However, the dominos did not fall Yass’s way on the day, and they suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of a rampant opposition. 

The O’Farrell Cup is a longstanding competition within the Riverina, having run since 1925, it is unique in that every match features the current holder of the trophy until they are defeated, at which point the incumbent champions will continue to play each match against their challengers. 

Yass’s match against Leeton during the 2017/18 season was the first time that it had competed for the O’Farrell Cup in 15 years, and ended with a torturously close six-run loss. 

This year, the result was somewhat more decisive as Yass won the toss and batted first on an oddly dark Bunton Park wicket. 

Despite the pitch’s strange appearance, it played quite well according to Yass District Cricket Association (YDCA) president Paul Barnes. 

“[It wasn’t] too bad, it was a little bit low,” Barnes said. 

“It’s a very different-looking wicket than what we’re used to. The actual wicket itself was very dark, [but] it played fine. There was certainly a lot more runs in it than what we scored.” 

After losing early wickets in clumps, Yass slumped to 3-48, and possibly would have fallen more quickly if it weren’t for a staunch partnership between Allan Neill and Nick Pollack. 

However, with the score at 6-122, the Yabbies’ tail capitulated and lost their last four wickets for five runs, to set Albury a total of 128 for victory. 

Not even torrential rainfall could prevent Albury from completing its chase, which it did in the 24^th over with eight wickets to spare. 

The loss brings to an end a mixed season of representative cricket for Yass, however Barnes said that the association is now looking to the future. 

“I think there’s going to be a changing of the guard next year for the rep team,” he said. 

“There’s a couple of guys that will probably step away from rep cricket a little bit, and I think our rep calendar next year will look quite different because we’ll probably look to play against the associations in our new zone. 

“So we’ll look to be in the Burns Cup next year, which will be against Goulburn, Monaro, and the Far South Coast.” 

He added that players like Dave Field, Nick Pollack, and Craig Irwin have formed the backbone of the representative teams over the last five years, and said that the association will look towards some younger players to start stepping up more consistently.