ST Mary’s Tyntynder return to the semi-final hurdle they’ve failed to jump in the past two seasons.
The dominant force of the SHDCA regular season are firm favourites against RSL on Saturday and seem primed to finally clear the bar.
Saints skipper Nathaniel Holmes-Brown told The Guardian his side was in a much better position than previous campaigns.
“Everyone’s in a good headspace and enjoying their cricket – the win on the weekend was exactly what we needed to kickstart our finals offensive,” he said.
“In the past, we’ve had batting collapses in finals where nobody has put their hand up, but we’ve been working hard on that this season.
“I have full confidence, if we do lose a couple of quick ones, someone will dig in and do the team thing.”
The Saints have been the competition’s litmus test in white ball cricket over the previous few seasons.
They are yet to win a proper red ball premiership, discounting the 2019-20 COVID season, cancelled early with the Saints in first.
Holmes-Brown wasn’t shying away from that.
“At the end of the day, the red ball premiership is the most important,” he said.
“It’s no secret around the club, we all want the A Grade flag – three years ago, we won it by default, but it didn’t feel the same.”
Standing in the Saints’ way is an RSL brimming with confidence and nothing to lose.
Winless at Christmas, the Blues have been in terrific form since returning and snuck into the top four on the final day of the regular season last week.
A lot of their success can be attributed to club legend Ryan Hinton having another influential season.
The star opener made consecutive match-winning centuries in rounds 12 and 13 and was the key to the Blues causing a big upset on Saturday.
Holmes-Brown knew Hinton’s wicket was crucial in ensuring a Saints victory.
“He’s in quality form coming off two hundreds – he’s certainly someone we respect, being a great player in the competition for a long time – he occasionally gives a chance early and we’ve got to be ready for it in the cordon,” he said.
Holmes-Brown himself might be the match-up to Hinton, with the opening bowler having a career-defining season, winning the A Grade bowling average.
“I was telling the boys everything feels right in my run-up and action at the moment – fingers crossed I can continue that in finals,” Holmes-Brown said.
“To know I have all these great bowlers around me, I can relax a little bit knowing if I have a bad day, there’ll be someone there to fill the void.”
Wandella v Nyah District
UNLIKE the Saints and Blues, the second semi-final between Wandella and Nyah District has no clear favourite.
The Bombers are the form side of the pair and have home-ground advantage, while the Demons possess the experience and star power to destroy any team.
Nyah smashed bottom-placed Swan Hill last weekend, but losses to St Mary’s and RSL the preceding two weeks left captain Ben Shadbolt knowing his side needs to improve quickly.
“I wouldn’t say we’re at our best confidence or form-wise, but it’s always nice to get back on the winners list,” he said.
“Nothing against Swan Hill, but it would have been nice to have a good hit out, and the ones we did have a fortnight ago, we lost, so there’s a bit of pressure on us.
“We’ve got to work really hard against Wandella – they’re in some pretty good touch.”
That touch Shadbolt mentioned was the Bombers’ five-game winning streak.
They are the form side of the competition, having beaten runaway ladder leaders St Mary’s by 54 runs in round 13.
Bombers captain Greg Dickson told The Guardian the powerful Demons batting line-up was still a worry for him, though.
“With the bat, they’ve got contributors all the way through – we’ve just got to be consistent, hit the right areas and not give them freedom,” he said.
“Once they’re set, we know what they can do, especially someone like Joel Walsh, who can take the game away from you in a few overs.”
However, Dickson was confident form, and last year’s semi-final loss, will hold his side in good stead.
“We’ve won five on the trot, which gives us belief whatever position we’re in, we can still find a way to win,” he said.
“I feel we’re in a much better spot than 12 months ago.”
For Shadbolt, it was about not throwing the toys out of the cot and trusting their game plan.
“Keeping things calm is key for us – we lost our head a bit after St Mary’s throttled us the other week – and at RSL, I dropped Ryan (Hinton) on 20, which got the heads down,” he said.
“It’s just about staying calm, playing the cricket we know and sticking to our plans.”
