FIRST-PLACED Grampians will battle third-placed College at Dunkeld Turf over the next two Saturdays in the match of the round, with the Pumas favoured to claim the victory against the reigning premiers at home.

Grampians has been the team to beat this summer, overcoming every obstacle to date this season.

All three aspects of the Pumas’ game are humming along with the top order making more runs than any other team, the bowlers claiming every wicket on offer in the games played, and the fielders backing their bowlers up with good catching and great saves to restrict the opposition scoring.

There is no one player dominating with the willow for the team, as the top order is ensuring that if one player fails then the rest are there to pick up the slack, while Harrison Wood is leading the competition wicket list with 19.

One more victory in the remaining four rounds will see the Pumas claim the minor premiership, a feat which hasn’t been achieved so early in the summer for many years.

College will have one eye on this match and be looking ahead to the Sungold T20 finals next weekend which it has qualified for by winning the local T20 competition.

Many of the Eagles players will be fully prepared for this game after junior country week carnivals in the past couple of weeks, but having had last Saturday off for the bye, the team should be fully refreshed.

They will need to be as the toss of the coin will be vital, as whichever captain calls correctly will no doubt bat first with the forecast temperature being 38C and not want to field all day in such warm conditions.

The Eagles haven’t played since December 17 and the senior players in the side could well be rusty with both bat and ball.

Having another bye still to come makes victory imperative for College, as ladder positions will come down to how many bonus points each team has and the only way to secure these points is to make as many runs as possible and take every wicket on offer.

Hamilton v Pigeon Ponds

HAMILTON must defeat second-placed Pigeon Ponds at Dahl Turf if it wants to feature in the finals this summer.

No other result will keep the Blues in the hunt for finals, even though the side is only 18 points from fourth spot, but as the side is yet to put a win on the board it will take a form reversal for it to happen.

The loss of players over the off-season has been widely publicised, and the club is promoting youngsters into the top grade looking to fast track their development.

Simon Sharrock as skipper is leading from the front for the Blues but he needs his senior members to step up and turn their form around, but wicketkeeper Nic Cullinane is still on the injured list and his absence has been a major loss for the Blues.

Pigeon Ponds will again look to its stars in Simon Close, Jack Beaton, Peter Staude and Anthony Close to continue their form with the bat and ball, but it was Will Staude and Michael Close who rescued the side last Saturday against St Andrew’s, adding an unbroken 115 to guide the team to victory.

Beaton grabbed career best bowling figures of 6-42 in the game and he has now done the double after posting his highest ever score of 40 back in round one against Hamilton, which also took the Pigeons to victory.

St Andrew’s v Macarthur

ST Andrew’s will still be smarting from its loss against Pigeon Ponds last Saturday which cost it a place in the One Day Shield final.

The Drews also had some bad news during the week with their skipper, Russell Elton, out until for the rest of the home and away season due to his broken arm.

Simon Hatherall will step up into the captaincy from behind the stumps and will have to find a new spinner to replace Elton.

Kane Taylor is expected to be back for this match after missing last week, and will slot into the top order alongside Brendan Huf, Michael Fitzpatrick, Damien Logan and James Guthrig which gives the home side a formidable line up.

Macarthur is trying to resurrect its season and if the side wants to replicate the runner-up finish of last season then it must win all remaining matches.

Hamish Wortley returns for the last half of the summer to bolster the batting, but the Demons need to find the form that saw the side defeat Pigeon Ponds in the last round before the Christmas break if they want to play finals.

Michael Brilley, Jeremy Sheehan and Jack Wortley have been sound with the bat, but they need the rest of the batting order to stand along side them and post a big score on Clem Young Oval.

Brilley has returned to the bowling attack this season and his 6-10 against Ponds shows that he still has the skill to be a force at this level, but the attack is struggling to take the wickets on offer.

Being back on turf will suit the Demons bowlers and they will trouble the Drews batting line up, but if they fail to contain the home side then the target could be over 300 when they come to bat.