FORMER Orange cricketing gun Stuart Webster believes there’s some serious potential coming through the Western Zone ranks this season.
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And if there’s a man who knows talent, it’s Webster.
A former right-hand batsman with Methodists (a club now known as Centrals), Orange, Country, Western Suburbs, ACT and NSW, Webster is a past coach of the Zone’s under 17s side and after watching Western take on Penrith yesterday at Riawena Oval, says the future is bright in the central west region.
“I’ve had a lot of years (in the Western Zone set up) but sort of dropped out a bit now ... I think there’s some potentially good players here,” Webster said, his name on the trophy both sides played for yesterday at Riawena Oval.
A representative cricketer with Orange, Webster left in 1968 to further his cricket in Canberra with the ACT Country Cricket program.
“There was a chance there,” the 68-year-old continued.
“It all worked out pretty well. I ended up playing against New Zealand, did alright in ACT cricket, and got picked in the Country side, I took 7 for 20-odd and we beat City that day. We beat them easy.
“I then got a call from Wests to play grade cricket in Sydney.”
In Webster’s first year of grade cricket in Sydney, Wests made the grand final and played St George.
Perthville-born Brian Booth was in that St George team that year.
As fate would have it, just a day after Webster returned to Orange to present the winners of yesterday’s under 17s clash with the Stuart Webster Trophy, Booth will do exactly the same with the Brian Booth Trophy after the Western Zone and St George Green Shield match at Riawena Oval.
Now living in Dubbo, Webster said after playing first grade in Orange and then captaining the district side as a 20-year-old, playing in “the pinnacle” Grinstead Cricket remained one of his fondest memories with the bat in the region.
“Parkes were extremely strong; old heads, hard as nails ... nothing unfair, but if you wanted to score runs you had to earn it. Grenfell were tough and had some good players, Cowra were the same,” he said.
“I look back on Grinstead cricket, apart from Orange cricket, as some of the best cricket available.”
And, for Webster, there were two players who stood out from Orange in the early 1960s.
“It was a good strong comp ... Geoff Pratten and Jack Moroney, who were pretty big influences for me here,” he said.
“Jack Moroney, he just put the runs together like you wouldn’t believe. He was terrific.”