AFTER a longer-than-expected break for the Swan Hill and District Cricket Association, tomorrow will signal the start of the business end of the season when Ultima TUF take on Woorinen.
Despite being on the bottom of the ladder, the two sides are both looking to spur on a late season comeback and play in this year’s finals series.
Before the Christmas break, Ultima TUF were able to score their first victory of the season against the defending premiers, RSL, and were looking the goods before the final round of matches were called off due to extreme heat.
Woorinen were also beginning to come into form towards the latter part of the season, meaning tomorrow’s round 9 match-up could hold some interesting results.
Admitting the break was like starting a season all over again, Woorinen captain Glenn Violi said this game would be a bit of a surprise packet for the fans and players themselves.
“It is a bit of an unknown, we have all had a few weeks off now,” he said.
“Most of our guys are available and we are looking forward to the match with Ultima … we are looking for more wins, we were playing a fair bit better coming into Christmas so we should be able to get some more wins across the back half of this season.
“To make the finals we have to start winning now, so tomorrow would be a good start, it is still realistic I suppose (for Woorinen to qualify for the finals).
“Ultima TUF have been much improved, they knocked off RSL, so they will be very confident … we need to bowl aggressive because if we aren’t bowling well they will put us away. They just have their own aggressive batmen and if we aren’t on top of our game it can get away from us very quickly.”
Woorinen only have one win on the board and will need to pick up their form if they want to stay in touch with RSL and Swan Hill who are directly above them, clear by two wins.
Ultima TUF president Kyle Symons said his side was keen to get back into the game and continue their winning ways.
“We have the win and that boosted our confidence, but Woorinen are in the same boat a bit, and they had the long break too,” he told The Guardian.
“It is a bit refreshing the break, we aren’t going stale. We want to work on our batting a fair bit and occupy the crease for the full 40 overs.
“We have some young guys in the field and if we can get an extra 20-30 runs a match, it really makes a difference. Normally, they are strong with the bat and we want to get the early wickets.”
When asked if the club was dreaming of a finals berth, Symons said the side was just taking it one side at a time for now and they will look at playing finals if they can get in a position to later this season.
Ultima TUF will take on Woorinen from 1pm tomorrow at Alan Garden Reserve.
