NEWCASTLE captain Nick Foster "expects a fair representation" in this season's Bush Blues squad despite hamstring injuries to incumbents Pat Magann and Aaron Bills.
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Final-bound Newcastle, striving for a record-extending fifth straight NSW Country Championships, look set to have multiple players in the selection mix after dominating the northern pool at Tamworth.
The title holders were unbeaten across three 50-over fixtures and a state group for the national tournament, being hosted by Newcastle in January, will get named after next month's decider.
New all-rounder Adrian Isherwood (102 runs, six wickets), No.3 batsman Logan Weston (194 runs), opening combination Daniel Arms (160 runs) and Aaron Wivell (154 runs) plus off-spinner Foster (eight wickets) were all consistent performers.
Magann, who has endured an injury-plagued period, broke down after the second ball of his spell on Saturday. His club captain Jacob Montgomery confirmed on Monday the left-arm paceman could be out of action with Wallsend for up to eight weeks.
Leg-spinner Bills, who suffered the twinge early in proceedings but managed to play on, will be sidelined for at least the next round of local competition according to Wests skipper Brad Aldous.
Both debuted at the Australian Country Championships earlier in 2023. Weston, Arms and Wivell have all represented the Bush Blues previously while Foster continues to hold the leadership reins.
The state's southern pool, including last year's runner-up Central Coast, takes to the field in Orange from Friday.
A venue and date for the NSW Country Championships showdown has yet to be confirmed but Sydney's Cricket Central on December 10 shapes as a possibility.
Newcastle fell just shy of a perfect run in Tamworth, defeating North Coast but going down to Illawarra in the stand-alone T20 Country Bash on Thursday.
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Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
