Bathurst captain Adam Ryan supports proposed Bonnor Cup team reduction, Western Zone changes

The changes were proposed at the recent Orange District Cricket Association meeting, where returned president Mark Frecklington expressed his desire to see just the 10 Bathurst Orange Inter District Cricket teams taking part in the Bonnor Cup Twenty20 competition.

That would see Kinross and Lithgow as the two sides cut from the cup, unless a BOIDC team says that they aren't available to play in the competition.

The possibility of merging Cowra and Parkes into a combined Lachlan team for WZPL was also touted, to assist with the former's struggle for numbers.

Another option was just running a Parkes side on its own, though Frecklington stressed that nothing was locked in.

"Whatever is going to help promote and grow cricket is the way to go. I think it's going to be one of things that's going to ebb and flow over time as well. A town could eventually have a couple of juniors come through who dominate the side," Ryan said.

"But if this joining of the teams can promote rep cricket in those areas for now then it can only be a good thing - as long as it's not taking spots away from those who deserve a taste of rep cricket."

Ryan, whose Saints claimed the Bonnor-BOIDC double in 2021-22, also said the changes to the Twenty20 would be welcome.

"I think the 10 teams would work well. As we saw two years ago, a draw because of a rained out game could mean that you'd miss out on net run rate despite not losing a game, like we did," he said.

"That was something that annoyed us when they included more teams but gave us less pool games. I approve of a change to that, and it maintains the quality of the competition without it filtering out too much."

If the renovated Bathurst Sportsground is ready for the summer season then that could also bring night Twenty20 matches to the city for the first time.

Ryan said the prospect of night time T20 double headers in Bathurst is exciting.

"It'd be great to be able to play across both towns. I think it'd be exciting to eventually see a district Twenty20 competition as well," he said.

"Playing under lights is always fun, and this comp also allows people who can't commit on Saturday's to still play some high level cricket."

While cricket season is still months away Ryan said the outlook for the district side is positive for 2022-23.

"The initial gut feeling is that things would look a bit similar and, if anything, should be strengthened by our second side. Those guys can continue to develop, and it also should be a strong team if all goes to plan," he said.