Willis was the Redbacks skipper last time the BOIDC was held in 2006-07, and he had a promising squad starting to make an impact in the later years of the two-district competition.

He was disappointed at the time to see the competition drop back to a Bathurst-only format but the Redbacks continued to stake their claim as the city's dominant squad in the BDCA decade to follow.

Willis has come back into the team full-time this season, excited at the prospect of the club testing themselves against Orange opposition once again.

"It's the main reason John Rudge and I have come back," he said.

"Redbacks were just starting to become competitive at the back end of the BOIDC. We had quite a few years taking our turn down the bottom but then we made the grand final in the second last year of it then got knocked out in the grand final qualifier in the final year.

"We were just starting to hit our straps and we thought it was a little bit disappointing to come back to Bathurst. The time in Bathurst was still amazing but I think it's cool to have this back."

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Willis doesn't see the new BOIDC competition as a benefit for senior players but for juniors as well.

With a new competition to aim for, he believes younger players have a greater variety of cricket to look forward to.

"There might be speed bumps we try and clean up for future seasons but I think it's the right time to try something different," he said.

"It's not just cricket, but local sport in general, where we're seeing numbers in decline so hopefully this competition will give kids something to aim for and keep them around a few years longer than what they might have done otherwise."

Redbacks weren't far away from the top prize last season and Willis believes it provides a great platform for the team to build from.

"Everyone had written us off with six decent cricketers setting away, and we didn't set the bar very high," he said.

"But we won the one day comp and to come up one game short of being in the grand final showed what our young guys could do and we're hoping they step up again.

"A couple of us old blokes coming back will hopefully help with a bit of game experience and management. Rudgey and I have to do our jobs, go out there to score runs and lead well."

Bathurst City faces Rugby Union in round one.