ROUND five of the Hamilton and District Cricket Association A grade competition will pit St Andrew’s and College against each other at Clem Young Oval today with each team aware that a loss will open a gap between it and the top four.
Last round, the College players hunted down the formidable target set by Pigeon Ponds with overs to spare, while St Andrew’s fell to ladder leader, Casterton District.
The Eagles were without three of their regular team members with Russell Bennett, Lachie Watt and Lachie Brown all missing the Pigeon Ponds game, but are expected to return for today’s game.
All three are integral to the Eagles’ bowling unit, and the side missed them last round, as the visitors posted their first tally over 150 for the summer.
Jock Barrie posted his maiden A grade half century last Saturday and is making the top order spot his own, while Adrian Burn is proving to be the missing spin bowling option the side lacks while also making good runs in the middle order.
St Andrew’s sits just behind College on the ladder with each having a 2-2 win-loss record from the opening month of the season.
The Drews expect to have Mike Fitzpatrick and Simon Hatherell available for this game, which will strengthen the batting with Fitzpatrick posting a century in his only game this season (against Tyrendarra on the same ground) and Hatherell back behind the stumps as wicketkeeper.
The bowling unit of the Eagles will test the batting line-up of the home side, which has struggled to post targets it can defend, as the side will require 230+ runs today to claim the points against a College batting order that is in form.
Macarthur v Casterton District
MACARTHUR enters the home game knowing it needs a win desperately after just won win in the first month of the season.
The side was routed for only 118 against Tyrendarra last Saturday, and the batsmen must regroup quickly and rediscover the form they are known for.
Ollie Wortley was missing last Saturday, and the batting suffered for his absence, but he is expected to be back today and should be anchoring the top order where he can bat through the innings against the best performed bowling attack in the competition.
This game is only the second match at home for the Demons to date, with the first game seeing Kyle Smitten post a century against Hamilton that rescued the side and led to the team’s only victory to date.
Casterton District has swept all before it this season with an undefeated four-game start to the summer and holds top spot on the ladder.
The strength across the board for the Maroons is there for all to see, with the bowlers claiming 38 of a possible 40 wickets, and the batsmen performing well in every innings as the side has recorded three bonus point victories from the first four rounds.
Jacob Edwards, Logan Gibbs and Carey Megaw are bowling well as a pace bowling unit with Rick Killey providing the spin option every team needs.
Edwards is also the leading wicket taker in the competition after the first four rounds with 13 wickets.
Hamilton v Portland Colts
MONIVAE Turf will host the clash as Portland Colts journey up the highway to try and keep its strong start to the season continuing.
The game was originally drawn for Dahl Turf, but it’s not quite at the stage that the curator wants it to be, forcing the move to Monivae.
Portland Colts currently sit fourth on the ladder with two wins and a draw for the first four games and its only loss came at the hands of St Andrew’s in round two in a high-scoring game at Henty Park.
Portland Colts skipper, Luke Evans, has led from the front and is the top run getter in the competition with 156 runs, dismissed just once so far this summer.
He is the key wicket for Hamilton today, as the Blues will want to break the win duck for the season after losing three of the four opening games, with the clash against Grampians abandoned due to rain.
Hamilton suffered the loss of key players from the club over the winter and is rebuilding from within with the young stars being promoted to the top grade to hasten their development.
Tyeler Ellis, Isaac Shaw and Noah Cameron are three youngsters who will have extended runs in A grade with the club looking to these players to form the core of the future A grade side.
Under the guidance of Cameron Templeton and Anthony Read, the players are being given responsibility to go out and play their natural games and this will only stand them in good stead going forward.
With the game being played on the wide-open spaces of Monivae Turf, big scores are there for the taking, as the batsmen of both teams enjoy the expanses.
GORAE-PORTLAND has started off its season off on the right foot with three victories from the first four rounds.
Go-Ports have shown strength throughout their line-up with both the bat and ball so far this season.
The headline acts have been their skipper, Nick Wills, and veteran player, Stephen O’Brien, who have notched up 95 and 70 runs with the willow respectively while also getting in the wickets with regularity.
Thomas Roberts has also had success with the ball, claiming four scalps on the weekend against Hamilton, while the likes of Zac Duncan and Harvey Reynolds have provided some further assistance with the bat.
However, while their opposition in Grampians haven’t been world-beaters so far this season, with two wins on the board themselves Go-Ports can expect a strong challenge at Alexandra Park.
Portland Tigers v Pigeon Ponds
TWO sides in Portland Tigers and Pigeon Ponds will be eager to get themselves in the win column this week after a challenging first four rounds for both.
Despite the results not showing just yet in the win-loss column, the Tigers have offered up some strong individual performances so far.
South Portland v Tyrendarra
SOUTH Portland has had strong start to its campaign with two wins on the board so far, but just how far they’ve come this season will be put to the test when the side hosts Tyrendarra at Cavalier Park today.
South relied somewhat heavily on opener Scott Martin to do the bulk of the heavy lifting run-scoring wise in both of their victories, however they can’t expect to be able to do the same against the type of bowling attack which the Darras will likely field.