Bathurst Orange Inter District Cricket: Centennials eyeing finals after coming up just short in 2019-20

There's no shortage of desire among the Bulls ahead of the 2020-21 season considering they missed out on last season's finals by just a single point, and in the process made themselves one of the benchmark Bathurst sides in a competition dominated by Orange teams.

Their losses over the last two rounds of the previous season ended up costing the Bulls a place in the semis but they had still done enough to mark themselves as a team to watch in the future.

Most of the team's core are making a return for the maiden finals bid and they're ready to lead the charge for the Bathurst sides.

Captain Kurt Toole would love to see his side put in a repeat of that 2019-20 showing, with the addition of closing out a couple of the tight contests that didn't go their way last time.

"We were expected to lose and we had no pressure. If we had a loss then that was expected but when we kept winning and winning we thrived with the underdog status," he said.

"The boys really enjoyed proving everyone wrong."

THERE'S no denying that the loss of the Gurney brother, Ryan and Joel, for this season's competition will be a blow.

That blow is compounded when you consider that one-day matches are being brought into the competition this season, and those two knew how to put on a show in the shorter format.

But there's reason for the Bulls to still have plenty of confidence given the personnel they've retained and brought into the side.

"We've got Josh Kitchner coming in for us, as well as Ethan Muller because Stannies cricket isn't going ahead this season. They'll both be great additions for our side," he said.

"We had Blake Aubin out at the back end of last season due to injury and he's the core of our middle order so it's great to have him back."

Aubin played just five innings for the Bulls in 2019-20 and finished with an average of 34.60.

Kitchner brings representative experience into the squad as he links up with his former club side again.

CONSIDERING how close they got to finals last season it's not surprise to hear that Centennials' have big ambitions to get that coveted top four spot.

That's all Toole and his side have their eye on this season.

"We're definitely looking at that top four spot after we missed out by just one point last season, which was pretty unlucky, and we sat around that fourth and fifth spot throughout the season," he said.

Bulls were the last team to enter the 2019-20 season, a mere matter of weeks before the competition was set to get underway.

Expectations on the team were a little subdued due to their late arrival on the scene.

But they made an immediate impression by winning their first two games of the season against City Colts and Centrals.

While they dropped their next two matches they would bounce back with wins against Kinross and CYMS to put themselves inside the top four.

The season didn't end the way they wanted but their performances mean Bulls won't be flying under the radar any longer.

TOOLE is banking on the one-day addition to bring several Bathurst teams into the fray this season.

"City Colts are always a good side. I know last year they had a poor season but I think the one-day format suits their side a lot because they've got a lot of players who can score quickly.

"The addition of six one-day games into the season is likely going to be where they pick up their points and they should excel there. They're a definite threat.

"I think Rugby Union are a bit of a dark horse this year. They finished towards the bottom last year but they've got a couple of new players.

"I know Ryan Peacock is back from Sydney Grade Cricket and he'l be a big addition for them.

"I just hope that the Bathurst teams can go one further and go a bit better than the Orange sides this time."