At the start of the 2019-20 season, the first of a combined Bathurst and Orange competition in over a decade, everyone was excited by the unknown which lay ahead.
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Would the Bathurst sides - with the representative outfit the best in the region - prove too strong for the Orange clubs? Would Kinross win a game? Could Orange City make it three titles in a row?
The answer to the last question ended up being "yes", but not in the way anyone could have possibly foreseen as the Warriors were handed the BOIDC title with - to quote Homer Simpson - "the two sweetest words in the English language: de fault".
That word turned out to not be sweet for anyone - not for Cavaliers, who lost a nail-biting major semi-final despite finishing the year on top, not for St Pat's Old Boys, who were also in with a crack, and not even for eventual winners Orange City.
We've already run through the best batting and bowling performances of the year, but this side is one which can stand up week in, week out.
Considering BOIDC sides could pick 12 and have one non-batting player, I've done the same - namely because I can't for the life of me squeeze someone out of the 12 I've picked here.
So without any further ado, we'll get onto it.
1 - Bailey Brien - St Pat's Old Boys (431 runs at 47.89)
He was used a few times down the order early in the season, but with two tons and two 50s from his 10 games in 2019-20 is absolutely locked in as opener.
Brien was brilliant throughout the year for St Pat's, with a 105 in round five and an unbeaten 137 in the final round before finals, with the youngster eating up runs in the same way Brett Lee chows down Weet-Bix.
2 - Henry Shoemark - City Colts (389 runs at 35.36)
Shoemark very narrowly edges out Kinross and Orange City young openers Will Luelf and Blake Weymouth for the right to partner Brien at the top of the order. Luelf in particular only scores five less runs than Shoemark (albeit with one more innings) and was the rock in an otherwise tumultuous year for the students.
However Shoemark's year, with three 50s and a 104 as the top score, proved he had the mettle to open for this side, and his success was mirrored for the Blue Bulls and for Bathurst in the WZPL.
3 - Joey Coughlan - Bathurst City (446 runs at 49.56)
The Bathurst City skipper finished third on the BOIDC runs tally for the season, and also managed to get through his first season of the Royal Hotel Cup without being caught on camera being clean bowled.
Whatever he's done to his technique to avoid being clean up middle skittle it's worked, with Coughlan ending the year with 446 runs and the three half centuries and slots in at number three.
We know he spent the year opening the batting for his side - and with his opening three digs yielding 130, 77 and 58 it obviously worked - but there are just too many openers scoring big tallies through the year, with four openers finishing in the top eight.
4 - Matt Corben (wk) - Cavaliers (504 runs at 72, 13 catches and one stumping)
I mean he just picks himself, doesn't he? A team of the year simply wouldn't be complete without the Cavaliers skipper, who put together one of the best opening to a season we've seen in some time.
Corben had a whopping 458 runs by the halfway point of the year, with his opening four scores of the season an 89, 176, 92 and 101.
While he added less than 50 runs in the back half of the season, Corben still finished the year averaging 72 - and was also comfortably the best gloveman in the region, taking the most catches of anyone behind the stumps. Lock him in, Eddie.
5 - Bailey Ferguson - Cavaliers (456 rus at 76)
Corben's partner-in-crime helped Cavaliers complete the one-two punch at the top of the BOIDC runs tally in 2019-20, with the youngster hitting a remarkable 456 runs for the season.
Ferguson actually averaged more than his captain, with 76 runs coming each time he was dismissed, and where Corben started the year on fire and dropped off, Ferguson came home like a freight train.
Two of his final three BOIDC knocks for the year were 135 and 100, which adding to his 71 and 95 from early in the season proved exceptional. Proved he can bat anywhere, too - opening for the side in the final few weeks while also batting at three and four.
6 - Fletcher Rose - Centrals (430 runs at 71.76)
Safe to say Centrals didn't have the greatest season with willow in hand, but without Fletcher Rose it would have been so, so much worse.
Rose had the third-best BOIDC batting average for the season, and racked up 430 runs in just seven innings, which while was the same number as Ferguson was less than everyone else in the top 25.
His season was cut short by moving away from uni, but for both Centrals and our sake we hope he's back in a hurry over summer wielding the willow at Wade Park again.
7 - Conner Slattery - St Pat's Old Boys (416 runs at 69.33, 14 wickets at 25.14)
Slattery is a gun in any format of the game, and while he makes the most headlines in the shorter formats, 2019-20 proved he could lend his talents to the longer form with aplomb, most notably with his destructive 152 not out this year.
Neck-and-neck call between him and our number eight as to if you value him as the first-picked all-rounder from the BOIDC, but if you're after a run-scoring all-rounder who can not only hold up an end, but take wickets with more than handy spinners, Slattery is your man.
It almost feels like a crime to not bat him further up the order.
8 - Hugh Le Lievre - CYMS (329 runs at 54.83, 23 wickets at 14.39)
Who would you pick between Slattery and Le Lievre? Gosh it's a tough call, and any side is immeasurably better with one of them in the side, let alone both, but where Slattery was dominant with bat and merely "rather good" with ball in hand, Le Lievre flipped it on his head.
He was destructive with ball in hand for CYMS, often partnering with brother Angus to rip through orders, and had the best average of any bowler in the BOIDC in 2019-20 to take more than 10 wickets. Also hit a ton and some other very handy runs during the year.
9 - Ed Morrish (c) - Orange City (211 runs at 35, 23 wickets at 17)
Runs in the tail order certainly weren't the goal in picking this side, but Ed Morrish at number nine is an absolute luxury here - not too many number nines have a top score for the season of 109 not out.
However, Morrish has been picked here for his exploits with the ball, one of three bowlers to finish the year with 23 wickets and providing wonderful variation with left-arm pace. Will take the new ball in the side, likely alongside Le Lievre.
Being premiers - even by default after being the first side to win through to the decider - means Morrish is captain of this side, too, but in a similar setup to the Orange representative side will share that duty with vice-captain Matt Corben, whose tactful declarations through the year were exemplary.
10 - Mitch Black - Cavaliers (27 wickets at 19.22)
Is there any bowler you'd want to face less in the BOIDC than Mitch Black? Where the likes of St Pat's duo Mitch Taylor and Ben Parsons are quick, if you get bat on ball you've got a decent chance of sending them to the boundary - even if it is between slip and gully.
With Mitch Black? Not a goddam chance. You'd be lucky to get a single and get off strike, and if you so much as blink, his over has finished and you're under the pump at the other end. First p
11 - Angus Cumming - Cavaliers (25 wickets at 15.40)
Not going to lie, I knew Angus Cumming had a good year with ball in hand. But to see him finish the season second on the wicket-takers tally? That I was not expecting.
Where Ferguson and Corben were partners-in-crime when the pads were on, when Cavaliers were in the field Cumming and Black were the go-to duo, with the spin twins piling on for more than 50 wickets for 2019-20, which to be frank is absolutely staggering.
Does this mean Angus gets the official one-up on his brother George for the year despite the younger brother dismissing him when the sides clashed during the season? Absolutely. Chalk it up as a (rightful) win for older siblings.
12 - Dave Henderson - City Colts (23 wickets at 16.83)
City Colts' Henderson just got it done through season 2019-20. Took wickets every time he was tossed the ball, with 11 wickets in his final two games against CYMS and Centrals bringing him home like a house on fire.
Averaging just 9.5 runs with the bat too means he's on the pine at number 12 here, but absolutely no doubt he's more than earned his spot with ball in hand.
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