FOUR of Bathurst's best under 16s cricketers have been rewarded for their fine form early in the season with a place in the Western Zone Bradman Cup team.
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Blake Kreuzberger, Tom Lynch, Cooper Brien and Jacob Ryan will be off to Albury next month to face the top country cricketers in the state - and they will all bring with them outstanding resumes.
The quartet all enjoyed Western Zone premiership glory with Bathurst and have been in great form across school and club level.
Their Mitchell coach Clint Bryant has been able to mentor the group across several seasons and has enjoyed watching their rise.
"It's no real surprise to see those four boys named. They're the pick of the team," he said.
The four players all played important roles for Bathurst's Western Zone team and Bryant said the boys will be some of the most important pieces of the Bradman Cup squad.
"Blake's big and strong and hits the ball a long way. He dominated the Under 15s State Carnival where he was the second leading run scorer," he said.
"Lynchy is probably our quickest bowler and usually bats in the lower middle order. Something's clicked for him this year and he's just dominating at the end of our innings.
"Cooper's just been selected in the Western under 18s team. He'll be right towards the top of the order for the Western team. He hit 100 in the state final at under 14s level.
"Jacob's probably been a bit unlucky for Bathurst for this season but he's always looked like taking a wicket, and he's been dominating second grade in Bathurst. He'll be an X-factor with the ball."
Unsurprisngly, Bathurst and Dubbo players dominate the team after finishing the Western Zone competition in first and second respectively.
Nine players from the two districts made up the squad of 13.
Western have a strong recent history in the Bradman Cup and were champions of the tournament in 2017-18.
The Western team will have two training sessions before the Bradman Cup, which takes place in Albury from January 7-10.
Western will face Riverina, Central Coast, Central Northern, Greater Illawarra and Newcastle at next month's tournament.