WANDELLA v ULTIMA-TUF
TO the winner will go the spoils – potentially – Saturday afternoon when Wandella host Ultima-TUF at Riverside Park in what is effectively an elimination final for both clubs.
Although the winner of this match will remain in the finals race, they still require one of St. Mary’s-Tyntynder or Woorinen to lose in order to leapfrog their way into the top four.
The red ball format has been very unkind to both teams since Christmas, with both the Bombers and Roodogs winning just one of their past five matches since the break.
The similarities between the two clubs don’t end there however, with their performances with the bat identified as their weaknesses.
With three scores below 100, including totals of 76, 62 and 43, Ultima-TUF have battled to give their bowling attack a target with which to defend in the red ball format.
Wandella haven’t fared much better however, with two totals below 100 (49 and 59) and only once passing 150, with a 65-run win over Woorinen when they amassed 151 in round 12.
Wandella’s Peter Moore will be the key wicket for the Roodogs in their quest for the vital six points, with the talented all-rounder having the ability to turn a game on its head with the bat, while Ultima-TUF captain Kade Benfield is the man in form for the visitors, having scored 170 runs from his last four innings.
With the season on the line for both clubs, an all-out war should be expected, with the result likely to go right down to the final overs between the two evenly matched clubs.
RSL v WOORINEN
WOORINEN will be looking to lock away a top two finish when they face off against RSL at Gurnett Oval Saturday afternoon.
With Barham-Koondrook having the bye this weekend, and with a superior percentage than the Raiders, a win over the Blues will see the Tigers finish top two and secure a home semi-final.
Highlighting the evenness of the SHDCA A grade competition, however, is the fact that a loss, along with other results going against them, could also see them fall from the top four, meaning anything less than a win will be an unacceptable result for the Tigers.
RSL on the other hand are effectively out of the finals race following their 25-run loss to St. Mary’s-Tyntynder last Saturday, but will still pose a significant challenge to a Woorinen team that is in the midst of a three-match losing streak.
Darren Rushton (377 runs @ 31.42) and Dean Morpeth (366 runs @ 36.60) have been the key Woorinen wickets all season and loom to be again for an RSL bowling attack that performed above expectation in claiming all 10 wickets against the Bulldogs last weekend.
The challenge for RSL will be in compiling a defendable score with the bat, with Stuart Patterson (275 runs) and Ryan Hinton (219 runs) the only Blues batters to score more than 200 runs for the season.
