THE first spot in this year’s Kookaburra Cup grand final will be up for grabs when a resurgent Woorinen hosts the much-improved Barham-Koondrook at Tigerland Saturday afternoon.
It will be the penultimate game in the one-day competition for both the second and third placed teams, with both the Tigers and Raiders yet to have the bye this season.
The scenario is a simple one for both clubs however, with a win for the Raiders guaranteed to move them to the top of the ladder and two games clear of third, while for the Tigers, victory would most likely see them leapfrog Barham-Koondrook into second and prime position for a spot in the decider.
Both clubs will go into the must-win contest full of confidence after hard-fought victories against quality opposition, with the scene set for a highly competitive battle.
Having chased down Nyah District’s monster first innings total of 207 last Saturday, Woorinen’s Dean Morpeth knows that one good game doesn’t make a season however, with the Tigers skipper outlining that consistency is the key for his team’s chances of success.
“They (Barham-Koondrook) got a hold of us with the bat a bit last year so we’ll be looking to be a bit tighter with the ball and also learn from last week and be a bit more consistent with the bat,” Morpeth told The Guardian this week.
“One good hit is ok, but our form before last Saturday was average at best and I think you need a couple of good performances to gain confidence, although we’ll definitely go in more confident than we were last week.
“We’re on the right track and the mental side of our game and how we’re approaching our batting is really good. We have a positive outlook with what we’re trying to do and I think if we stick with that and we keep putting some scores on the board, we’ll be ok.
“For us, it’s all about focusing on doing the basics better each week because I think our best cricket can challenge most teams.”
For the Raiders, much of their early success has come from their bowling attack, with Jayden Hall (nine wickets), Garry Lolicato (eight wickets) and Chameera Akurugoda (five wickets) all starting the season in form.
Where Barham-Koondrook can improve, however, is with the bat, with the Raiders having been bowled out in three of their four games all for 120 runs or less.
Raiders co-captain Jayden Hall is aware that his team will need to improve with the stick if they are to continue their winning form against the Tigers.
“We’ve definitely got one side of our game in pretty good shape with the ball, but we’d like to make more than 120 with the bat,” Hall said.
“We’ll definitely need to improve and score some runs against Woorinen because they go hard and score big.
“We’re optimistic about where we find ourselves with the bat, we’ve got some pretty handy guys who are struggling at the moment, but those blokes will push their averages up pretty soon.
“We’re pretty optimistic that once we get that side of our game going, we’re going to be pretty competitive against anyone.
“Garry (Lolicato) and Warren (Lolicato) are all class and we know what we’re going to get from them. I have a lot of faith in Lachie Laursen and I know some big runs are just around the corner for him.
“The other one is Hayden Solar, who made a 23 ball duck (against St. Mary’s-Tyntynder), but he was facing some pretty good bowlers at the top of the order and he looks a good at training.
“He’s still building into his game after having few years off cricket, but I’m pretty confident he’s going to be a prolific run scorer once he gets going.”
While the Raiders are expected to be without Caleb Davidson and Jade Stewart, they will regain the services of Mason Laursen, while Woorinen will go into tomorrow’s must-win game with a largely unchanged line-up from the team that defeated Nyah District by five wickets last Saturday.
