THE heat is turning up on and off the pitch for this weekend’s Swan Hill District Cricket Association semi-finals.
Temperature were forecast to reach 40 degrees on Wednesday, meaning a potentially nervous wait for the two sides who could be eliminated by the heat alone.
If the mercury surpasses 42 degrees, and the association is forced to call the games due to a heat warning, the two top-ranked sides progress to next week’s grand final.
Wandella, facing top team Nyah District, and Woorinen, against second-placed St Mary’s Tyntynder, will be eager for the chance to throw down some heat on the field.
Nyah District v Wandella
A FAMILIAR match-up, Nyah District and Wandella to go head-to-head just a week after their last meeting.
The Demons were victorious in the final round, resigning Wandella to a 70-run loss and avenging their loss to the Bombers in round 3.
But Wandella will take real belief from that earlier victory, having been the only team to beat the Demons through regular-season play.
Both sides possess dangerous pace bowlers, and with this game to be played on Swan Hill’s Showgrounds, their job may be made slightly more difficult.
The return of Bombers No.1 bowler Peter Moore was set to be the only change from last weekend and should tighten the gap between the two sides.
Nyah District captain Ben Shadbolt said “nothing changes for us this weekend”.
“We want to rely on our ability to stick to our strengths,” he said.
“We want to bat the same way and bowl the same way we did last week.
“We made it clear to everyone here that we want to be coming into the finals as consistent as we can be.
“We don’t want to have changes at this point, so we will be rolling out the same side we did last week.”
With the match on a batter-friendly pitch, Shadbolt said whoever bowls the best should win.
“It will be a lot easier to bat on,” he said.
“The bounce should be true, Swan Hill has always been a good batting wicket. But if bowlers keep things tight, it can be hard to score.
“They’ve got a great bowling attack, and I think that both sides are preparing for a real battle.”
In terms of batting, Shadbolt said he thought Wandella had similar depth.
“They’ve got a fair few blokes that can make a score,” he said.
“They only need every bloke in that team to get 15 or 20 runs.
“If they can get around that 200 mark, it’s never an easy chase and they’ve certainly got the ability to do that.
“We said at the start of the red-ball competition that if we get the opportunity to bat out our 50 overs, then we really need to be able to do it.”
Shadbolt said his side were looking forward to testing themselves in finals.
“They got us at the start of the year,” he said.
“That was back when we were still sorting a few things out and had a few unavailable.
“They got the jump on us that day, and we know what to expect of them now.”
St Mary’s Tyntynder v Woorinen
THE second semi-final promises to be intriguing, when St Mary’s Tyntynder coming up against the competition’s in-form side.
Woorinen are on a six-game winning streak, including a big nine-wicket win over the Bulldogs in round 16.
Tigers all-rounder Darren Rushton has been the standout performer in this year’s competition, leading all comers with both bat and ball.
Rushton is 100 runs clear of second-placed Jonty Chaproniere with 653 runs at an average of 46.64 and will be hoping to outperform the St Mary’s opener this weekend.
With the ball, Rushton is three wickets clear of Wandella’s Ethan McKnight and RSL’s Oscar Hier, having taken 36 wickets at an incredible average of 12.89.
Although one of the stars of the league, Rushton isn’t without support – Gurmander Singh again making up half of the perfect pairing to open the bowling.
While they continue to impress with the ball, it’s Woorinen’s top order that St Mary’s will need to put a halt to.
Alongside Rushton, Connor Fletcher, Cooper Fox and Jason Mangiameli have been consistent scorers.
But St Mary’s have the firepower to dismiss whoever is in front of them, as shown in last weekend’s demolition of Barham Koondrook.
Bulldogs skipper Nathaniel Holmes-Brown said the recent return of Robin Sebastian had strengthened an already impressive line-up.
“He missed a massive chunk of the season while he was away overseas, so it’s great to have him back,” Holmes-Brown said.
“He’s always been a very reliable bowler for us, but he has proven himself every time we’ve thrown him the ball this season.
“He took five on the weekend, and was very hard to get away. I’m happy that he’s on our side, because the way he bowls must be very annoying to face.
“Woorinen have got a couple of really good players who are having a standout season, so it’s up to us to find a way to just slow those guys down.”
Holmes-Brown took five wickets himself last week, but he was looking to his batsman to make the home-field advantage count.
“I’d love for us to make a huge score with the bat,” he said.
“We finally get to face them at our home ground. The two games we’ve played them so far this season have both been out at Woorinen.
“We usually bat pretty well at our home ground, so hopefully we can keep that going.”
St Mary’s depth in their batting order is one of their strengths.
If top-order players like Chaproniere and Jake Foster miss out on the runs, the side’s middle order usually stands tall.
Riley Daniels, Austin McKerrow, Bailey Codling and Jack Shannahan all have the ability to bat up the order, but have made key runs throughout the season.
But Holmes-Brown was under no impression Woorinen wouldn’t be full of confidence, saying the side was “in some pretty good form” and would be feeling positive about their game.
