LOCAL derbies highlight the third round of the Hamilton and District Cricket Association (HDCA) B-C grade, as two veteran players set records for their respective clubs today.

St Andrew’s v St Andrew’s Saints

CLEM Young Oval is the setting for the first of the derbies, as both St Andrew’s teams celebrate the occasion with Dimond playing for the Saints, and no doubt would love to mark the occasion with win.

The Saints team is the club’s C grade team and is higher on the ladder than its sister team after the first two rounds of the summer.

Casterton District v Hamilton North

LADDER leader, Hamilton North, travels to Casterton to battle the local side on Island Park 1 and will be looking to continue their high-flying start to the summer, while Casterton District is on the fourth rung of the ladder after its own undefeated start.

The Hammers has won both games with a bonus point to lead the Maroons by two points, as Darren Groves and Oscar Newell have led from the front at the top of the order, with the pair adding 49 and an undefeated 96 in the opening two rounds.

Mark Penny and Chris Hutchins are just slightly behind Groves and Newell in terms of form, but only because they score slower than the Hamilton based pair.

The visitors’ bowling attack should carry them to victory.

Branxholme v Byaduk

BRANXHOLME Recreation Reserve is the venue for the other derby of the round between these two rivals, as the game appears to be a battle for the wooden spoon with both teams yet to win a game.

The Bulls have been playing the first two rounds short of a full side and is not expected to fill all the spots today, while Byaduk also needs to start winning games if it wants to play in the end of season C grade finals.

Games between these teams are always tight no matter where the each is on the ladder, with Branxholme captain, Andrew McFarlane, the key for the home side and Drew Pickford the Duck batsman the Bulls need to dismiss quickly.

Tahara v College

WITH the way the draw has been constructed this season, this is the second time these teams have met in the opening rounds of the summer.

Round one at the same venue saw the Bluecaps trounce the Eagles after chasing down the 135-run target in only 26 overs, as the visitors endured early season struggles.

Ross Milne (61) and Cooper Edmonds (31) were the best of the visitors in that game, and with George Huf, Michael Edmonds and Leigh Alexander now available, the side is much stronger and will give the home side a much tougher opponent.

Tarrington v Hamilton

HAMILTON is the biggest surprise package of the opening rounds, as the team was not predicted to feature at the pointy end of the ladder before the season started, but two bonus point victories have Hamilton on the second rung and playing great cricket.

Tarrington self-promoted from D grade this season and has started its season with a bonus point victory in round one and a narrow loss to Casterton District in round two to justify the rise in class.

Dylan Bensch and Marcus Lowerson with the bat are supporting the great bowling of Craig Jackson, who has eight wickets already and is the best performed trundler in the competition.

The strength of Hamilton’s batting stocks has been on show with Nick O’Brien, Isaac Shaw, Brett Ezard and Robbie Cook all featuring in the top six, which will make it tough for the Tigers attack to dismiss the visitors inside the allotted overs.