It’s a cliche term overused time and time again in cricket circles.

But Centrals skipper Adam Shepherd can’t avoid the word when speaking of his team’s performance, or lack thereof.

At the halfway point of the Orange District Cricket Association first grade competition, Centrals are languishing in fifth position with one solitary win.

“We need to be play consistent cricket,” Shepherd explained.

“Consistency is key. We finished the first half of the season with a good game against City, we almost got home. Hopefully we can come back ready to perform.”

The red and blacks’ only win came over Waratahs in round three.

Shepherd highlighted player unavailability as the problem.

“We’re going to have the same problem in the back half of the year,” he explained.

“People will be unavailable every second week due to work, I’m one of them, although I don’t think it’s going to be as bad as it was [in the first 10 rounds].”

Shepherd put a positive spin on the situation, though.

“Two-day cricket will suit us more,” he said.

“It will give those guys who might not get a chance if we had a full side some good time in the middle. Guys won’t have to go hell for leather, they can set themselves for the day. And bowling wise, we’ve got three good quicks to build around.”

The former Western Zone batsman said aggression was also key in 2014.

“Fourth is still our goal, we want to play semi-finals cricket,” Shepherd said.

“We need to win two or three of our first few games. We’ve got a big game against Kinross this week, and to do that we need to be aggressive.”

Shepherd credited his players, particularly vice-captain Jake Pauletto.

“Jakey has led the boys around really well,” he said.

“He’s really come of age this year as a leader, and he’s doing all the right things. The boys are still keen.

“If we can finish fourth I think a lot of teams will be very wary of us.”