BATHURST captain Daniel Casey said his team needs to put the disappointment of their SCG Cup exit behind them as quickly as possible and refocus as they look to claim their first piece of silverware for the summer tomorrow.

The Bathurst District side will host the Blue Mountains at the Sportsground tomorrow in the final of the Presidents Cup, an annual competition involving teams from the Mitchell Cricket Council zone.

After both began their campaigns with wins over Mudgee and Orange, Bathurst flexed some muscle in round three with a six-wicket victory over the Blue Mountains in Bathurst.

Casey’s men chased down their target of 173 with little fuss.

Bathurst’s only outings since then have been a groundbreaking SCG Cup win over Parkes followed by last weekend’s eight-wicket loss to Dubbo in the same competition.

“We weren’t beaten as badly as maybe it looked, eight wickets sounds like a lot but we contained them quite well with the ball and just for a little while they were getting a bit nervous as the run-rate started to climb,” Casey said of Dubbo.

“It is important that we have a bit of perspective on things, we’ve played five games this summer and won four of them, so we’re still travelling along pretty well.

“We don’t need to get too down about it. We’ve proven ourselves for the last four or five years as the best team in Mitchell and so far we’ve been the best in Mitchell this season as well.”

The Bathurst side will welcome back all-rounder Shabbir Dhamani who missed the Dubbo contest, but will be without Ben Orme and Matt Lawson.

Western Zone representative Josh Toole looks to have overcome a foot injury that nearly kept him out of the trip to Dubbo.

With the Mountains team believed to be missing a couple of key men tomorrow, the depth of the two representative squads could be the defining factor.

“From what I’ve heard, they are missing a few guys, I’m not sure who they are though,” he said.

“We are missing some as well, but the thing we have shown in the last couple of years is that we have the depth across the first grade competition that if we’re without someone, a player will come in who’s basically as good.

“I don’t think the Blue Mountains quite have that sort of depth, so it is harder for them to cope if some important players aren’t there.”

Regardless of who takes to the field and the outcome of tomorrow’s game, Casey said it is satisfying to see the progression of the Blue Mountains into one of the stronger Mitchell outfits.

“Whatever happens, we like them as a team and get on well with them, it is good to see them improving. We’ve got a lot of respect for the way they play their cricket,” he said.

“They don’t get a lot of opportunities to play on turf wickets, so it is always a test for them, and they usually handle themselves pretty well.”