BOIDC RISING TO WHOLE NEW LEVEL
To borrow a line from zany office boss Michael Scott, how the turn tables.
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A month ago, the BOIDC's top four looked all-but looked in - Cavs would lead the way, with St Pat's Old Boys, premiers Orange City and City Colts rounding out the finals teams.
After the first week of January, that notion has been completely blown out of the water.
Cavs have tumbled, while City Colts don't own a place in the competition's top four any more - they're not even knocking on the door.
Rugby Union has rocketed into the finals frame to now sit in fourth, while the Redbacks are in fifth after knocking off CYMS, relegating City Colts to six on the ladder.
While Orange City is back up in pole position, and St Pat's are in second, leap-frogging Cavs.
Honestly, who knows where any of those sides will finish up - the 2020-21 BOIDC competition would have to be one of the closest in any zone across country NSW.
ST PAT'S PASS CRUCIAL TEST
On the competition's top four, the blue and whites needed to make a statement to show they belonged in the contenders conversation after navigating the first half of the year without beating another of the top four sides.
They made that statement loud and clear in week one of the new year.
The hosts made light work of Cavs' pretty ordinary total of 178, one St Pat's chased down inside 30 overs to earn a bonus point.
Adam Ryan's men are now firmly in the frame, and with their next four games in Bathurst a shot at the minor title is a real possibility.
A two-day, round 12 clash with an in-form Rugby Union looms as a key one, for both sides.
It's been 19 seasons since a Bathurst club won the BOIDC - can St Pat's become the first BDCA club since Centennials to lift the inter-town trophy?
CAVS STUMBLE ... WHAT'S THE ISSUE?
Is there anything to worry about at Cavs?
Not yet, but the lack of runs from the maroons will need to be rectified if Matt Corben's men are to reach the sort of level of cricket that had them sitting on top of the ladder at the start of December.
Not one Cavaliers' bat sits inside the BOIDC's top 10 runscorers this summer - this best is Corben at 13 with just over 200 runs to his name from four innings.
Thereafter it's a bit grim - Cam Laird has 175 runs (averaging 35), Bailey Ferguson 148 runs (24) and Kaleb Cook 133 runs (26).
These boys can bat, Ferguson average over 75 last summer while Cook whacked an unbeaten 151 at the top of the order for Cavs in 2019-20, but right now the runs aren't flowing - they need that to change in order to hit back.
Time is on their side.
ALL CALE: JACK'S THE WORLD'S BEST NO.10
What's Jack Cale doing at No.10?
The CYMS tail-ender has slashed two half-tons coming in with CYMS at eight-down so far this summer, his 61 against Centrals pre-Christmas coming at better than a run-a-ball before Saturday's important 51 off 30 balls against Bathurst City.
In ODI records, the highest score by a No.10 bat in a one-day game is 86, West Indian Ravi Rampaul reaching that mark in 2011. There' only been six other scores above 50 by a No.10 in ODI history.
The BOIDC isn't ODI cricket, obviously, but Cale's not a No.10 either.
Cale travels to Orange from Sydney during the summer to cherry pick at his cousins' - Tom and Harry West - farm.
Both boys are also in CYMS' top grade side and, surely, both can now expect to be batting lower down the order than their cousin next week.
IT WAS A BIG WEEK FOR ...
Blake Weymouth, and what a way to cap it.
The prodigious Orange City batsman played all week for Western in the McDonald's Country Colts carnival's southern pool at Albury.
He hit 151 runs across three games for Western and then returned to club cricket and whaled an impressive, unbeaten 129, from 133 balls, for the Warriors in a big win over Centrals.
All up, Weymouth walked away from the last week of cricket averaging 140 with the bat. Not a bad week.
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