Orange skipper Daryl Kennewell is the first admit the Bluebaggers’ side for Sunday’s Mitchell Cricket Council Twenty20 Cup preliminary games isn’t the strongest the colour city could field, but that’s not sapping his confidence leading in.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Not at all.
In fact he’s putting all his faith in the new faces in the side, backing them to produce against Lithgow and then Mudgee in Sunday’s double header, wins in both games will ensure Orange’s progression to the finals next week and keep its hope of defending last year’s title alive.
“It’s probably not the strongest side Orange could put on the paddock, but as far as I’m concerned the guys we have are enthusiastic and want to play, so that’s all I need to get behind them,” Kennewell said.
“Enthusiasm is one of the most important things a side can have in T20 cricket anyway, so I’m really confident we can get the job done this weekend.
“Lithgow will be tough, they’ve done well in the Royal Hotel Cup. But at the same time we’ve seen what they do, we know how they play, which helps. We’ve already beaten Mudgee this year too, and T20 is a bit different to 50-over cricket but that gives us a lot of confidence.”
Kennewell pointed to the side’s bowling attack as its strength, a unit he’ll lead alongside Kinross’ Angus Cumming and Charlie Greer, and Cavaliers’ Harry Pearce, Josh Doherty and Ryan Kurtz.
Orange City’s Brett Causer has been forced to pull out though.
“It’s great having Charlie in the side, he’s a talented cricketer and is a strong T20 player too,” Kennewell said.
“I don’t think we’ll have too much trouble with the ball, so hopefully our top order can fire as well. We’ve got some dangerous batsmen there, that are in form.”
Orange faces Lithgow at 10am, then Mudgee at 2pm, both at Lithgow’s Tony Luchetti Sportsground.
The finals will be played the week after on February 11, at Bathurst.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
