Redbacks ready to rumble as BOIDC gets back underway in clash with Orange City

Among the batch is the 'City' derby Bathurst and Orange City at the Country Club Oval, where each side will be trying to keep themselves within reach of the competition's top four.

The Warriors sit just two points outside of that group while the Bathurst men are a further 11 points behind Orange City.

That's a lot of ground to make up, but with a pair of one-day games and then four two-day fixtures there's plenty of time for the table to undergo radical changes.

If Bathurst City want to make that happen then it has to start with a positive result this Saturday, which won't be so easy when the side are down on numbers.

Redbacks skipper Mark Day said despite a couple of missing players there's sure to be enthusiasm on the weekend for the competition's resumption.

"It really doesn't feel like we've had any time off. Those couple of weeks have just flown by," he said.

"I think everyone's really keen for this one. We've got a couple of boys away with family, but that's something that you expect at this time of year. Everyone who's here is chomping at the bit to get stuck into it again this Saturday.

"It's good having a one-dayer. It certainly makes picking a team a little bit easier when you're having that first week back."

Warriors come into this game on the back of a narrow two run win over St Pat's Old Boys prior to Christmas, which saw them avoid a rare fourth straight defeat.

Bathurst City will be hoping to end a losing run of their own.

They've gone down to the high-flying ORC and Cavaliers squads in their latest matches but before that they won a thriller over Centrals.

Redbacks and Warriors came together recently for a Bonnor Cup game on December 11, where the Warriors were 46 run winners.

That might have been in a different format but Day said there's a lot that his side can take away from the result.

"They're always a great side. There's some handy players there. In our Bonnor Cup game against them we learned a lot of things about them, so hopefully we'll be able to use a little bit of that to our advantage," he said.

"We've got to look at their bowlers. That's the main thing for us. That's where our weak link has been this year, so knowing what we're up against on Saturday is good. That helps us to put some plans in place."

In other games this Saturday the pick of the round will be the Rugby Union vs Orange CYMS clash at George Park 1.

A win for CYMS could potential put them into the competition lead while success for Rugby would give them some breathing room ahead of the chasing group of teams outside the top four.

Cavaliers will host St Pat's Old Boys at Wade Park while City Colts meet Centrals at Loco Oval.

ORC have the bye.

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