Swan Hill v St Mary’s-Tyntynder
The SHDCA A Grade home and away competition will get under way tomorrow, with two of the three winners from last Saturday’s T20 round up against each other.
Swan Hill will go into the weekend full of confidence following their six-wicket win over RSL last week.
But despite their strong performance, a much sterner test awaits in league power house St Mary’s-Tyntynder.
Not helping their cause is that the A Grade competition will revert back to the longer 40 over Kookaburra Cup format – which will suit the Saints down to the ground.
St Mary’s-Tyntynder flexed their muscles last Saturday with a dominant nine-wicket win over Nyah District and showed that they will once again be one of – if not the – team to beat in season 2022-23.
The win was set up by their performance with the ball, with the Saints able to restrict their opposition to just 79 runs.
St Mary’s-Tyntynder’s ability to bowl economical overs and tie down their opposition with good fielding and tight bowling has long been their big strength and it was on display once again.
Robin Sebastian returned to the Saints line-up with a four-wicket haul and will add another dimension to the bowling attack, with his ability to swing the ball perfectly complementing the likes of Nathaniel Holmes-Brown and Charlie King, who can both bowl at pace.
The big challenge for Swan Hill will be in posting a defendable score against the Saints bowling attack and they will need everyone to stand tall and contribute.
Alan Hatcher and Lachie Edwards were terrific with the bat at the top of the order last Saturday with scores of 38 and 33 respectively – however Hatcher will likely move down into the middle order in the longer form of the game.
If the Swans can get a similar contribution from the pair, along with Cal Noonan, Nathan Spicer and Jacob Hatcher, they may well be capable of an upset – although a Saints victory appears to be the most likely outcome.
RSL v Nyah District
Traditional rivals RSL and Nyah District will lock horns for the first time this season, with both clubs coming off unusually disappointing results last weekend.
RSL would be bitterly disappointed in their performance against Swan Hill, failing to capitalise on a strong start with the bat and posting just 102.
Similarly, Nyah District were let down when batting first and were restricted to just 79 runs – which was never going to be enough against the powerful St Mary’s-Tyntynder batting line-up.
Performances with the bat will clearly be the focus for both clubs ahead of tomorrow’s match-up, with both the Blues and Demons possessing strong line-ups capable of taking a game away from their opposition in the blink of an eye.
RSL’s former captain Ryan Hinton started the season in form, top scoring for the Blues with 37, but found little help outside of Ben Hallam and Brenton Caldwell, who were the only others to reach double figures.
It was a similar story for Nyah District, with Tristan Dalbon, Josh Domaille and Justin Toomey the only batsmen to pass 10 runs in their innings.
The worrying sign from a Nyah District perspective would have been the lack of contribution from their top order, with Charlie Boulton, Mitch Grinham, Joel Walsh and Dean Harrop – four very reliable batsmen – contributing a combined 12 runs.
Helping the Demons’ cause will be the return of grand final hero Drew Lloyd, who missed last Saturday’s loss to the Saints. Lloyd should immediately slot back into a very talented bowling attack comprising Walsh, Boulton and the underrated Cooper Andrews.
RSL’s bowling line-up on the other hand has a very different look to it than in previous years – and although the Caldwell brothers are still leading the attack, they are now surrounded by younger players Jacob O’Meara, Charlie Kingwill and Billy O’Meara.
While the benefit of experience may lie with the Demons bowling line-up, RSL are always a better side on the low, slow pitch that is Gurnett Oval – and will still be very hard to beat.
Wandella v Woorinen
The final game of the round will see Wandella take to the field for the first time this season, with the Bombers to host Woorinen at Riverside Park in a semi-final rematch from last season.
Woorinen will be full of confidence, especially on the back of their commanding performance with both bat and ball against Ultima-TUF last Saturday.
They were able to keep the Roodogs to less than three figures without tearaway paceman Robert Rush, before easily chasing down the target with six overs to spare.
While Woorinen couldn’t have been more impressive, Wandella – who had the bye last week – will likely put up a much tougher contest on their home deck.
The Bombers were impressive in their first season in the competition last year and showed they are more than competitive with the best teams in the league.
With the additions of Kaine O’Connell and Alex Lloyd, they should only further improve.
The big challenge for both teams will be putting a defendable score on the board against high class bowling attacks.
The Tigers have good depth with the ball, with Guri Singh, Stefan Mangiameli, Glenn Violi, Darren Rushton and Rush – if he plays – all capable of multiple wicket taking spells of bowling.
Wandella are also strong with the ball, with opening bowler Ryan Barnes one of the best in the competition and ably supported by Rohan Oliver and youngster Bohden McKnight.
With early wins at a premium, expect a hard-fought contest that will potentially be decided by the toss of the coin.
