Murrabit v Woorinen
MURRABIT will be aiming to begin their first season in the SHDCA with a win when they host Woorinen Saturday afternoon.
The Blues come into the competition as reigning premiers of the Northern District Cricket Association, but despite their recent success will face a difficult assignment first up against Woorinen.
The Tigers have long been one of the SHDCA’s toughest teams to beat, and although they missed the finals last season, will be determined to return to the top four in 2023-24.
They will also have a very different look about them, Jason Mangiameli having stepped down as captain and been replaced by Cooper Fox and Darren Rushton.
Fox will captain the Tigers in the T20 and one-day formats while Rushton will take the reins in the red-ball competition.
Unfortunately for Woorinen, Fox is expected to miss Saturday’s opening round with a hamstring strain, and although the Tigers have plenty of depth with the bat he will still be a significant loss.
What isn’t known is just how competitive Murrabit will be – although they clearly appear to be a much stronger side with the bat than with the ball.
Nathan Henry is a high-class batsman and will be a player to watch while recruit Leigh Sobotnicki will also be keen to start his time with the Blues with a big score.
The big question is whether Murrabit have the capacity to take all 10 Woorinen wickets, which they will need to do in order to restrict them to a chaseable score.
