RARELY has a Pinnington Cup grand final seen so many quality batsmen do battle but CYMS captain Darryl Thompson believes his diverse bowling attack can lead the Cougars to grand final glory.
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CYMS, the second grade minor premiers, will feature two of the competition's leading run-scorers in Dave McAlister and Jaspal Bansal in the decider at No. 2 Oval while grand final opponents RSL-Colts are led by Brad Cox.
Those are just three of the talented batsmen on show this weekend but Thompson feels the balance between youth and experience in his side as well his bowling attack can prove the difference.
While losing leading wicket-taker Brian Carroll to injury midway through the season was a blow, the Cougars still possess the likes of Troy Tracey, Will Graham and Callan Braithwaite as well as leg-spinner Yogi Chawla, someone Thompson described as "the X-factor".
"Runs on the board will be important but I think we've got a bit more variety in our bowling lineup," he said.
"I think Yogi (Chawla) is the best spinner in second grade and Josh (leg spinner Josh Thompson) offers another dimension.
"We miss 'B.C' (Carroll) but we've got a good mix of youth and experience."
Cougars, who finished last season with the wooden spoon, last weekend watching on as RSL-Colts comfortably defeated Rugby in the semi-final to book their place in the decider.
A big part of Colts' form reversal since midway through the season has been the play of former representative star Cox, who so often plays the anchor role in the middle order before lifting the run rate late on.
Thompson added Aaron Morris was another big threat but CYMS' chances have been boosted with Morris moving up to first grade for the Whitney Cup final.
"Any team with Brad (Cox) in the lineup is a chance to finish well and they've got a lot of depth," Thompson said.
"There's good back up, they've got Tim Howarth too but they build around Bradley.
"But it's a grand final and we can't take anyone lightly, a big advantage for us is we bat deep and have a good team spirit."
Thompson, who is playing in his first Dubbo cricket final since he started playing 24 years ago, added a grand final victory for CYMS would be a huge boost for a club which last won silverware in 2010-11 with a Kelly Cup triumph.
"We had all five junior teams in the finals last week and and if we can show we're a second grade force then that will start to filter through to first grade," he said.
