All-rounders are worth their weight in gold
- Nick Guthrie
Last Saturday may have only been the first round and Twenty20 matches might not be a complete indication of how each team is shaping up, but the importance of all-rounders was clear to see.
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It's nothing new to say having a genuine all-rounder in your lineup is a gamechanger but nearly every team in the RSL Whitney Cup this season will rely on those who can deliver in both aspects of the game.
Mat Skinner shone with both bat and ball during Newtown's round one win and a huge part of the Tigers' hopes for this season rests on his shoulders. He's one of a number of players we'll touch on here who could easily open the batting and bowling this summer.
Have a look at Macquarie. For all their big names, is anyone as important for the Blues as Lachie Strachan and Myles Smith? The pair are Western Zone level players and can play various roles in both parts of the game. Strachan, especially, can grind out an innings or put on a show or sheer power while with the ball he can contain lineups with his smart changes of pace or steam in and get batters on the back foot. That's massive for the Blues this summer.
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Marty Jeffrey and Mitch Bower aren't pace bowlers but the spin they provide along with their top-order batting is vital for defending premiers Colts while in Ben Patterson, Brock Larance, and Ben Knaggs CYMS could theoretically have three of the top five all-rounders in the competition.
None of the CYMS trio really fired in round one and the Cougars failed to get a win. That's no coincidence.
Rugby fell well short against Macquarie last weekend. In that match, James O'Brien and Jacob Hill scored no runs between them and combined for just two wickets. I'm going to state the absolute obvious, but those two need to fire in a big way if Rugby is to be any chance of playing finals in 2021/22.
Apart from the obvious impact one player can have with both bat and ball, there's plenty of benefits to having all-rounders in your team.
Let's look at RSL-Colts. Because they have players like Bower, Jeffrey and Ben Taylor who can be some of the main batters and bowlers, it opens up a couple spots in the lineup. Last season it allowed the men in red to blood players like Riley Keen and Tyson Deebank.
There may have been some games where the teenage pair barely played a part, but they were able to be around the first grade team. They got to be part of a successful atmosphere and learn from some of the best players in the western area. Now the pair are ready to step up this season and take on major roles within the team. Speedster Keen, in particular, is one to watch this season and while he might be opening the bowling it's not an overwhelming role for him as he's been around the team plenty in recent times.
South Dubbo is lacking depth again this season and isn't expected to figure in the finals race. However, giving young players a chance is a big focus at the club this season and the likes of Ted Murray, Lockie Rummans, and Tom Byrnes are all expected to get plenty of chances with bat and ball and that can only be a good thing for their game moving forward.
Cup veterans continue to age like a fine wine
- Tom Barber
Most teams went into round one unsure on what to expect from their own performances with such a limited pre-season but was it really any surprise some of the more experienced players excelled last weekend?
RSL-Colts' Brad Cox is the perfect example, the man scores runs for fun and barely breaks a sweat doing it but his knock against one the best bowling attacks in the competition last week was brilliant. Throw in the likes of Ben Taylor, Mitch Bower, Jason Ryan, Chris Morton and Ben Semmler, the experienced figures at RSL Colts allow guys such as Marty Jeffrey and Charlie Kempston to go out there and just play.
With his side in trouble early, Cox dug-in against the likes of CYMS' Ben Patterson, Bailey Edmunds and Ben Knaggs to hit a crucial 50 not out which helped the side defend just 126. Speaking of CYMS, apart from Patterson and Ben O'Donnell (who was absent) the Cougars line-up is still relatively young.
Head across to Newtown's match against Souths, brother Mat and Steve Skinner have played a mountain of cricket together and most of that has come in first-grade. Saturday was the first time in recent memory neither Skinner has been captain of Newtown and both brother seemingly excelled without the added burden of captaincy.
Mat scored a typically aggressive 53 off 47 balls while Steve missed out with the bat only to make up for it with the ball. Steve took an economical 2/8 from his four overs while Mat claimed a remarkable 1/1 off two overs.
Whilst Rugby only managed 88 from their 20 overs last week, it should come as no surprise two of their highest scores came from Nathan Munro and Aidan Bennewith. Opening the batting, Munro looked composed hitting three fours and a six in his knock of 29 while Bennewith made the most of the final powerplay picking gaps to rotate the strike finishing 19 not out.
When speaking about experience Macquarie along with RSL Colts seem to have a ton of it. Myles Smith and Ben Strachan iced the game to finish not out on 25 and 13 respectively, while the side also has Blake Smith, Ricky Medway, Justin Gavin, Ed Haylock and Jason Green (who did not play).
While they missed out last weekend, I feel Souths pair Greg Rummans and Adam Wells could be in for a really big match this week against Macquarie.
QUICK SINGLES: What to keep an eye on this weekend
Ducks set for debut
The Newtown Ducks will make their RSL Pinnington Cup debut on Saturday after enjoying a round one bye. The side is made-up largely by players from the Wood Ducks' Twenty20 side that played in the Wellington competition in recent years, the team will be led by Michael Kempston. Kempston is a hugely experienced campaigner and was once one of the very best bats in Dubbo and with the Ducks he's set to play alongside sons Harry and Jack.
The Ducks have added Matt Naden, Troy Tracey, and Dalton Medcalf - all Dubbo cricket regulars at one time or another - and have the makings of a team that might surprise a few people this season.
Will the runs pile up again?
Across the three grades last weekend there was four centuries scored and only one five-wicket haul. All those individual achievements came in the RSL Kelly Cup third grade competition, as well.
The Newtown Tigers enjoyed round one more than most as Adam Stone and Andrew Walden made centuries during a 240-run opening stand against an undermanned CYMS White.
After not as much winter sport on turf fields during the winter due to COVID cancellations, there was real interest around how the pitches would perform. Two of the four hundreds last week were made on turf and we might get more of an idea if things are favouring the bat or ball on Saturday.
Top three test
The general consensus around the RSL Whitney Cup heading into this season was RSL-Colts, CYMS, and Macquarie are the ones to beat.
Colts edged out CYMS in round one while Macquarie cruised past Rugby.
On Saturday, the "big three" will take on the three less-favoured teams and we'll get our first indication whether there is any gap between the first grade sides this season.
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