The challenge commemorates Australia’s greatest ever cricketer and celebrates his connection to both Cootamundra and Bowral and the winning side is presented with a letter written in 1929 by the ‘Don’ himself to the editor of the Cootamundra Herald thanking the people for their help in the early stages of his career.

Cootamundra won the match back in 2015 but that was their only victory in a period running from 2002 until 2017 as Bowral continued their winning ways on Albert Park on Tuesday.

The toss was won by Cootamundra and the home team opted to bat, getting off to a solid start through Sam Sheahan and Max Tiernan.

Sheahan was eventually dismissed for nine while his replacement, Jack Caldwell, made a handy 13 before being dismissed himself.

The dismissal of Tiernan shortly after started a drastic middle order collapse for Cootamundra.

The home side was sitting at 3/64 before a devastating spell of Bowral bowling saw five wickets fall for just one run leaving Cootamundra at 8/65.

Lachlan Cook and Daniel Perry helped the tail wag but eventually the side was dismissed for 75.

After the innings break, Cootamundra could not have had a better start as Jack Caldwell took a wicket with just the fourth ball leaving Bowral at 1/1.

Nick Simons steamed in from the other end, bowling a maiden for his first over which heaped pressure on the visitors.

That pressure proved too much as Caldwell struck again in his second over putting Bowral in the precarious position of 2/5.

After the shocking start, Bowral began to settle and runs started to flow. 

The Cootamundra bowlers could do little to stop the opposition batsmen and only one more wicket fell before the away team reached the required total. 

While the Cootamundra team was disappointed, they remain optimistic about future clashes.

The match is advertised as an under 16s clash but many of the Cootamundra players are still in the under 14s age group.

Early exposure for young players to high-profile matches like this one bode well for the future of Cootamundra cricket.

The match served a dual purpose as raffle tickets were on sale for a Legacy raffle to be held at the T20 fundraising game on January 18.

First prize is a full cricket set, including bat, valued at $500, tickets are available at IGA on Tuesdays and Woolworths on Thursdays. 

All proceeds go to Legacy.