Two players from Orange selected in Western Zone squad

The squad coached by Andrew Zell will feature two players from Orange, with City duo Lachlan Skelly and Ed Morrish.

Following Jameel Qureshi's move to step away from representative cricket, RSL Colts and Dubbo captain Marty Jeffrey has been named to lead the side.

Western Zone Cricket president Mark Frecklington is confident the incoming players will have every opportunity to prove themselves against some of the best cricketers NSW Country has.

"There are some new faces there for sure," he said.

"There are a few guys who have moved on, away or retired.

"Now there is a good opportunity for the new guys to show their wares."

Bailey Edmunds, Ben Knaggs and Lachlan Strachan have all been named on the side as have Ben Wheeler and Matt Everett.

Bathurst young-gun Cooper Brien will make his Western senior debut as will Skelly.

Regular Western quick Brent Tucker will have a fellow left-armer with Morrish being named.

Frecklington admitted he hadn't noticed too much of a difference in the side but believes it is a credit to Western's junior pathway system.

"Absolutely (it is a credit), without thinking about it we have got a fairly young side," he said.

"It's not young but there certainly are some young guys there.

"It bodes well for Western Cricket and it's great to see a few of those younger guys put their hand up for selection."

In just his first season back playing for Dubbo, Strachan was rewarded with a selection off the back of dominant performances against Orange and Parkes respectively.

The Macquarie all-rounder believes it will be an honour to wear the Western colours, possibly for the first time.

"It was nice to get a Western spot,"

"I think I played a few years ago when I came back to Dubbo but I'm not 100 per cent sure."

Dubbo's unbeaten run in this season's Western Zone Premier League was rewarded with five selections and Strachan believes the local clubs also are to thank.

"We've got a few Dubbo boys in there," he said.

"It's great having Benny Knaggs and Bailey Edmunds in there, it's great for CYMS as well.

"Having their two opening bowlers in the side is great for the club but to have five blokes from here in the side just goes to show how strong Dubbo cricket is."

With some ordinary weather around several parts of the state including Orange, Frecklington is confident the grounds will be up to scratch for the first match which is set to take place on November 25.

"It is tricky, the weather hasn't been nice to us," he said.

"I think we still should be okay, we've had enough grounds up and running over the last month so we should be right."

Tamworth will host the other pool for the Country Championships this weekend, something Frecklington believes will still happen after they also are dealing with floods.

"I haven't seen any update, I know Country Cricket NSW has been checking in with us pretty regularly," he said.

"In the last update everything was okay but obviously that was a while ago and things have changed since then."

Western will face Central Coast in their opening match which will be a day/night fixture before matches against ACT and Riverina the following days.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Central Western Daily website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.