ROUND five of the Portland and District Cricket Association’s season is set for tomorrow, with the competition moving away from the Twenty20 format for the time being and towards one-dayers.

While many batsmen will look forward to the longer format and a chance to get themselves set at the crease, the transition is likely to cause headaches for officials who are trying to organise venues, especially with both Hanlon Park and Alexandra Park out of action and the spring’s big wet making it difficult to get the other grounds in top condition.

Regardless, spirits are high across the competition, and nowhere more so than in the undefeated Portland Tigers camp.

The A grade side will head into this weekend against opponents Tyrendarra having not played for two weeks, due to a bye and a washout, however captain Will Oakley said he’s unfazed by the circumstances surrounding the match.

“Everyone’s in the same boat clearly, obviously we’ve only played two matches, but Colts and Tyrendarra have only played one,” Oakley said.

“It is frustrating but in saying that we’ve been doing as much preparation and training as we can to ensure we’re ready to go.”

Oakley added that the change to a slightly longer format will give some players more time in the middle, which is something that’s been lacking in their prior two matches.

“There’s guys in our squad that haven’t even had a chance to bat yet… so I think they’ll value a chance to get out into the middle,” he said.

“I think the batsmen value having time to get themselves set before they worry about scoring runs quickly… whereas I think the bowlers come in with a similar mindset, so it probably doesn’t change things as much for them.”

Tyrendarra are off to about as hot of a start as you can get with just one match in the books after a full month of the season has passed, as they comfortably defeated Portland Colts two weeks ago.

Oakley said he and his side recognise the challenge that the defending premiers present and said the key to victory tomorrow is limiting the influence of their star players.

“When you’ve got quality players like the Wilsons (Sam and Jake), Jordi Withers and others who are genuine match-winners it’s something we have to be aware of,” he said.

“They’ve probably got seven or eight guys on their team that can contribute to a considerable score.

“From our perspective I’m confident in our batting… we’ve only lost eight wickets across the two matches even with them being in the shorter format… I believe we’re more than capable of posting a very competitive total.”

Will Hardie and Michael Blomeley will look to continue what has been a formidable partnership at the top of the order, as they’ll look to give their side a firm foundation to build upon.

The Tigers will face Tyrendarra at Flinders Park, while their B grade teams will meet at Tyrendarra Recreation Reserve.

Go-Ports and Colts to clash

Gorae-Portland will be hoping they can pick up where they left off back in round three when they take on Portland Colts tomorrow.

Go-Ports earned their first win of the season in a close encounter with South Portland, winning by two wickets with just one ball to spare.

Openers Sam Atchison and skipper Zac Duncan will benefit from a longer stay at the crease, as they’ve faced just 21 balls between them this season.

Meanwhile, middle-order batsmen Nick Wills, Cameron Harker and Ryan Gadsden will look to build on positive starts to the season.

Meanwhile, Colts will be looking for some redemption after a tough loss first-up against Tyrendarra.

Another side who found strength in their top order via Alister Stannard and Glenn Hollis, look for their bowlers to try and step it up a notch after some expensive overs cost them a fortnight ago.

With Henty Park’s turf wicket still not up to scratch at this stage, the A grade match is likely to be moved to the only other vacant venue, Cavalier Park, while the B graders will play on Henty’s hard wicket.

Drumborg-Heywood and South Portland will also clash in B grade, with the match to be played at Heywood Recreation Reserve.

All matches across both grades are scheduled for a 1pm start.