IF Orange are any chance of springing an unlikely SCG Cup upset tomorrow they're going to have to defeat a Dubbo side captain Tim Cox describes as the strongest he has ever been a part of.
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All seven of Dubbo's Western Zone representatives will be in action tomorrow and if that was not enough the side will also feature the hugely experienced Jason Ryan, destructive all-rounder Ben Strachan and the returning Englishman Greg Buckley.
Add to that two of the form batsmen of this season's Whitney Cup, Paul Hulthen and Asher Robins, and it creates one of the most formidable cricket teams this side of the Blue Mountains.
"It's great on paper and I hate to use the old clich but matches aren't won on paper," Cox said.
"But most of the talent from the last few years is there and we certainly cover all bases so it's as strong as I've seen since I've been involved and that's what you want, your best cricketers committing to representative cricket."
Buckley's return to the side has raised some eyebrows with the former Whitney Cup winner returning to club side Colts today for the first time since early 2013.
But with Dubbo having two premier sides in action today, with the SCG Shield game against Mudgee at Lady Cutler 2, Cox said his inclusion allowed the spread of talent across both sides.
"It was a bit tough but I think we need balance with two games on one day and he gives us that and gives us two strong teams," he said.
While tomorrow's match looks lopsided on paper Cox fully expects his side, boosted by a new sponsorship deal with Specsavers, to be tested by Orange and added his team would respect tomorrow's opponents.
"I was impressed with their bowler that made the Zone side, Curtis Free, he sends them through well and moves the ball. They probably don't have the depth but they've got some very talented cricketers so we've just got to capitalise on any opportunity and not let them get on top," he said.
"They always fight really well, we've had some great battles in recent years."
The statewide SCG Cup competition has become a real focus for the Dubbo side in recent years and Cox wants his side to push on and make a run deep into this season's finals after going down to Queanbeyan in the first match of the finals last season.
"Dubbo is a smaller place really when compared with others in the SCG Cup and this is the only competition where we can show ourselves off," he said.
"We want to make the finals and go really well and that gives us great representation and shows off the talent we've got out here."
Tomorrow's match at Lady Cutler 1 starts at 10am.
o DUBBO: Tim Cox (c), Tim Berry, Mitch Bower, Greg Buckley, Paul Hulthen, Ryan Medley, Jordan Moran, Chris Morton, Ben Patterson, Asher Robins, Jason Ryan, Ben Strachan.