Talent aside, Central West coach Richie Venner says there’s one massive secret to the Orana Outlaws’ continued Cricket NSW Plan B Regional Bash success – familiarity.
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It’s something he wants to bring into the Wranglers’ set-up next summer, after he confirmed he’ll throw his hat in the ring to coach the side again.
The firepower in the Outlaws’ camp – think the likes of Jordan Moran, Mitch Bower, Ben Patterson and Jacob McNaught – is undeniable, but there’s no doubt the fact the group has played together for a number of seasons is a massive help too.
In reality, the Outlaws side is basically just Dubbo’s Western Zone Premier League team, while the likes of McNaught, Anthony Heraghty and Mick Curtale have all played plenty of cricket with the rest of the group for Western Zone too, despite being from Lachlan Cricket Council.
Although the Central West squad has always been Bathurst-heavy and the Barracudas have been successful at district level too, Venner said experience at this level, in this format, also plays a big role.
“They have all played together for a long time and that’s a massive help,” Venner said, using Orange’s glory years, when the Bluebaggers’ lineup was all but the same for seasons on end, as a comparison.
“Even the guys from Parkes and Cowra, they’ve played together for Western and a few have gone to Dubbo to play club cricket.
“It’s something I think we can bring into the Wranglers group.”
How?
By picking the Central West squad for next summer’s Plan B Regional Bash at the end of this season and bringing the group together to train over the winter, that’s how.
“We have (Orange District Cricket Association’s) Royal Hotel Cup which a lot of guys we’ve looked at play in, and there’s also the Mitchell (Cricket Council) Twenty20 (Cup) towards the back end of the season,” Venner said.
“Considering that should include all of the region’s best T20 players, there’s not really many better selection tools in my opinion.
“With those two competitions combined, I see no reason why the squad couldn’t be selected at the end of this summer.
“That way, the group could come together before next season. It wouldn’t be every weekend, obviously, but even once or twice together would make a difference.”
Of course, right now these are just Venner’s ideas. After all, he hasn’t been appointed yet.
“That’s obviously not my decision, but I certainly hope I can be involved again. I’ll definitely be putting my hand up to coach again,” he confirmed.
“Not getting to play this year was really disappointing for all of us.”
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
