The first half of Orange District Cricket Association’s 2018-19 Royal Hotel Cup has brought highs and lows, as it always does, from Centrals’ capitulation to St Pat’s Old Boys’ debut success and Cavaliers’ utter dominance.
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This summer’s contenders and also-rans appear to have emerged and with the competition resuming on Friday night, we’ve decided to go through it with a fine-toothed comb and grade each team’s performance so far.
POOL A
ST PAT’S OLD BOYS: A
They’re topping pool A in their debut season, no mean feat, although there is a sense they’ve not really been challenged yet. That will come on Friday night against Lithgow though.
Their two wins came against a hapless Centrals in round one, who they rolled for just 33 thanks to 6-10 from Ethan Ivory, and against the also-winless Kinross, with Nic Broes belting 64 in that one.
That said, you can only beat the team in front of you, and the Saints have done that emphatically.
ORANGE CITY: A-
A similar story here, Orange City are unbeaten but they’ve also taken down Centrals and Kinross, having no trouble against either side.
Arguably the best bowling attack in the competition with quicks Ed Morrish, Brett Causer and Harry McGregor vying for the new ball, while Shaun Grenfell, Shaun Kirby, Josh Cheney and Blake Weymouth can take the pace off it – for the record, Western Zone quick Jackson Coote will slot back in when he’s fit too.
What hasn’t really been tested is the Warriors’ batting, Dave Boundy’s 91 not out against Centrals made sure there was no pressure on anyone else and they only chased 91 for victory against the students.
LITHGOW: B+
This one was tough, they’re unbeaten and have the best net run rate in the tournament, but they’ve only played one game so the Lightning are still an unknown.
They thumped Kinross in that game, chasing the students’ 8-106 in less than 10 overs. Friday night’s clash against St Pat’s Old Boys should be a good gauge as to whether last summer’s runners-up will genuinely contend again.
CENTRALS: F
Three games for two losses and a washout draw, and in one of those defeats they were rolled for just 33. Although they weren’t far off the mark in the other loss, Centrals have failed the Twenty20 test again this summer.
KINROSS: F
Like Centrals the students are winless, but they’ve not been gifted a point by rain and as such remain on the bottom of the pool. There’s plenty of ability in this side, the youngsters are enthusiastic and trying, but the fact is they’ve been severely outclassed in this format so far.
POOL B
CAVALIERS: A+
Ladles and jellyspoons, your title favourites.
Cavaliers are three from three and, led by the likes of skipper Matt Corben, heavy-hitter Josh Doherty and all-rounder Ryan Kurtz, they’ve handled everything thrown at them with aplomb.
But we think there’s still room for improvement here, especially if marquee Wayne Sellers and boom recruit Mitch Black fire at some stage too.
They’ve been the best side in the competition so far, and we’re expecting that to continue.
CYMS: B
In a theme familiar to anyone following the Royal Hotel Cup - or indeed Australian cricket anywhere - CYMS have a ripping bowling attack, but not as much in the sheds batting-wise.
Chock-full of experienced bowlers like the legendary Al Dhatt with Chris Novak, Hugh Le Lievre and Eddie Wright waiting in the wings, there’s no doubt they can keep sides below 120.
However, unless they find someone to consistently stand up with the bat they might not be able to chase that - their two scores are 9-139 and 80.
CENTENNIALS: C-
They have the best side on paper with the likes of Mick Curtale, Ryan Gurney, Josh Toole and Dallas Tilley in the ranks, but the defending returning champions haven’t replicated their title-winning form from 2018-19, winning just one of their three games.
With one game left their net run rate needs a substantial boost and their lack of form is surprising to us considering we had them pegged as pre-competition favourites, but it looks likely they’ll miss the finals altogether.
They get a low pass mark based on their one victory and the fact they are still, technically, in contention.
BATHURST CITY: D
We found it hard to be too harsh on Redbacks because, like many other years, they really seem to have been on Mother Nature’s bad side, with rain not doing them any favours.
Although they weren’t too far away against Cavaliers they’ve not seriously looked like winning the two games they’ve played but we can’t fail a side that, like Centennials, is technically still a mathematical chance to play finals cricket… even though it’d take a minor miracle for that to happen.
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Max Stainkamph
Max joined the CWD in September 2017, leaving the big smoke of Melbourne to come to Orange, where he stayed until 2020.
Max joined the CWD in September 2017, leaving the big smoke of Melbourne to come to Orange, where he stayed until 2020.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
