OPTIMISM and frustration are being felt in equal measure by Andy Abbott at the moment.
His Ultima TUF side has clearly improved on recent seasons, but there’s still a long way to go.
UTUF takes on RSL in round 11 of the Swan Hill District Cricket Association season at Alan Garden Memorial Reserve tomorrow.
In other matches, Tooleybuc Manangatang hopes to cause an upset over Woorinen, Nyah District takes on Lakers and Swan Hill is away to St Mary’s Tyntynder.
Ultima TUF v RSL
ANDY Abbott was hoping to see the sidelined Jonathan Trott and the recently-retired Graham Swann turn out for Ultima TUF against RSL tomorrow.
While the Englishmen won’t be in Swan Hill, Abbott said UTUF’s position was frustrating but he remained optimistic about it.
“We have our good days and our bad days. When we have a day out we can give anyone a nudge but obviously we’re coming off a bad loss to Nyah,” he said.
The match sees first versus fifth, with RSL leading the competition along with Nyah District.
Ultima TUF will hope to cause an upset against the ladder leaders to stay in touch with the top four ahead of the finals.
Tooleybuc
Manangatang v
Woorinen
TOOLEYBUC Manangatang’s winless season of horror will probably continue against Woorinen tomorrow.
Ten rounds into the season and the bottom side is yet to taste a victory.
And against fourth-placed Woorinen tomorrow that is unlikely to change, although Glenn Violi is aware of areas in which his side can improve.
“We’ve probably still got a few areas to improve, we seem to lose wickets in a bunch,” he said.
Violi said Woorinen was likely to regain Luke Crow in a boost to their middle-order.
“We’re sitting in the four, which is always good. There’s still a bit to work on if we want to match it with the best though,” he said.
Nyah District v
Lakers
NYAH District hosts Lakers in a likely one-sided match at Nyah.
Nyah captain Shane Fleming said the season had been a “bit up and down”.
“We had a bit of a poor patch there about November, but we’re certainly hitting our straps now,” he said.
“I’m pretty happy with our current form. We’ve got two or three good wins on the trot now and we’re looking to ramp up towards finals.”
Fleming said he was expecting an unchanged side for tomorrow’s game.
“Our fielding in particular probably needs some work, we have dropped some catches in the last few weeks and can’t afford to do that against the good sides,” he said.
St Mary’s Tyntynder v Swan Hill
SWAN Hill heads to Ken Harrison Sporting Complex to take on St Mary’s Tyntynder in a crucial game tomorrow.
The visitors are third on the ladder with St Mary’s sitting in sixth and desperate to stay in touch.
Swan Hill welcomes the return of Jonny Hirst and will be hopeful of a couple of players returning to form after injury, according to captain Daniel Cruickshank.
“We’ve had a couple of injuries lately so hopefully those [players] will be right for Saturday this week in a must-win game,” he said.
Cruikshank said he was “very pleased” with his bowlers dismissing Tooleybuc Manangatang for under 100 last week.
“Some of our top-order batting needs to improve a little bit if we are to make big scores, especially with the two-dayers just around the corner,” he said.
