Ahead of the Southern NSW Country Championships, Western Zone coach and selector Matt Crawely said his side’s hopes hinge on Friday’s contest against hosts Southern/ACT.
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Western Zone has drawn last year’s Southern Pool champions first up, the game Crawley labels as the one that “sets up the weekend”.
“They got us last year but we’ll be better for that and wiser from the experience,” Matt Crawley said.
“They’re a strong side made up of predominantly ACT players that come from a strong cricketing background.”
In his sixth year as a part of the Western Zone set up, Crawley is confident the side can go one better than last year and qualify for the Country decider.
He says the players have a better understanding of their role than they did last season.
Zone captain, and Cowra skipper, Nick Berry has a full season under his belt as a cricketer in the zone, while a number of young members of the squad have developed and improved such as Cowra speedster Jacob McNaught, Ryan Peacock and Marty Jeffrey.
“Nick’s definitely got a better grasp of what’s happening in terms of the three-day carnival format, even though he’s played a lot of representative cricket,” Crawley said.
“We’re a bit more settled compared to 12 months ago.”
Dubbo is heavily represented in the squad, with five of the Zone players plying their trade in the Whitney Cup.
Incumbent NSW Country batsmen Mitch Bower and Jordan Moran will be key again while Greg Buckley and Marty Jeffrey provide two spinning all-rounders.
Souths all-rounder Will Lindsay is also expected to to take the new ball for Crawley’s side.
Crawley confirmed McNaught will take the new ball, while Nick Berry has been promoted to the top of the order to cover the loss of Parkes opener Anthony Heraghty, who suffered a hand-injury in last Sunday’s McDonald’s Country Cup match at Bathurst.
Former Dubbo player Jacob Harvey, now based at Parks, comes into the 12-player squad as a replacement for Heraghty, while Bathurst paceman Matt Stephen comes in for the injured Aaron Seymour completing two late changes.
“You don’t like losing players but we have two very capable replacements. Matt Stephen was on the fringe, if we took 13 he was probably in. He’s bowled particularly well.
“Jacob Harvey comes in for Anthony but he’ll probably bat in the middle to lower order. He has done well with the opportunities he’s had this summer,” Crawley said.
Crawley was reluctant to identify a key player for Western Zone, saying each player has an important part to play during the three-day competition at Shellharbour.
“The most success comes when everyone contributes,” Crawley said. “I think we’ll be very competitive.”
Western play Southern ACT at Geoff Shaw Oval, Oak Flats this Friday from 10am.
On Saturday the Zone take on Riverina at Oakleigh Park, Warilla before returning to Oak Flats for Sunday’s clash with Illawarra.
WESTERN: Nick Berry ©, Jordan Moran, Will Lindsay, Jacob McNaught, Matt Stephen, Mitch Bower, Greg Buckley, Marty Jeffrey, Josh Toole, Ryan Peacock, Jacob Harvey, Tim Berry.
