ANOTHER chapter in the rivalry between Barham-Koondrook and Wandella will be written tomorrow, with the two former Northern Districts adversaries to clash for a spot in next Saturday’s SHDCA A grade grand final.
While Wandella will be making their fourth consecutive semi-final appearance since crossing over to the SHDCA, it will be the first time Barham-Koondrook have gone this deep since making the move north, with the Raiders set to go in as favourites on their own home turf.
Although Barham-Koondrook enjoyed the week off last Saturday knowing their spot was secured, the Bombers were forced to earn their place, overcoming a determined Ultima-TUF in a nine-run victory that kept their season alive for another week.
Despite that win, recent history hasn’t been kind to Wandella, with the Bombers suffering an embarrassing four-wicket loss a fortnight ago to the Raiders after being bowled out for just 49.
Chameera Akurugoda was the chief destroyer on that occasion, taking four wickets for the Raiders, with Wandella captain Ryan Barnes expecting a much stronger performance this time around from his team with the bat.
“It was good to bounce back (last Saturday) after the previous week against Barham-Koondrook and it will be good to face them again this weekend and try to make amends for that loss,” Barnes said.
“Our opening bowlers (Peter Moore and Laing Waddingham) both bowled terrific last Saturday, they hit their lines and length and that’s what we’ll be aiming for again tomorrow.
“We’ve shown we’re definitely good enough with the ball, we just have to rely on a few of our senior players to step up in finals and make a few runs for us.
“We’re capable with the bat and we have the ability to produce a big score, but now we have to do it.”
Despite the Bombers’ recent challenges with the bat, Barham-Koondrook are well aware of the danger the men in red and black pose, with Wandella leading the head-to-head battle with two wins from the three meetings between the two clubs this season.
While the Raiders will welcome all-rounder Sean Solar back into the fold, co-captain Jayden Hall said his team would be doing everything possible to keep several key Wandella batters quiet.
“We definitely can’t take them lightly, I’ve played a lot of cricket against Wandella and it’s always a challenge,” Hall said.
“I think there’s definitely a mutual respect for each other, but when you cross that white line, it’s game on.
“Peter Moore is in really good form and is obviously a key part of their side, but I think that Wandella’s batting line-up, when they are batting well, can be quite explosive.
“There’s Flynn Knight at the top of the order who can get them going and there’s a couple others, like Brodey Farley, and we saw what he did last week against Ultima-TUF, who can also get them to a competitive score.
“If we can play our best cricket, we think we can take it up to anyone in the competition, so with that in mind we will focus less on the opponent and more on ourselves.
“If we bowl the lines that we want to bowl and then continue with to improve with the bat, then I think we should go close to winning.”
With Moore set to be a key focus of the Raiders, along with Flynn McKnight, Laing Waddingham and Bohden McKnight, the Bombers will instead turn their attention to nullifying Barham-Koondrook’s key players – namely the Lolicato brothers, according to Barnes.
“They (Barham-Koondrook) are a quality outfit and they have some good batters and bowlers, but the Lolicato’s are a big part of the team,” Barnes said.
“Both Garry and ‘Waz’ (Warren) are key wickets for us, but it should be a good game either way.
“Coming off last Saturday, our boys showed a bit of ticker and we just ground it out and if we can bring that intensity into our game tomorrow, we should go close to winning I feel.”
