Five things we learned from round four of Bathurst Orange Inter District Cricket

Defending premiers St Pat's Old Boys notched up their second win of the season and were one of three chasing sides to find success.

But setting a total and then defending in the field worked too with both Cavaliers and Orange CYMS bowling their rivals out.

Here's what we learned out of Saturday's action...

WHEN it comes to leaders in Bathurst cricket Adam Ryan's name is the one that tops the list - not only does he skipper the district team but last summer he guided St Pat's Old Boys to Bonnor Cup and BOIDC glory.

So when Connor Slattery was given the job of captaining the Saints in his absence on Saturday he could have been forgiven if he felt a little nervous.

If he did it certainly didn't show. Slattery led by example all afternoon to help guide the Saints to an eight-wicket win over ORC.

First he did it with the ball, taking 3-31 off his eight overs to return the best figures of the Saints' attack.

Then he did it with aggressive batting as he blasted an unbeaten 42 off as many deliveries.

His knock included three boundaries and another three shots which cleared the rope. Slattery has now scored 154 runs off 175 deliveries this season.

It was certainly a performance befitting a captain, but then it isn't really surprising given how far Slattery has come since his first grade debut in season 2013-14.

He's made five centuries, including an unbeaten 152 in the 2019-20 BOIDC season against City Colts, and boasts three first grade five-fors.

He scored the first of his top grade tons in 2018 when he was 18.

And we should also remember that when Slattery first skippered a team at under 14s level he hit a century too.

So while there's no doubting Ryan's quality as a captain, skipper Slattery sounds pretty good too.

RECRUITING was a big part of Orange CYMS' plan to be more of a force in BOIDC this summer and while it remains to be seen just how much of a success that plan is, there are good signs.

On Saturday as CYMS finally got a full game of cricket and marked it with a 50-run victory over Bathurst City, new faces in green and gold were amongst the contributors.

Former Bathurst City skipper Joey Coughlan missed out with the bat, but he took 3-31 off his six overs.

Given his BOIDC record over recent seasons you can expect the runs will come, and if he can chip in with the ball too it makes CYMS' bowling attack a more formidable prospect.

Canowindra's Jamie Austin is another of CYMS' new all-rounders who chipped in with the ball on Saturday. He took 2-18 off eight overs, including three maidens.

Jamie Austin and his younger brother Sam are only new to BOIDC this season, so it will be interesting to see how they adjust to the competition as it unfolds.

But in any case for CYMS, who placed ninth last season, to now have a win on the board is a good.

HAVE top order batsmen been watching cheerleader movies when wet weather has kept them inside?

Well even if they haven't been viewing the 2000 classic Bring It On, there was certainly an intent to be aggressive, be, be aggressive from three sides on Saturday.

Cavaliers did it when setting a total against City Colts - opener Matt Corben was unlucky not to crack triple figures as he belted 91 off 102, then number three Cameron Laird kept the scoreboard ticking over with 70 off 60.

It helped Cavs to 7-239 - that's a run-rate of 5.9 an over.

For Orange City going the tonk against Centennials Bulls helped them to a bonus-point win - something which could prove valuable if wash-outs continue.

Opener Josh Coyte (56 off 58) and in particular number three Shaun Grenfell (41 off 27) impressed in the top order as Orange City took 18.3 overs to reach the 128 required for victory.

The Saint Pat's Old Boys top order didn't score quite as rapidly as those two Orange outfits, but there was still an aggressive intent from opener Andrew Brown (66 off 71) and number three Cooper Brien (67 off 69).

Though teams need to balance the risk and reward that comes with pushing for quick runs, with rain likely to threaten more games this season that be aggressive, be, be aggressive edict might be more frequently adopted.

JAMEEL Qureshi might have taken a step back from representative cricket this season, but don't be fooled into thinking the Rugby Union talent will be less of a threat.

Okay, well probably no-one would think that given Qureshi has long held a reputation as one of the finest cricketers not only in Bathurst, but in the Western Zone.

But the point is, even though Qureshi isn't playing representative cricket this season he's still clearly intent on doing a job for Rugby.

In round two he took 3-17 off five overs to help his side beat Bathurst City, in round three Qureshi belted 78 against the Bulls opening the batting then on Saturday against Centrals he delivered again.

This time he claimed 2-22 and then crashed seven boundaries on his way to 69 off 76.

It highlights that one of the nicest blokes in the BOIDC competition can still also be one of the most damaging.

SUNS out, guns out - finally the BOIDC has been able to get in a full round of cricket and it brought with it some impressive displays.

It was the batsmen who took the bragging rights with eight half centuries scored across the five games.

The previously mentioned 91 from Cavs' gun Matt Corben was the best score of the round, but Rugby middle-order bat Tanvir Singh could also lay claim to the highlight.

He crashed an unbeaten 69 off 32 which included four sixes. That's a strike rate of 171.87.

As for the bowling guns, those honours go to Cavaliers' Wes Lummins and Rugby's Yousef Quershi who each claimed four scalps.

Qureshi's efforts included a pair of caught and bowled dismissals.

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