IT is almost time to kick off the 2022/23 season of the Marsh One-Day Cup, with the first game scheduled for September 23. Fresh off a thrilling final in March, the competition is set for another cracking campaign, as each state’s best cricket talents battle it out in the 50-over format.

With that in mind, Rookie Me Central will be taking a look at each side’s prospects for the season, and next up are the NSW Blues, who were not able to hit the park as much as they would have liked last year, but made quite an impression when they did.

NSW Blues
2021/22 record – 2-0-4

The Blues found themselves on the end of a large number of ‘no result’ matches in season 2021/22, being kept off the park due to varying weather conditions. It meant they only played two matches across the entire fixture, and they were both wins, that figure could have been even higher if they were able to play as much as their peers.

The Blues boasted one of the most talented lists in the Marsh Cup last year, but did not hit the field until the end of November. In their first outing, they handled Victoria with ease and claimed a whopping 174-run triumph to kickstart their 2021/22 campaign.

After downing the Bulls in their next match, the Blues looked set for a massive season and catapulted to title favouritism. However, they missed its next three outings to close the year, but still finished in second spot due to not losing a game and having a higher run rate than the Tasmanian Tigers, who were on the same amount of points.

Heading into the final against WA, the Blues had all the tools they needed to get the job done, but fell short of the run chase as their opponents claimed the Cup in a thrilling final.

There is not too much for the Blues to work on heading into the upcoming fixture, with much of their success dependent on their chances of playing a full fixture.

The roster of NSW is one of the strongest state squads in the country, with the likes of Kurtis Patterson and Moises Henriques making a mark at the crease, while Adam Zampa and Ben Dwarshuis conjure wickets with the white ball.

In terms of list changes, the Blues lost veteran Peter Nevill to retirement, but promoted some of their guns from last season, including Hayden Kerr, who earned the praises of Cricket NSW head of Cricket Michael Klinger.

“Hayden Kerr was one of the stars of the Australian domestic summer and he has thoroughly deserved his opportunity for a Blues contract,” Klinger said.

“He is 25 and wasn’t even on a rookie deal last year so it goes to show if you work hard and produce the right performances when given a chance, anything is possible.”

With a talented list and plenty of experience in big games, there is little doubt that the Blues will be among the contending sides again in 2022/23.

Contract list

Sean Abbott
Trent Copeland
Oliver Davies
Liam Doddrell
Ben Dwarshuis
Jack Edwards
Mickey Edwards
Matthew Gilkes
Ryan Hackney
Ryan Hadley
Liam Hatcher
Lachlan Hearne
Moises Henriques
Baxter Holt
Daniel Hughes
Hayden Kerr
Blake Nikitaras
Jack Nisbet
Kurtis Patterson (c)
Will Salzmann
Daniel Sams
Jason Sangha
Tanveer Sangha
Lachlan Shaw
Chris Tremain
Hunar Verman