Dubbo, Narromine and Wellington are hosting the NSW Youth Championships Southern Pool

Across the state, several Cricket NSW carnivals are in action with the NSW Youth State Championships Southern Pool matches being held in Dubbo for the under 13s, 14s and 15s age groups.

Beginning on Monday, matches were played at Narromine, Wellington and Dubbo with three fixtures taking place under lights at Victoria Park.

Cricket NSW Competitions Officer Sean Mantle said the week before Christmas is always a busy time for the organisation, with tournaments taking place across the state.

"We've got a few carnivals running at the same time, there are some in Armidale, Grafton, Raymond Terrance as well as here in Dubbo along with Narromine and Wellington," he said.

Monday's action began with four matches at Lady Cutler while one took place at Pavans Oval and Mantle couldn't have had more praise for the facilities in Dubbo.

"The facilities here at Dubbo are outstanding as well as those in Narromine and Wellington but particularly in Dubbo there is a great set-up for these carnivals," he said.

"Having all the four or five grounds nearby here (Lady Cutler) then the same at Victoria Park.

"Getting the opportunity to play some games under lights as well is great for the kids but the weather is perfect, especially after the last few years with COVID-19."

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Teams will play five matches across four days this week before a winner is decided on points, with no final being held.

While he praised Dubbo's facilities, Mantle also hopes some of the junior talents get their opportunity to shine across the week and push for higher honours.

"A lot of young and upcoming stars, there are a few people here for other competitions where they will pick squads for state challenges and things like that," he said.

"There is a lot of good talent across the state, there should be some good cricket across the week."

Last year's competition was held just weeks before another COVID-19 lockdown was enforced and Mantle confessed it is nice to have things return to normal for the time being.

"I think it more two seasons ago where we had to delay certain carnivals, I'm not 100 per cent sure this was one of them," he said.

"There were a few we had to delay or postpone to a different time, some carnivals got cut short, and some couldn't travel due to lockdowns.

"Now that all of that is done, it's good to get back to normal and get out and about."

Western Plains Outlaws under 13s, 14s and 15s all took on the ACT Barons in their opening fixtures.

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