An undermanned Orange CYMS T20 side will run out onto Wade Park on Wednesday night as the mid-week fixture plays havoc with player availability.
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Long-time skipper Hamish Finlayson and marquee player Mick Delaney are both missing with injury, and a host of other players including speedster Peter Gott and all-rounder Ben Chiarella are tied up with work commitments.
Recruit Joel Crosswell has been thrown the keys and will sit in the captain’s seat for the game with Matt Baker as vice.
He said he was looking forward to the challenge.
“It’s been a long time since I skippered a side… and I haven’t captained in a T20 before,” he said.
However, he said he wasn’t daunted by CYMS’ list of unavailable players.
“We’ve got a lot of depth in batting anyway… and this is a good batting line up for T20,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys going up and down from first and second grade so I’m positive we’ll be able to do the job.”
“We’ll mix it up a bit with the bowling and take it from there.”
CYMS has a crushing nine wicket win over Kinross in their first Royal Hotel Cup game a few weeks ago after Mitch Winslade and Peter Gott took the last nine wickets for just 29 runs to roll the students for 81.
Ben McApline then smashed the ball all over the park for a quickfire 44 to put the result beyond doubt.
However, Crosswell knows it won’t be as easy this time.
They will be missing Gott, but Crosswell is hoping to make use of Ed Wright’s spin, and is also eager to see Mitch Winslade, who is averaging 73 in first grade cricket.
“It’ll be great to see Mitchy continue on that sort of form he’s shown,” he said.
Oberon has had just the one win from four starts in the Bathurst competition and also had their first Royal Hotel Cup game washed out.
Crosswell is playing his first season in Orange after moving from Perth and has already made an impression to have been given the reigns.
He’s found he’s liked cricket in Orange.
“It’s good, I really enjoy it, because it’s a good club and they’ve been very welcoming, even though I haven’t played as much as I would have liked due to work,” he said.
Crosswell has played first grade in the WACA competition for the past few years after a stint in Sydney, predominately as a bowler.
“I’m not as quick as I used to be, but I was once not terrible,” he laughs.
However, he’s hoping to get amongst the runs with the bat in Orange.
CYMS will take on Oberon at Wade Park on Wednesday night at 6.30pm.