Orange will have the chance to showcase the best of the state’s young cricketers over the next fortnight, and we’re putting on a cracking show for them.
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There’ll be 92 games of cricket played over those 10 days, and each and every one of them will be on turf.
That’s a big deal for juniors, and they absolutely love it.
Hopefully those city guys will get rolled by country – in the nicest possible way.
- Dave Cumming
We in Orange take for granted that the top two grades play on turf, but for many of the under-13s, this will be the first time they play on turf, and for some of the under-15s it’ll be the first time since they were last in Orange.
The atmosphere is fantastic, and walking around the grounds – especially the marquee Twenty20 game on the Tuesday night – is as welcoming as an environment as you’ll find in junior carnivals.
Speaking of – that Twenty20 is a cracker.
Held every year since 2013, this year it’s being spiced up – instead of randomly dividing players into the two teams, this year the clash with be a City vs Country spectacular, much to the delight of Orange District Junior Cricket Association president Dave Cumming.
“That’ll be a bit of fun, we’ve talked about it for a while and this year we’ve brought it in and it’s worked quite well,” he said.
“It’s always been a lot of fun but this year we’ll get some trophies and make it that little bit more competitive.”
The blue and maroon shirts will be complete with logos which Cumming said will make it look “a bit more professional” than the yellow and blue teams of the past.
Some of the older Orange juniors will manage the sides, creating a bit of a friendly rivalry and a home-town connection to the games, which will be held on the Tuesdays of each week.
But the bush vs country game will also add more connection than supporting your own players, and it’s immediately piqued Cumming’s interest.
“Hopefully those city guys will get rolled by country – in the nicest possible way,” he said on Monday laughing.
That country support applies across the board for Cumming, with plenty of country sides – Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, South Coast and more – all having the chance to strut their stuff against the Sydney teams.
“It’d be good to see the country teams get up, that’s where our support lies,” Cumming said.
However, he acknowledges the metro sides will be tough to top in giving predictions for the under-13s portion of the tournament.
“Across the board, some of the Sydney teams are hard, in the past Parramatta, Blacktown, ACT and Mitchell have always been some of the stronger teams,” he said.
“South Coast have always been an unpredictable team, sometimes they bring a young team and build them up to become quite competitive, I don't know a lot about the [new] East Sydney teams.”
No matter which way you look at it, having nearly 200 players plus coaches, friends and family in Orange for each week is a boon for cricket, a boon for Orange and – most importantly – a boon for the players.
Bring it on.
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