Western Zone named squad for Country Cricket NSW Championships campaign at Goulburn

The pair will be led by in-form Rugby Union captain Jameel Qureshi, and the Blayney product is hoping his zone outfit can rise to the challenge later this month.

"Ed's been consistent for a long time and the same can be said for Hugh," Qureshi said.

"I remember playing Hugh back in PSSA when I was a kid and he was in Sydney when I was there. He's got a great cricket brain."

Former NSW Country Mitch Bower is the other major inclusion in this season's Zone squad.

Bower and Bathurst's Ryan Peacock have returned after time away from the representative scene and will immediately be key figures in the side which plays at Goulburn last this month.

Bower, who has made the move to RSL-Colts locally this season, will form part of a powerful batting lineup that Qureshi hopes can deliver a first Country Championships crown since 2016-17.

"I've played cricket with and against Mitchy and he was someone I noticed quickly when I came back from Sydney. He's a serious cricketer," Qureshi said.

Qureshi was captain of the Western Zone side which failed to win a game in last season's southern pool, but he's feeling optimistic about the new-look squad.

"It's a nice thing to be able to captain a team like this. Ever since I've been a junior Western's been a strong side and I always feel that we punch above our weight. It's an honour," he said.

"I feel that if we play our best cricket we can win any game we play because it's such a talented group. If we do that then we're going to be hard to beat."

"Marty Jeffrey is someone I was lucky enough to play with as the marquee player for Rugby and he's also gone to the next level. Ben Wheeler's a player in there who's capable of hitting the ball really hard," Qureshi added.

Wheeler and Bower will feature prominently towards the top of the lineup alongside the captain, while Skinner is one of a number of all-round options at Qureshi's disposal.

The captain is also excited about the presence of Parkes duo Myles Smith and Brent Tucker, who will be key members of the squad after getting a taste of the Country Championships last season.

"Those two guys were a part of that very strong side Parkes had a few years back in Western Zone. Myles is a very competitive cricketer and a no-nonsense sort of player," Qureshi said.

"Brent is probably one of the quicker bowlers getting around Western Zone at the moment so it's great to see him get his opportunity as well."

Reigning Western Zone Premier League champions Bathurst feature six players in the 14-man squad.

Captain Qureshi will line up alongside his brother Imran, Peacock, returning duo Connor Slattery and Mitch Taylor while youngster Bailey Brien joins Wheeler and Orange all-rounder Hugh Le Lievre as the Western debutants.

Western starts its Country Championships against Illawarra on November 20 before matches against Riverina and ACT Southern Districts the following two days.