IF Bathurst is to defend its Presidents Cup title this Sunday then it will have to do it without some of its most experienced players.
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Bathurst is understrength for the weekend’s final against Blue Mountains at The Scots School but there’s plenty of talent ready to fill the gaps.
The absentee list reads almost like a who’s who of Bathurst cricket: Josh Toole, Sam Macpherson, Ben Mitchell, Luke Powell, Ben Parsons, Dan Casey and Matt Stephen.
It will make Bathurst all the more determined to show Blue Mountains that the city's player depth is something to be admired.
Among those making their way into the Bathurst team is the experienced duo of Tim McKinnon and Craig Berry.
They join Wayne and Dave Sellers, Jameel and Imran Qureshi, Nic Broes, Matt Fearnley, Ryan Peacock, Jacob Bognuda, Connor Slattery and Adam Ryan.
Bathurst captain Jameel Qureshi loves being part of a team who is always ready to fill the gaps with capable hands.
“I’m pretty confident we’ve got the team to do well. Those guys are obviously hard to replace but with guys like Fearns and Tim you always know what you’re going to get out them,” he said.
“Bez [Berry] has been a part of this team for the past few years now and he’s used to playing at this level. He’s one of the hardest hitters of the ball I’ve ever seen.
“I’ve played a lot of rep cricket with Timmy and it’s good to see him back again.
“We’ve had scores like 135 from Adam Ryan and 72 from Imran. It’s great to see those guys in good form.”
The hosts will start as favourites for the game as they aim to defend their crown, minus six of the players from last season’s final win.
Bathurst are aiming for an undefeated run through the 2017-18 cup season.
Blue Moutains were no match for Bathurst in the meeting earlier this season, losing by 199 runs, but Qureshi said it would be wrong for his team to go in overconfident.
I’m pretty confident we’ve got the team to do well.
- Jameel Qureshi
“I’ve always rated Blue Mountains. Their strength is that they play together really well as a team,” he said.
“We have to go in there respecting them.”
The match at The Scots School gets underway from 10am.