Kinross rarely leave anything to be desired with the ball or in the field but since former skipper Charlie Litchfield moved on the students have been crying out for an anchor with the bat, one capable of building a season's worth of innings around.
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They may have found just that in boom recruit James Larkin, and coincidentally they have Litchfield to thank.
The pair played together at Sydney University and after moving west of the moutains for work earlier this year Larkin, naturally, turned to his former teammates for advice about which club he should join in for the 2019-20 summer.
Litchfield suggested Kinross and after a meeting with the club's coach Andy Litchfield, Charlie's old man, Larkin agreed to join the students' ahead of this summer's reinvigorated Bathurst-Orange Inter-District Cricket competition.
I'm looking forward to helping the Kinross guys out adding a bit to their team and helping make it stronger.
- James Larkin
He knows what he's getting into as well, the 27-year-old is well aware he's joining a club that's dwelled in the Orange cellar since joining the top grade in 2007-08, being resigned to six wooden spoons since then and never making the finals.
Unsurprisingly Kinross have been tipped to struggled in the resurgent BOIDC's first season back since the Orange and Bathurst associations split in 2006-07, that's partly why Larkin's linked with them though.
The students have never been far away but they're biggest hurdle has been an inability to consistently post big scores through a summer, a lot of which comes down to a lack of experience.
Those runs, and that experience, is what Larkin's hoping to provide after skipper Sydney University to last year's NSW Premier Cricket Second Grade title and scoring an unbeaten, match-winning 165 in the grand final.
He's been impressed with what he's seen at the few Kinross training sessions he's been too as well.
"It's good, it's a bit different coming from a university club where everyone's early twenties to teenagers but it's alright," Larkin, who has plenty of first grade experience with Uni under his belt too, said.
"There's a couple of the older blokes in the team who seem pretty good and the kids are nice as well.
"It'll be different than playing in Sydney, I'm looking forward to helping the Kinross guys out adding a bit to their team and helping make it stronger. I'm excited.
"I looked the results from last year and Kinross did alright, they held their own and ... have a few good young players."
Much like his older brother Nick, who's played 21 First-Class games for NSW, Larkin used to open the batting but has shifted into the middle order in recent years.
That's where he's expected to bat for the Central West Wranglers in this weekend's Cricket NSW Plan B Regional Bash preliminary games too, although he has 'no idea' how he was named in that side. He's stoked to be there, although it does mean he'll miss the opening day of Kinross' first-round clash against CYMS this weekend.
