THE second day of Hamilton and District Cricket Association round four A grade games will be played this afternoon, with St Andrew’s skipper, Latham Wishart, set to make a big call in the game against Tahara at Clem Young Oval.

After dismissing the Blue Caps for only 89 last Saturday, the home side is starting the day at 2-77 (with Brendan Huf resuming on 59) needing only 13 runs to win the match.

Wishart must decide whether to bat out the day and give his players time in the middle under match conditions, or get 100 runs in front and declare and chase an outright result.

History tells us that St Andrew’s captains are not prone to chasing outright points, but Wishart is a new skipper, and he may have a different view of the situation.

An outright win would hand the team a minimum of 16 points, but they could claim as many as 18 points (if they score 100 runs in each innings, bowl Tahara out twice and win outright), which would lift the team into the top four depending on other results.

The Tahara bowlers did manage to claim the wickets of Fraser Hill and Nicholas Emsley before stumps last week and they need to be rid of Huf and the rest of the Drews’ top order as quickly as possible when play resumes.

Luke Barnes, Taine Morris, Nathan Slaughter, and Ross Hopkins are all good bowlers who have taken the step up into the top grade along with the rest of the team, and they are quickly learning that what they could get away with in lower grades is pounced upon in A grade and punished.

Tyrendarra v College

TYRENDARRA will have to be at its very best to chase down the 291 runs required for victory against College at Monivae Turf today, as both teams seek to remain undefeated for the summer.

The Darras have great form in chasing big scores at this venue, as the 2023-24 grand final result can attest, when the team chased over 300 against St Andrew’s after being 3-16 early on.

The home team will have Sam Wilson slot back into the top order today after he was named for the second week only, which would have had an influence on the decision to bowl first after winning the toss.

Aside from Wilson, Lachy Kirk, Jordie Withers, Hamish Withers, Cam Mather, Darren Kilmister, Ben Menzel, and Jake Wilson are all very good batsmen and the Darras bat down to number 11.

With this wicket producing over 750 runs across Saturday and Sunday last weekend, the College attack must maintain a diligent line and length if it wants to defend its total.

Jordy Anthony, Cameron Cutler, Lachie Watt, Lachie Brown, and Adrian Burn have been excellent to date this season, and they must maintain that discipline if they are to get the better of the Tyrendarra batsmen.

This is going to be an afternoon of attrition where one side will blink first, with the other to win yet again.

Grampians v Hamilton

HAMILTON can claim its maiden victory for the 2024-25 season this afternoon at Dunkeld Turf, as it settles in to hunt down the 224 runs required to defeat Grampians.

It’s been a long time between drinks for the Blues, as the team hasn’t tasted success since round 13 last summer against Casterton District, and it only recorded two wins in total for the season.

Anthony Read led the bowling unit last Saturday with 4-59, as Hamilton attacked the Grampians batsmen with spin from Read, Mitch Lang, and Isaac Shaw, who combined for 33 of the allotted overs.

Grampians’ bowling attack is based on pace, as Carl Joyce, Ryan Burgess, Eddie McShane, and Myles Alderman are all off long runs and that may play into the hands of Nic Cullinane, Mitch Lang, Shaw, and the rest of the Hamilton batsmen, who like the ball coming onto the bat.

Pigeon Ponds v South Portland

PIGEON PONDS will enter the second day of its game against South Portland knowing that the batsmen must play well if the team is to claim the points at Pigeon Ponds Recreation Reserve today.

The Demons batted well last Saturday to amass 251 all out, as skipper Scott Martin led the way with 98, Karsen Edwards 55, and Tighe Warburton 41 ensured the visitors put a solid target on the board.

The home side sits ninth on the ladder with only one win to its credit, and with a top score of 150 for the season, its not in form to chase such a tally.

At least one of Simon Close, Peter Staude, Ben Hanrahan, and Noah Hildebrand must bat through to the end of the innings for the rest of the order to bat around, while South Portland will look to Edwards, Warburton, Eamon Drew, and Craig Cummins to lead the bowling attack.

Macarthur v Portland Tigers

PORTLAND Tigers has a very real opportunity to maintain its undefeated start to the season when it resumes on 0-21 against Macarthur at Macarthur Recreation Reserve this afternoon, needing another 215 runs for victory with all 10 wickets intact.

Last Saturday was a very slow day’s play, as Portland Tigers played the game at its pace on the synthetic surface which must have hampered the home team’s momentum, as the batsmen were continually waiting for the ball to be delivered.

It’s a tactic that has been utilised since the game was first played back in the 1700s and it is a bug bear of officials at all levels of the game as the pace of play is important.

Of course, Macarthur can utilise the same tactic but that is not its style of game, as the team likes to play an up-tempo style that produces entertaining matches.

The Tigers must be favoured to chase down the target with the form of Paul Proctor and Shanaka Silva good at the start of the season, but if Josh Belleville, Kyle Smitten, Simon Sharrock, Ollie Wortley, and Adam Fry all bowl well then, the visitors will find it tough to chase the target.

Portland Colts 8-322 v Gorae-Portland

GORAE-PORTLAND has a mountain to climb at Henty Park today, as it seeks to chase down the 323 runs needed to claim the points against Portland Colts.

Go-Ports ran headlong into James Chapple last Saturday, as the in-form number three blasted 174 from only 161 balls with 27 boundaries and a six to hit the highest score of the summer to date.

So dominant was Chapple, that the next highest contribution was Alister Stannard with 59, as the pair added 165 for the second wicket.

Today, the visitors will have to bat around Nick Wills, who until last Saturday was the highest run getter in the competition, but he cannot do it all on his own.

Wills is the standout player in the team, but he needs the rest of the batting order to stay with him if the team hopes to chase the target.

Colts has too many good bowlers not to defend its total with Matthew Belden, Luke Evans, and Jak Hotchkiss all keen to get the ball in their hands.