BOIDC 2022/23 season preview: Bathurst City Redbacks in spotlight

From new signings to the always-popular ladder predications, how this season will play out is anybody's guess.

But with the league reverting back to a combination of two-day and one-day games, there is one certainty, which is that we are in for a cracking year of cricket.

Part three of the huge season preview featured Orange City and the club's huge off-season pick-up and next up will be the Bathurst City Redbacks.

Coming off what would have been a somewhat frustrating years, the Redbacks finished in seventh, nine points off a spot in the five-team finals.

They had set themselves up for a shock finish after upsetting eventual premiers St Pat's Old Boys in round 12, but would drop their next two games against Centennials Bulls and ORC to see their hopes of a post-season wash away.

It has been an interesting off-season for the Redbacks, with some big name losses leaving the club, but also the addition of a few promising players.

So let's start with the latter and look at who is new to the club.

Mark Day will captain the side this year and highlighted the acquisitions of Parva Shah from Melbourne, as well as youngster Matt Holmes from Tamworth who "looks like an absolute jet."

Holmes has plenty of representative experience to his name, taking part in the McDonalds Country Colts competition for the past two seasons. Across all competitions over those two season - which includes playing in Tamworth's first grade league - the teenager has bagged 32 wickets at an average of 13. He will certainly be one to keep an eye on.

But it's not just the addition of new faces that will help the Redbacks cause.

Campbell Baker, also known as "the best keeper" Day has played with makes his return to the fray, as does Michael Tobin.

But will those signings be enough to counteract some big losses?

Former skipper Joey Coughlan has departed for Orange CYMS this season, with Day "really looking forward" to round four when the two sides meet.

Jarrod Urza has joined also Cyms. Tom Lynch, who day said is an "absolute superstar" has also left for Sydney Uni.

"I hope kills it in Sydney," Day added.

So how big will these losses be? Well, Coughlan was the team's second leading run-scorer last season, while Lynch ranked third with the bat and fourth with the ball. Fair to say those losses will be big.

So what is Day's goal for the season?

"I think we can fly under the radar a little bit having such a young squad, but I genuinely believe we can challenge for a finals berth," he said.

As for the team to beat..."The usual, St Pat's and Cavs, but I think Rugby Union will be right up there this season.

"I'm not sure on how their squad is shaping up but I think they will go a long way."

So what will the Redbacks squad hoping to take home the BOIDC title look like in 2022/23?

Mark Day, Cohen Schubert, Harrison Craig, Clinton Moxon, Michael Tobin, Campbell Baker, Marcus Turnbull, Muditha Adikari, Liam Cain, Ben Orme, Blake Kreuzberger, Matt Holmes, Oliver Simpson, Connor Whale and Parva Shah.

So having said all of this, where does this leave Bathurst City positioned for the upcoming season?

Well this may be the team with the biggest gap between their floor and ceiling. We could picture them squeaking into the finals, but we can also see it being a big struggle. Our version of the season leans towards the latter, with the losses too big to ignore as they are predicted to finish in tenth place with the wooden spoon.