He's been a tower of strength for CYMS' cricket club since touching down in the Central West and even though he's already widely recognised as one of the best all-rounders in Orange, Hugh Le Lievre received an extra slice of recognition recently as the 32-year-old earned his first ever call-up to the Western squad for its upcoming Country Championship campaign at Goulburn.
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Le Lievre's Bathurst Orange Inter District Cricket Association performances, as well as his contribution towards Orange in the Western Zone Premier League, have made him a rock solid pick to represent the region in the Shane Broes coached outfit.
And while he's always had one eye on representing the Central West at one stage or another, he admittedly felt like the opportunity had passed him by.
"To get selected was a really nice surprise," Le Lievre said.
"It's something that I'm really looking forward to. As a sportsperson you always want to challenge yourself and play against quality teams and try to get the best out of yourself.
"Western Zone is a very competitive team to be a part of and it's got a broad geographic region. You've generally got to be putting in consistent performance across the board for several seasons to get selected."
Even though Le Lievre's had his fair share of sensational batting performances at a local level, he expects his role with the Central West to revolve mainly around bowling.
"I think I'll be utilised in the middle overs to build partnerships with the spinning groups, predominantly," he said.
"I don't anticipate having a huge role with the willow... we have a very strong batting group."
Le Lievre is hoping to take the Country Championships experience back to his teammates at CYMS where the green and golds have gotten off to a solid start in the BOIDC.
"We've performed very well as a team so far," he said.
"Our batting at the top of the order with Rory Daburger and Dave Neil has been consistent. I'd love to see them continue their form.
"But, I feel that moving into two-day cricket our bowling needs to be better." Western will kick off its Country Championships campaign at Goulburn on Friday.
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