Newly-appointed Orange skipper Angus Cumming is certain his side is capable of opening its Mitchell Cricket Council Colts campaign with a win over Mudgee at Wade Park on Sunday, for a few reasons.
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But it’s mainly because he doesn’t think there’ll be any real surprises hiding under a maroon cap this weekend.
He said he’s expecting Mudgee’s side to be very similar to the outfit Orange’s open squad thumped by six wickets, in just over three hours, in last month’s third round of the President’s Cup.
“They were young in that game, so I’m expecting a pretty similar sort of side and I think the main dangers will be the Hearns, Lance and Donald,” Cumming said, heaping praise on his former Kinross teammates.
“Obviously Lance is a very handy bowler so there’s no doubt he’ll be bowling 10 overs and will probably be the main danger with the ball, while I’d probably say they’ll be looking to Donald to score the bulk of their runs.
“They’re good cricketers, but I think if we can get Donald and early and not let Lance settle into his work, that’ll put us in a pretty good spot.”
The tweaker also highlighted the fact the likes of Kinross skipper Fletcher Rose, Centrals hard-hitter Charlie Mortimer and Cavaliers spearhead Harry Pearce all have experience on the open representative stage as another positive for the Baby Bluebaggers.
“That will help, not just because it’s playing a higher level but also just being around those more experienced guys, like (Orange skipper) Daryl Kennewell, you learn a lot from those guys,” Cumming said.
That’s exactly what the powers that be were hoping for when they picked those youngsters too, Orange selector Richie Venner said.
“We blooded a lot of these younger guys in the President’s Cup and Western Zone Premier League, with an eye on these colts games,” Venner said.
It is a pretty strong bowling team, I don’t think we’ll have any issues taking wickets.
- Orange skipper Angus Cumming
“A lot of them have done well too, so hopefully that experience can make a difference for them.”
There’s an obvious strength in the Baby Bluebaggers’ bowling attack, Cumming said, which isn’t entirely unexpected considering the Orange District Cricket Association season so far.
Combined with the skipper, Pearce and Rose, the likes of CYMS’ Mitch Winslade and Kinross’ Sam Ridley form an enviable frontline attack.
“It is a pretty strong bowling team, I don’t think we’ll have any issues taking wickets,” Cumming said.
“We’ll probably have to work a bit harder for our runs, but I’m pretty confident we can do that.
“There’s the obvious guys like Fletcher and Harry we’ll look to to lead the way, but someone like (Kinross’) Tom Geyer should do well too.
“He’s been in really good form with the bat in club cricket, so I’m hoping he can bring that into these games too.
“Then the younger guys like (Centrals’) Benny Winslade and (Cavaliers’) Hudson Izzard, we want them to be playing their roles and they’ll definitely have the chance to contribute too.”
Sunday’s clash kicks off at 10am, at Wade Park.
- ORANGE: Angus Cumming ©, Fletcher Rose, Tom Geyer, Hamish McIntyre (wk), Sam Ridley (Kinross), Joey Kay (Orange City), Ben Winslade, Charlie Mortimer (Centrals), Harry Pearce, Hudson Izzard, Bailey Ferguson (Cavaliers), Mitch Winslade (CYMS)