THE last day of the Hamilton and District Cricket Association A grade Grand Final is here, and the winner of this gripping match will be the team that wants the glory more than the other.

College has a strong grip on the Dundas Cup after the first two days play, and will resume on 2-37 with a lead of 101 as Grampians seeks quick wickets on day three.

The first two days were gripping, as the momentum of the match ebbed and flowed between the teams with individual players standing tall to swing the game in favour of their side.

Day one belonged to Adrian Burn (46) and Russell Bennett (55), as the pair stemmed the flow of College wickets with solid middle order batting against Grampians leg spinner, Harrison Wood, who grabbed another ‘Michelle Pfeiffer’ (five or more wickets) with 5-51 from 25 unchanged overs.

With 196 on the board for its first innings, College appeared not to have enough runs, but two wickets to Lachie Watt before stumps turned the game in the Eagles’ favour.

That pressure was maintained on day two, as Watt continued to play havoc with the Pumas batting line up, finishing with 4-40.

Grampians was dismissed for only 132 in reply, with Tom Polkinghorne (58) and Zac Burgess (35) making the most of their time in the middle.

With a deficit of 64 the Pumas had to claim quick wickets and it was Joe Sutherland who provided the much needed wicket of Heath Schmidt (10) to get the Pumas rolling while Wood produced the ball of the day to bowl Charles Murrie (19).

Grampians must take wickets as quickly as possible and cannot afford any missed opportunities, while College must play its natural game while not taking any undue risks, as the team seek to bat the Pumas out of the match in the first two hours of play.

There are key personnel for each team with the biggest obstacle for Grampians being College veteran, Hamish Bailey, who is more than capable of dropping anchor and batting out an entire day while not worrying about the scoreboard.

Bailey is one player who enjoys the battle that is proposed by each individual bowler, and his tussle with Carl Joyce in the first innings was cricket at its best.

Along with Bailey, the Eagles need another finals knock from in-form batsman, Russell Bennett, who has scores of 95 and 55 in the semi-final and grand final to date.

Wood and Joyce are the main attacking weapons for the Pumas with the ball, but Grampians have so many options in its attack that any one of the bowlers could swing the game back in favour of the minor premier.

When its turn comes to bat, the Grampians players must not play with gay abandon, as that is the quickest way to lose a wicket, especially with the class of Watt, Henry Bensch, Lachie Brown, Russell Bennett and Adrian Burn coming hard at them.

They have to play their natural game and punish the bad ball when it comes along if the Pumas are any chance of snatching victory late on the final day.