Western opener Matthew Everett breaks NSW Country Championships runs record

The opening batter amassed the huge total during the recent NSW Country Championships held in Orange.

Averaging 144.5 across three matches, with scores of 88 not out, 88 and 113, not only did the Tamworth native lead his side in runs, he also broke the record for most runs scored at a carnival dating back to when records were first kept in 2009/10.

The previous record dated back to the 2013/14 carnival when NSW Country legend Simon Moore scored 267.

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"Obviously it's a pretty big honour to have," Everett said.

"I grinded pretty hard the first few days to get what I did, but it came a bit nicer on the last day, so that was good to get across the line and get a few runs on the board."

Western would fall agonisingly short of reaching the grand final, losing just one of their three games to eventual table-toppers Central Coast.

"It's always hard when you throw together 12 fellas from different regions to start well on day one," he said.

"It's something that teams who regularly win these comps like Newcastle do really well and they always dominate that first game. If there's something we can take out of this week is we need to really put a lot of emphasis on our first game next year."

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A former first grade player with NSW Premier Cricket side Randwick-Petersham, Everett made the move to Gilgandra for the 2020/21 season and is once again featuring for club side Breelong in the Bendigo Bank ABC Shield.

He also played the odd match for South Dubbo and represented Dubbo in the Western Zone Premier League as well.

"I'll try and get into Dubbo for the odd rep game or premier league game when I can," he said of this season.

"Obviously it depends what happens with this weather and with this harvest, but I'll try and get in for a couple premier league games after Christmas."

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As for how he felt the Country Championships went as a whole, Everett was just happy to be back playing against some of the best cricketers around.

"We struggled the first day as a team but we really built it over the last two days and finished the carnival pretty bloody strong, so that was awesome," he said.

"It's a really good standard of cricket throughout the country and with the facilities here in Orange, it felt like you were back playing in Sydney. Good luck to Central Coast in the final."

To top off his extraordinary three-day stretch, Everett even managed to snag a stumping off opening bowler and Orange City quick Ed Morrish in Sunday's match against Riverina.

"It's something I've always prided myself is the keeping," Everett added.

"So it's nice to jag one off the quicks."