And not only have they lost a pair of razor close games, the round one and two defeats both came with the final ball of the match, making the defeats particularly painful.

Excruciating losses like that can make or break a side and Dave Hunter says the boys have drawn motivation from the misfortune and are edging closer to that breakthrough victory.

Hunter, who's spent the last few seasons swinging the willow in second grade, took the step up to the top grade in 2020-21 to not only play alongside his son Luke, but to take on a leadership role on a team that's made up mostly of teenagers.

The agonising defeats came at the hands of Rugby Union on opening day, followed by CYMS just a week later, leaving Kinross in a tricky position after a fortnight of action.

They drew with City Colts in round three and now, the students will hit the road for arguably their toughest challenge so far against the unbeaten St Pat's Old Boys.

"We all acknowledge this is going to be a tough game tomorrow and we're looking forward to it," Hunter said.

But for the 47-year-old time traveller, this weekend - and this year - is less about opposing teams and more about the development of what he views as an extremely prospective group of young cricketers.

"You'll be seeing these names for years to come," he said.

"The future is really bright for not only Orange cricket but for Kinross as well."

Hunter is one of two senior players who came onto the side in 2020-21 as Walter Prowse is also looking to lead by example this summer.

"We're both looking to bring some experience to the team and nurture some of these really good young cricketers who are playing against men," he said.

Not only has Hunter acted as a leader to these younger guys, he's been productive with the bat in-hand as well, scoring a team-high 63 on opening day followed by a stellar 34-run knock against CYMS.

"I started OK but still didn't do enough to give us a win," he said.

"George Cumming is our captain and he's done a terrific job leading the team."

"There's other guys on the team who are very talented... we could call out Nelson Shepherd who took six last game against Centrals and then there's Charlie Tink who's 14."

There's a few areas in which Kinross can make improvements but Hunter highlighted a pair of things he'd like the lads to do better in round five.

"I think we need more patience with our batting," he said. "We also need concentration with our fielding."

St Pat's Old Boys will be looking to improve on their unbeaten start to the year as the Connor Slattery-led outfit sits second on the ladder to the red hot Cavaliers. Morse Park is the destination for a 1.30pm kick-off on Saturday afternoon.