Western Zone top 50: Greatest cricketers since 2000 | Part three

A bad wicketkeeper can lose you a game while an elite spinner can singe-handedly carry you to victory.

There's some elite keepers and spinners in part three of the Western Zone Top 50 countdown.

As we continue to look at the region's best players since 2000, here's those who rank 30-21:

His greatest individual performance - scoring a century and taking five wickets in a grand final win - may have come in the late 90s but there were still plenty of good times for 'Choppy' this century.

Part of the first Western Zone team to win a Country Championships in 2000/01, Simpson was a leading all-rounder who thrived on the tough stuff.

If someone needed to bowl a big spell he was your man and if the side needed a batsman to stand up against an opposition fast bowler who was steaming in, Simpson would tick that box too.

A classic country fast bowler.

The Bathurst quick was someone who was never far away from a bagful of wickets. Even when he started the 2014/15 season a little slowly he roared back to form by taking 7/38 from 15 overs for club side City Colts.

He went on to be a Western Zone vice-captain and was just a genuine threat with the new ball who could test even the best batters.

Arguably the best fast bowler Bathurst has produced for a number of decades.

Once described as the best wicketkeeper in the bush. That's a pretty good place to start.

Given the competition for spots in the Western side, if you were the keeper for the Bluebaggers it said a lot. Sullivan represented the Zone due to his run-making as much as his skills with the gloves.

When he got his Western call-up in 2004/05 he averaged close to 80 for that season with his 123 in the President's Cup final over Bathurst a real highlight.

He also had this brilliant approach to training:

"I don't know what it is. I seem to go well when I don't go to training. It's real weird. I've done it for the last three years. I'll go once a week and that's it," he laughed.

Basically the perfect all-rounder. Could open the bowling, moved the ball, and took plenty of wickets. Could bat in the top four and could knuckle down and bat long periods or he could take on a more aggressive role. You can't really ask for much more.

Lindsay returned to the western area late last decade after a stint playing in Sydney and there was still plenty of fire burning within. He helped South Dubbo climb the RSL Whitney Cup ladder in Dubbo and got Western Zone to another NSW Country Championships win in 2016/17. He was rewarded after that campaign with NSW Country selection.

After growing up in Parkes and then enjoying time with Manly in the Sydney grade competition and in England, Skinner moved to Dubbo in the early 2000s and his quality was quickly easy to see.

A fine all-rounder, Skinner played at both Souths and Newtown in Dubbo but it was with Macquarie where he really made his greatest impact as an all-rounder who could seemingly do it all.

Skinner was also part of the triumphant 2000/01 Western side. He was an opening bowler who'd hit the pitch hard and then he would return late in the innings and be just as threatening with an old ball in hand. He'd also bat in the top order and could grind things out before lifting the run-rate when needed.

He went on to become club president for Macquarie but sadly died at the age of 40 in 2011 after a three-year battle with illness.

Tall and imposing, Dunford could trouble even the best batters. One of the key contributors to Parkes' fondly remembered representative success over a number of years, Dunford was near impossible to play at times when he had the new ball in hand.

Someone who just looked every bit a fast bowler, Dunford represented Western Zone but some of his most memorable performances were at home at Woodward Oval where he constantly seemed to be bowling long spells and taking plenty of wickets.

There was also the old saying 'if Dunford doesn't get you, Hawke will' given the outstanding new ball partnership he formed with Clinton Hawke.

The best spin bowler to play in Dubbo? He'd be in the conversation.

Quilter only played a few years with South Dubbo but her certainly made his presence felt. His performances didn't go unnoticed for long as he played for Western Zone and NSW Country during his time in the region.

Someone who could consistently be relied upon to bowl big spells as the quicks rotated at the other end, Quilter was a top off-spinner with a dangerous arm ball.

No team felt comfortable about their winning chances, no matter the scenario, as long as Bruce Webb was still at the crease.

A real competitor, Webb was a captain who led by example. When those big moments arrived, he was most often the person to make them his own. He was the player who would stand up and make runs, take a wicket, or even do something special in the field.

A real competitor, Webb was a standout at Bathurst in the 2000s and captained Western Zone. He was a batter who could always be relied on while he had a knack for building pressure with his off-spin.

Western Zone has a proud history when it comes to elite wicketkeepers and Jason Ryan is firmly in the conversation for number one.

With rapidly quick hands, Ryan took numerous stumpings which shocked his own teammates. Comfortable up to the stumps to fast bowlers or spinners, Ryan's performances with the gloves were crucial for club side RSL Colts, Dubbo and Western Zone over a long period of time.

A reliable middle-order bat and someone who also captained sides as well, Ryan has long been someone who's rarely far away from the action on the field.

Ray the run-maker.

He spent four years in Orange and scored more runs in that time than many would love to have in their careers.

In the 2009 calendar year he amassed more than 1200 runs. He piled on 513 in the second half of 2008/09 and then when the next summer began he had a whopping 768 runs before Christrmas.

In 13 games in the 2010/11 season alone he also scored 768 runs, including three centuries, at an average of 85.33. His highest score was an unbeaten innings of 206 against Centrals which was also the best in the competition.

Doolan was also more than handy with the ball. He claimed 15 wickets at an average of 19 with a best of 3-7 the same season.

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