interruptions on Saturday and again on Sunday failed to ruin.

Wingello, unbeaten all season, had comfortably defeated United in the final of a separate one-day competition in December and batted well on a first day Bradman Oval wicket that proved difficult to score on. However, the Bowral outfit fought valiantly and - despite a minor collapse - managed to reach their target of 239 late on day two, with two wickets in hand and just nine balls remaining of their allocated 80 overs.

Wicket-keeper-batsman John Cooper, who played alongside two-times World Cup winner Michael Bevan in ACT youth teams over a decade ago, top-scored for Wingello with 63 in the face of plenty of sideways assistance for United's bowlers - the pick of whom was skipper Cameron Belshaw, who captured six for 65 from a marathon 33 overs - while Bob Lewis contributed 46 and Michael Pike added 44.

By the time all-rounder Belshaw was the second batsman dismissed in Bowral's chase, the reply had reached 120 with Aaron Brook well on his way to a match best 73. Three more quick wickets left United five for 150 and the game truly in the balance before Aaron Fox, with 37, and an unbeaten 35 from Richard Stone, helped to guide their team to a first-innings victory eight wickets down.