CENTENNIALS Bulls are looking to make it third time lucky in their bid to reach Bathurst Orange Inter District Cricket finals, and they've turned towards a new skipper to try and make that happen.
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All-round talent Kyle Aubin will captain the squad for the upcoming 2021-22 campaign.
Aubin already had significant input in the team's operation last season, alongside brother Blake and 2020-21 captain Kurt Toole, so he's not expecting things to feel a lot different when the team first steps on to field.
"This will be my first time captaining a team. It's something that I've wanted to do before but the opportunity has never been there," he said.
"I've always had my input with the team but it will be nice to have control.
"Last year the three of us - Kurt, Blake and myself - were coming up with decisions on things so it's not too much of a step up, and I'll still have help of Kurt and Blake. It will be a fun challenge."
The Bathurst Orange Inter District Cricket return for Centennials has been a mixed bag for the club - with slightly more downs than ups.
Bulls missed the 2019-20 finals series by just a single point but in the following season they were 14 points off the mark, leaving some of their best cricket too late into the competition.
It's that positive finish to the 2020-21 campaign, where Bulls went unbeaten over the last four rounds, that they'll want to build upon.
Aubin said with the consistency in the Bulls lineup they're every chance of making that happen.
"We've pretty much got the same team with only a couple of changes," he said.
"We lost Ethan Muller to ORC but we've picked up Tom Siede from St Pat's. He's a great addition to the side and I'm pretty excited to see what he can do this year."
Bulls will look to hit the ground running in round one when they take on defending champions Orange City.
"It's going to be a challenge for sure. Towards the end of last year we showed what we can do so it would be good to try and continue that," Aubin said.
"We've got Orange City first up so that's going to be a good test to see where we're at."
Aubin will look to take the next step with his game this season after picking up a pair of half centuries (one in BOIDC, one in Royal Hotel Cup) as the team's opening batsman.
Blake Aubin led the way with the bat last season (sixth overall in BOIDC with 426 runs) while Mick Hutchinson's 23 wickets at 13.04 made him the pick of the bowlers.
Regardless of what the top grade results may have been over the past few years, Aubin said the current environment around the club is as positive as ever.
"I didn't play for the club in juniors - I was in ORC there - and I debuted in first grade when I was around 16. I've been with the club for all my senior career," he said.
"We're all pretty close as a group and it's a good bunch of boys. We're all mates which makes it a lot more fun. When you're out in the field for a long time together it's great to be with people you enjoy being around."
Centennials are looking for their first taste of top grade finals since the 2016-17 Bathurst District Cricket Association season.
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