BOIDC: Five things we learned from the 2019-20 regular season

As Cavaliers, Orange City, St Pat's Old Boys and CYMS get ready for finals cricket we're taking a look back on the five things we've learned from the regular season.

A level of uncertainty and mystery shrouded the competition back in round one. How would the teams match up? Were teams going to get blown out? Will the format work?

There were endless questions about how the new competition would fare but it's hard to call it anything other than a big success.

Rain undeniably played its part in shaping some elements of the ladder but to still have seven teams in the hunt for a finals place going into the last Saturday of the regular season is a great sign for the future.

I'm sure all 10 teams will be quick to put their hands back up for another go next season.

There's still more great cricket to come in the finals but here's the five big talking points from 2019-20 season so far...

Bathurst may be Western Zone Premier League champions but with Orange teams taking out three of the top four spots on the ladder the city definitely has bragging rights at this time of the year.

St Pat's (who make up a large portion of that Bathurst side) will be flying the flag solo for their city against three Orange clubs who have been exemplary squads all season.

That's especially true for Cavaliers and Orange City who spent the entire season, right from the outset, jostling for top spot on the ladder.

Rarely did they ever take a step back, and when some of their leading players were having a bad day there was always someone ready to step up and fill the void.

And as for CYMS, they've displayed great tenacity to get their season back on track after starting with just one win from their first three matches.

Can Bathurst respond with a bang next season? Or will Orange continue to put the foot down and reign on top?

The inter-city battle adds another layer of fun to cricket in the region and it's going to be a great talking point between the cities in the near future.

If only there was a switch to make all downpours happen on a Monday or Tuesday. We'd all be on board with that.

But that's not how nature works, and cricket games were washed out on a regular occurrence.

None were more affected than Bathurst City who had four of their nine matches end in draws thanks to the rain.

You have to wonder what the team was capable of if they were given the opportunity to play more cricket.

Joey Coughlan was looking strong with the bat in-between his time out with injury, Ben Orme and Harrison Craig were playing brilliant all-round roles for the club and Mark Day was arguably Bathurst's most consistent batsman at one stage.

It's amazing to know the team were still in the hunt for finals going into the last round despite the lost match time.

Fellow Bathurst side St Pat's didn't get the chance to finish three of their matches but were strong enough in the games they did complete to still reach finals.

There were plenty of 'what ifs' to come out of the final round.

CYMS still had the chance to earn home ground hosting rights for the finals after being in a strong position against Orange City while Rugby Union were chasing an upset win over Cavaliers to earn a way through

At the end of the day the main reason for the formation of BOIDC was to get competitive cricket against a wider range of teams.

And we certainly got it.

All clubs were on board with the idea of re-forming the competition to help raise the standard of cricket in Bathurst and Orange, and when you look back on the bulk of results from this season we had some excellent games.

Yeah, yeah it's cliche but you really got the sense that anyone could beat anyone on their day.

Even for wooden spoon side Kinross there were sparks of promise, especially in the round two win against City Colts which almost turned into an outright success.

Teams also got to enjoy a greater variety of pitches and test their ability to cope with different conditions - something every first grade cricketer should revel in the challenge of.

The two-day format definitely suited some sides more than others, and seeing if the system makes a return for 2020-21 will be interesting.

And here's a great thing to remember: No team went through the season undefeated and every team won at least one match.

Sorry to the other finalists but I'd almost go as far to say as it's Cavs' title to lose.

They've already got silverware in the cabinet after their Royal Hotel Cup win over St Pat's - the only team to beat them this BOIDC season (way back in round one) - and they've shown great aptitude in switching seamlessly between formats.

Plus, there's got to be a mental edge over Orange City going into the major semi-final after beating them twice already across both the RHC and BOIDC.

Just look at that order of Matt Corben, Hugh Middleton, Bailey Ferguson and Kaleb Cook. You get one of them out and you know there's still more pain to come.

Must be how teams playing Australia feel knowing every wicket just brings Steve Smith closer to the crease.

And did we mention Mitch Black? He's pretty good at cricket, in case you didn't know. Stats like 37 wickets across both RHC and BOIDC with an average of 13 are things you don't see every day.

They don't have Nic Broes, Tanvir Singh or Ben Mitchell. They don't have Ben Parsons for half the season. They're in trouble.

Yeah... about that...

Losing three of the top all-round Central West talents and being without the services of a strike bowler for weeks on end should be enough to set back most teams.

St Pat's ignored that.

The likes of now double centurion Bailey Brien and recent RHC player of the tournament Mitch Taylor have taken their games to another level while Connor Slattery, Adam Ryan and Matt Fearnley have been consistent top performers.

The club has to be commended to bringing through top-class juniors year after year.

It's easy to forget as well that Pat's - like major semi-finalists Cavaliers and Orange City - have lost just one match this entire BOIDC season.