After several days of consideration, we have finally been able to nail down our best XI from the 2022/23 RSL Pinnington Cup.
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Newtown Ducks and Demons along with Macquarie and United each have two players in the side while the top four finishing RSL Colts White are surprisingly unrepresented.
Wooden spooners RSL Colts Red had one player make the side due to runs alone and several of the players listed below were impressive during the semi-finals over the weekend.
Let's have a look at the Daily Liberal's RSL Pinnington Cup Team of the Season.
Ian Marchant (Macquarie)
The competition's top run scorer was an easy choice for this list after making 540 runs for the season.
Opening the batting alongside his son, Harvey, most weeks Marchant got Macquarie off to a flying start with the bat.
Passing 50 on four occasions, the veteran's best knock came against the Newtown Ducks back in December last year when he made 112 from 122 deliveries.
Unfortunately, Marchant couldn't repeat his feat on the weekend as Macquarie was defeated by the Ducks in the major semi-final but they will get another chance this week against the Demons.
Jack Kempston (Newtown Ducks)
Another of the competition's best bats, Kempston's form was too hard to ignore when selecting this side.
With 444 runs to his name in the regular season, Kempston was dynamic at the top of the order, often attacking from ball one to put bowlers on the back foot early.
Part of the minor premiership-winning Ducks, Kempston made a quickfire 21 on Saturday as the Newtown side defeated Macquarie quite comfortably to advance straight through to the grand final.
Asher Azam (Newtown United)
A quiet achiever, Azam had a brilliant year for United with the bat especially, which led the opener to representative honours.
Azam fired for United, passing 50 four times with a top score of 62 which came against Narromine before going on to represent Dubbo in both the Brewery Shield and Western Zone Cup.
He may have opened for United throughout the whole season but we managed to find Azam a spot at number three in this side to keep the aggression going.
Isaac Heath (Newtown Demons)
Whether it was with bat or ball, Heath was exceptional this season.
The all-rounder batted a number three for the majority of the season, making 374 runs at an average of 62 in just 11 games.
When it came to bowling, Heath was no slouch either, taking 15 wickets at an average of just 10.53.
Before moving away, Heath was arguably one of the Demons' best players each week and was a big reason why the side defeated RSL Colts White on the weekend to keep their season alive.
Josh Smith (RSL Colts Red)
His side may have struggled for the majority of the season but Smith certainly deserves his spot in this team.
The swashbuckling batter often leads the way for his side, making solid scores against almost every side in the competition.
With 411 runs to his name at an average of just under 38, Smith's best innings came against South Dubbo when he made 93 not out.
Jason Green (Macquarie)
It probably wasn't the output the Dubbo cricketing legend would have liked this season but Green's return to second grade was still a positive one.
Playing alongside his sons Cody and Kyan, Green made just under 300 runs for the season while averaging nearly 40.
Three scores of 50 or more including a knock of 85 not out against the Demons headlined Green's season, a side he will face again this weekend.
In four games this season, Green also had a bowl, taking three wickets on two occasions.
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Shubham Sharma (Newtown United)
Another of the underrated stars of the season, 2022/23 was a coming-of-age campaign for Sharma.
Stepping back to second grade, Sharma made 250 runs at 42 including important half-centuries against Souths and Narromine.
A competent leg-spinner, Sharma also took 17 wickets for the season including a five-wicket haul against Rugby.
Jakke Gardiner (Newtown Ducks)
The Ducks' batting gets a lot of the praise and deservedly so, but Gardiner led the way with the ball for the group including on the weekend.
With 20 wickets to his name for the season, there were only two matches the off-spinner didn't take wickets in for the whole year.
A haul of 4/8 against Narromine was his season-best before taking 5/15 off 11 overs against Macquarie in the major semi-final on the weekend.
Andrew Cusack (CYMS)
Like Smith, Cusack was a shining light in a team who struggled for a lot of the season but he still managed to take wickets for fun.
The man nicknamed 'Snake' took 24 poles for the season and finished the campaign as the equal top wicket-taker in the grade alongside Saad Khan.
A handy contributor with the bat, Cusack almost single-handedly won several games for the CYMS Cougars in a tough season.
Dale O'Donnell (South Dubbo)
A player who never gives up, O'Donnell enjoyed another strong season in the RSL Pinnington Cup.
Playing for the improved South Dubbo Hornets, O'Donnell was the spearhead with the ball for a fairly inexperienced pace attack this season.
Taking 20 wickets at just under 12, O'Donnell's best figures were 4/27, something which he did twice against Narromine and Macquarie respectively.
Malachi Dutschke (Newtown Demons)
He was a mainstay in the early Team of the Week editions so it is only fitting Dutschke is on this list.
Dutschke finished the season as one the top wicket-takers in the grade, with 23 scalps to his name.
At an average of 14.7, the medium pacer was tricky to get away from and often got the Demons off to a strong start with the ball.
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