The Dubbo District Cricket Association (DDCA) is hopeful of fielding three senior representative sides next season in a bid to further improve the standard of play in the region.
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Western Zone is set to implement a Western Zone Cup this season, a second-XI representative competition to run alongside the Western Zone Premier League.
Dubbo, Bathurst, Orange and Parkes will feature in the Premier League while the second sides from the three major western centres and potentially Cowra will contest the Cup.
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The DDCA will put forward its team which previously contested the Brewery Shield, a small-town competition for sides in the Macquarie Valley association, for the Western Zone Cup.
Dubbo's Brewery Shield approach was modified last season to ensure the squad act as a genuine second XI, with the association's most promising young players working alongside some former representative stars and experienced campaigners.
Dubbo defeated Narromine in the Brewery Shield grand final last season but it then lost to Bathurst in the inaugural Western Zone Plate.
Bathurst also defeated Dubbo in the Western Zone Premier League final last summer.
The DDCA is currently weighing up whether to still be involved again in the Brewery Shield in 2022/23 but president Ben Semmler is in favour of a third side to allow more players to gain representative experience.
"The idea is to play strong competition between Dubbo, Orange and Bathurst and try to get the interest up a bit and keep the skill-level up," he said of the representative changes.
"We'll look to try and put a Brewery Shield team in but it will depend on numbers so we're trying to organise representative numbers early and organise our squad.
"The idea is to get some younger players an opportunity a bit earlier than they might have otherwise got.
"I would expect most of the junior players who are a bit more advanced to feature in the top two teams but there's an opportunity for other players who still want to put their hand up and be noticed.
"We just don't know yet though."
One of the major challenges for a potential Brewery Shield side would be leadership.
Given the majority of the side would be young players and those previously involved in helping run representative sides would be with the other two sides, there would need to be a committed group to ensure the team is organised each and every week.
Whether Dubbo fields a Brewery Shield side or not, Semmler said having a team in the Western Zone Cup is a positive.
"It's definitely a good thing for the standard of rep cricket out here," he said.
"It allows some of those older players to take a step back to where it's not quite as serious but they can bring the kids through.
"We're hopeful it will bring some of the older players into the mix and just generally get more people wanting to play rep cricket again."
The addition of a new competition adds to what Semmler is expecting to be a "jam-packed season".
The bulk of the Premier League and the Cup competitions are expected to be played early in the season to ensure selectors have the best chances of choosing representative sides for this season's Country Championships and Plan B Regional Bash.
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Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
