A TRAINING program designed by the Sydney Thunder Big Bash side was one show at Dubbo this week as local juniors ramped up their preparations for the coming season.
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'Camp Thunder' was run on Monday and Tuesday at the Bob Dowling ovals with up-and-comers learning to play like their Twenty20 stars.
Cricket NSW Far West development officer Cara Pocock was on hand both days to put the youngsters through their paces and
"It's warming up so it's definitely getting into cricket season, which is exciting, and it's good to see numbers are rising," she said.
Close to 40 kids were in action on Tuesday, being put through a number of skill-related drills in the morning before taking part in some games.
The whole program is designed by Thunder star Aiden Blizzard and as well as picking up valuable skills, the kids who took part also got to take home some Thunder merchandise.
"He (Blizzard) has designed it all on what he feels kids need to focus on these days and getting them to learn the basics of the game with fun too of course," Pocock said.
"There's a few talented kids and one boy who'd never played before and he's here slogging it around but there's kids from Dunedoo, Wellington and Narromine, so they're coming out of the woodwork and Dubbo is looking try to get teams from these small areas and it's good to see."
The Thunder have made a concerted effort to make regional NSW their own territory.
"The way they've situated it is trying to bring their franchise into regional areas and it starts with things like this, a regional-based holiday camp before the (BBL) season starts in December," she said.
The Thunder enjoyed a breakout season in the BBL last summer, making the finals for the very first time.
With their fanbase going, especially in country NSW, new recruit Shane Watson told the Cricket Australia website he couldn't wait to pull and the Thunder green and make a charge for the title.
"I'm incredibly excited about playing in the Big Bash," he said.
"The Thunder are a very exciting franchise and we're going to continue to get better.
"This year we've got an incredible list as well and there's no reason why we can't go all the way and win the BBL, because of the quality and calibre of the players we have."
