McDonald’s T20 competition
Round 1 Preview
Autopro Wandella v Beverford Tavern Demons
@ Swan Hill Showgrounds, 1pm
The Autopro Wandella Bombers will take on the Beverford Tavern Demons in the opening match of this year’s McDonald’s T20 competition tomorrow afternoon – provided this week’s wet conditions don’t force abandonment of all three Round 1 matches.
Both teams will go in with high expectations, however it’s Wandella who are perhaps better suited to the shorter format than the Beverford Tavern Demons, who will be missing their captain Ben Shadbolt and gun all-rounder Joel Walsh for the first week of the season.
Their absence will leave the Demons somewhat light on with the ball, with Drew Lloyd, Charlie Boulton and Cooper Andrews needing to shoulder the bulk of the bowling. The Autopro Wandella Bombers should have no such problems, with Ryan Barnes, Logan Keighran and Rohan Oliver all potential match winners with the ball.
The difference between the two sides could well come down to who is able to accelerate and score quickly in the shorter format. The Bombers have a solid batting line-up, led by the captain Greg Dickson and showed they were capable of scoring at a high run rate last season. The Demons played their better cricket in the longer formats with their younger top order of Charlie Boulton, Mitch Grinham and Drew Lloyd.
This could very well be a match that’s decided by the toss of the coin, with runs on the board always at a premium early in the season.
WDEA Works Saints v Phones R Us Blues
@ Swan Hill Showgrounds, 4pm
The reigning McDonald’s T20 champions will kick off their premiership defence against the Phones R Us Blues in the second match of the day on the Showgrounds.
The WDEA Works Saints have been the competition yardstick in the shorter format of the game for a number of seasons now – and this year should be no different, with the Saints entering the competition with much the same squad as last year.
The Saints are equally adept at both facets of the game, but it’s their powerful batting that sees them as the team to beat in the T20 format. Jack Shannahan, Bailey Codling, Corey Daniels and Jake Foster are all more than capable of scoring quickly and could well be the difference between the two teams.
The Phones R Us Blues aren’t without their weapons either, with Stuart Patterson and Ryan Hinton also more than capable of putting the ball over the rope at their best – but with the deep bowling attack that the Saints possess, won’t find the going easy in their first game of the season.
Tyrell Cricket Swans v Pizza Kitchen Tigers
@ Swan Hill Showgrounds, 7pm
The final game of the triple header will see the Tyrell Cricket Swans face off against the Pizza Kitchen Tigers under lights at the Showgrounds.
The Pizza Kitchen Tigers won’t have to look deep for motivation, having lost last year’s McDonald’s T20 decider to the Saints in a heart-stopping super over finish to the competition. The only difference this year is the Tigers will be without their leading run scorer Mark Mangiameli, who will be plying his trade in Bendigo this season.
Mangiameli will be a loss to the Tigers, but more so in the longer formats of the game as opposed to the T20 version – and his absence perhaps gives more of an opportunity to the likes of Mitch Uhlhorn, Darren Rushton and Cooper Fox – all of whom like to score quickly.
Swan Hill on the other hand are well and truly in the rebuilding phase and although they played their better cricket in the T20 version of the game last season, will still need a lot to go their way to cause an upset. However, if Cal Noonan can hit the ground running and Lachie Edwards is able to bat for the majority of the innings, the Swans could very well produce the first upset of the season.
