SATURDAY’S SHDCA match of the round between Woorinen and Wandella is expected to be an early season defining contest, with a loss for either side expected to torpedo their chances of reaching this year’s Kookaburra Cup grand final.
For the Bombers, a loss will not only see them out of the running for one-day honours, but also put them under pressure for the season proper, having started their campaign without a win from their first two matches.
Woorinen will also be desperate to bounce back after a disappointing performance last weekend against Ultima-TUF, with the Tigers proving no match for the Roodogs in the 10 wicket loss.
It was a performance considered out of the ordinary from a proud club, with Woorinen co-captain Dean Morpeth telling The Guardian he expected a much-improved performance tomorrow with both bat and ball.
“It was an intriguing batting experience last weekend, it just sort of kept on rolling and we didn’t regain any control throughout our innings and they made it look really easy when it was their turn,” Morpeth said this week.
“I guess we had to try and overattack with our fielding and bowling to try and win the match and in doing so we let them get away from us a bit.
“We need to show a bit more character than getting beaten like that, there were some pretty soft dismissals and there wasn’t enough application to get ourselves into a partnership first and then go, we need to work a bit harder than that.
“There’s many factors I suppose and it’s not an excuse, but it was the first game for a few of us, especially us experienced guys who failed.
“It was just disappointing, I haven’t really been in a game where we haven’t regained control at some point, we just kept getting further and further behind, but one of the positives to come out of the game was the bowling of Jackson Hughes and Billy Matthews, they both bowled very well for a couple of kids.”
Making the Tigers task of bouncing back harder will be the absence of Morpeth and Cooper Fox, along with Stefan Mangiameli, with the experienced trio set to be replaced by Micth Uhlhorn, Eion Janse Van Rensberg and Ali Shah.
Wandella will go into the must win match with a largely unchanged line-up, with the Bombers also needing an improvement on their first two efforts with the bat.
So far, Wandella have been bowled out twice for a total of 193 across their first two games, giving their talented bowling attack very little to defend.
With players of the calibre of Peter Moore, Bohden McKnight, Samuel Copland and Ryan Barnes, the Bombers always pose a threat with both bat and ball, with Morpeth aware that tomorrow’s game will be one that should go down to the wire.
“I don’t think there’s any easy team to bounce back against this year, especially the way the first two rounds have gone,” Morpeth said.
“They (Wandella) will be pretty tough competition, they’re a great club, they play good tough cricket and we always have a good battle against them.
“It would be nice to get out there and show a bit, but whether it’s Wandella or any one else, hopefully we can perform to the standard we need to, otherwise we’ll be one and two and staring down the barrel.
“I’d love for us to have a bit more time with the ball, whether that’s bowling first or having a bigger score to defend, just so we can settle into our bowling a bit better.
“I thought we bowled really well (against Ultima-TUF), but they just batted very well.
“‘Dazza’ (Darren Rushton) batted well but just got a ball that stayed a bit low and that’s how it is sometimes, but I’d expect his form to continue to rise towards what he did last year and we need him batting to that level for us to continue to be competitive.”
