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THEY have been saddled with the burden of being title favourites almost every time they begin a new season, but that tag must sit pretty comfortably with Bathurst City by now.
With their grand final curse absolutely dead and buried, Redbacks begin the 2014-15 Bathurst District Cricket Association first grade competition as two-time defending champions and there is no reason to suggest they can’t make it three in a row.
For the time being it doesn’t look like there will be any significant changes to the team and if anything, it looks likely to get stronger with the addition of a new face.
With their second grade side also having a powerful group to choose from, Redbacks’ depth is something that gives them a definitive edge over every other club in the competition.
Once more Ben Orme will skipper the first grade side, having built an enviable record of two seasons in charge for two titles.
The core group of Orme, Matt Willis, John Rudge, Joey Coughlan, Shabbir Dhamani and Greg Adams will all be in action once again, and that clique alone are capable of keeping their side at the top of the tree.
“We have a pretty strong core unit, none of that group have really changed and if anything, I think we can better our performances from the last few years, I’m hoping we can anyway,” Orme said.
“The only major changes in terms of losses are Grant Harrison who won’t be playing this year, and Percy Raveneau, who only wants to play second grade.
“I give it about two weeks though before we ask him to play firsts and he says ‘Yes’, like he does every other season.”
In terms of recruits for 2014-15, there is only one major addition. But it could be a very handy one.
Redbacks will have the services of Englishman Charlie Morris, who will bolster their batting order and offer another slow bowling option with his left-arm orthodox spin.
His inclusion will take some pressure off Matt Willis, who has been the only major slow-bowling option in recent seasons.
“Charlie is out at All Saints’ College on a gap year and from what he’s shown us in the nets, so far he looks very strong,” Orme said.
“I’d back him to score quite a few runs on what I’ve seen.”
The cornerstone of Redbacks’ premiership defence last season was almost certainly their depth.
At no stage were they constantly relying on one or two players to get them out of trouble as had been the case in some of their non-title winning campaigns.
While they still had stand-out individual efforts, Redbacks were getting runs from their entire batting order and wickets out of virtually anyone who picked up a ball.
“I think that was the first season I’ve played with Matt Willis where he didn’t hit a century, though he still scored 380 runs or something,” Orme said.
“But it shows that we don’t need him hitting 600-700 runs for us to be strong. If he failed we had Shabbir, Rudgey or Greg Adams or myself or someone getting runs.
“It is going to be a pain in the backside at times this season picking a batting order.”
Orme cites City Colts as the most dangerous opponent on paper and already has an eye on their clash in round five.
“I’d probably say they’re the biggest rival we’ve got, they’re in a similar boat in that the core of their team have been together for a while now, they all know each other’s games very well,” Orme said.
“There’s always a bit of feeling in those matches and you can guarantee that they’ll be wanting to go a few steps further than they did last season.”
Redbacks will start their title defence with a match against Oxford Centennials today at the Sportsground.