TWO individual performances have helped deliver St Pat's Old Boys its first win of the season.
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The Saints suffered a 74-run defeat in the opening round of the Bathurst Orange Inter District Cricket (BOIDC), far from an ideal start to the 2023-24 campaign.
But up against local rivals Rugby Union at Morse Park 1 on Saturday, Bailey Brien caused havoc with the bat, while fill-in Ben Sennett did the damage with the ball to claim a maiden five-for, helping secure a 34-run win.
Brien, who opened the batting alongside Andrew Brown (nine), caused plenty of headaches for the Bulldogs bowlers, smacking 80 off 111 balls that included nine fours and one six.
Brien was actually the last wicket to fall for Saints and had it not been for his score and that of Ben Parsons (34), it might've been a lot trickier for them.
The middle order of Connor Slattery (one), Adam Ryan (one), Josh Willcox (three) and Derryn Clayton (eight) had a difficult day against the Bulldogs bowlers.
When it was time for the Bulldogs to bat, the first three bats needed to put on some strong scores, but they couldn't get anything significant going, with Sam Macpherson out for 25, Trent Fitzpatrick for 33 and Imran Qureshi for 28.
After the first three were dismissed, Sennett got down to business, dismissing Hugh Taylor (14), Adam Callaghan (15), Brad Rayner (nine), Justin Stephenson (duck) and J Bennett (duck).
It was Sennett's maiden five-for in any form of cricket, in what was only his third game in first grade.
"It's very exciting. It's one thing that I've always wanted to do," Sennett said.
"I've come close a few times, but to tick it off, it was a great achievement. I'm really glad to have done that."
While he said his batting 'leaves a bit more to be desired', he's hoping his performance with the ball on Saturday can put his case forward for more first grade appearances.
"I think I might be able to have a few more games bowling in first grade," he said.
"I think I've shown that I have a level of ability to play first grade."
Sennett had big wraps on Brien, who he actually played Presidents Cup several years ago.
"You could tell at that level he was a noticeably decent batter," Sennett said.
"It's been great to see his development.
"He's really been one of those stand out blokes with his leadership and it's impressive to see how he leads the way with the bat."
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