It was a finish worthy of a top-of-the-table encounter between the two best sides in the Walter Taylor Shield when Armidale 1 played Ballina on day three.
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Both sides sat undefeated in Pool A of the annual under 15s carnival and the winner of the clash would head straight into the grand final.
A defiant partnership between Armidale tailenders Hamish Biddle and Jordan King saw spectators on the edge of their seats in the final stages of the match as the duo dug in an attempt to salvage their side’s innings.
Ballina set Armidale 92 runs to chase from their innings and, at 9-63, the host side were in trouble.
Biddle and Jordan King put on 23 to get within 10 runs before King was dismissed on 18 and ending Armidale’s innings at 81 all out.
In a display dominated by the bowlers on both sides Ballina won the toss and elected to bat.
Their start didn’t go as planned with opener Noah Chapman sent packing on three through a Kieran Wicks-lbw.
Armidale’s Cotter Litchfield then cleaned up the stumps of fellow opener Shane Lennon before Ryan Simpson chimed in with three wickets.
Simpson caught and bowled Harry Venn before removing Tom Quinn by knocking the bails off.
He had his third in Darby Freer when Ben Murphy latched on to Freer’s wayward shot.
Fast work in the field saw Harry Hall run out for one.
Sam Skipper’s spell with the ball started perfectly with a wicket in his second over, sending Kye Frappell back to the sheds for a duck.
Sam Johnson made his mark next, trapping Brayden Dirou lbw.
Skipper secured another scalp when Ben Murphy took a one-handed at mid off.
First ball of Cotter Litchfield’s second spell saw the right armer claim the final wicket for Ballina to be all out for 91 after 36 overs.
Armidale’s Sam Johnson was the first to fall when it was the home side’s turn to bat when he was trapped lbw off Ryan Richards for nine.
Benji Marshall was caught at second slip on five off Richards’ bowling.
Dirou claimed the next two wickets of Cotter Litchfield and Ollie Schmude to have Armidale at 4-34 at lunch.
After lunch Ballina captain Darby Freer hit his straps to take three wickets in quick succession, dismantling Armidale’s middle order.
Murphy departed for three, followed by Nick Page for a duck before Freer also secured Sam Skipper’s wicket for two.
Dirou claimed the next two wickets with Wicks leaving on 10 via an lbw before Simpson was caught behind on five.
King’s and Biddle’s partnership left some hope in the Armidale camp before King went out with a Kye Frappell-wicket.
While most of the Armidale side lamented their poor shots with the bat cost them victory, team manager Dave Schmude was optimistic and said it was a great learning curve for the young cricketers.
“The boys should be really proud of themselves,” he said.
“They will learn from this and become better cricketers.
“These things are really great examples of discipline on shot selection and I think the boys will learn from that.
“Between Greg and I, we couldn't be prouder of the boys' efforts.”