HAMILTON and District Cricket Association A grade teams must quickly adjust to the sight of the red ball, as the 2023-24 competition moves into the longer format games for round 10.

The first nine rounds have been all white ball one-day matches with each team batting for a maximum of 45 overs, but now the players will have more overs to bat and bowl with premiership points amassed for every run and wicket.

College v Tyrendarra

THIS is the game the competition has been waiting for since the start of the summer, as the winners of both the Hamilton and Portland competitions of 2022-23 square off for the first time.

Tyrendarra has carried all before it this season, having only lost a single game (to St Andrew’s under Duckworth-Lewis-Stern system) to date and must be favoured to defeat the Eagles.

Even with the game being played at College Turf, the Darras have a team that is easily the equal of any seen in the HDCA over the last 20 years.

Against Grampians last round, the batsmen scored 190 from the last 22 overs with Jordi Withers (89) and Ben Menzel (59-not-out) guided the team to its winning score.

Menzel has been miserly with the ball, with each of his 14 wickets costing his side only 3.36 runs and maintaining a batting average of 44.67.

College has yet to really hit its straps this summer despite having a very good side take the field each weekend.

The Eagles have been hampered with some players being unavailable some weeks which halts the building of unity within the side, but the core group that has played every game is performing well.

Adrian Burn is leading the way with bat and ball, giving the side strength in the middle order and providing a spin bowling option, while Hamish Bailey is his ever-reliable self with the bat in hand.

Jordy Anthony has quickly slotted into the side as a new ball bowler and is sitting third on the wicket takers list for the grade with 15 wickets from the five games he has played.

With wet weather forecast for today, the toss of the coin may well be vital to the result.

Grampians v Casterton District

BOTH teams enter this game at Dunkeld Turf having lost last round and both need to quickly regain winning form otherwise the hopes of a top four finish will disappear.

After starting the summer with five straight wins, Casterton District has lost its last four games to be sitting fifth on the premiership ladder while the Pumas are eighth.

The Pumas failed to accrue a bonus point in the first nine rounds which is a huge surprise after the side scored the most bonus point victories of all teams last summer.

Will Collins is the leading run getter in the competition and will enjoy being back at home for the next fortnight, while the Pumas’ middle order must contribute more runs in support of the skipper.

The Maroons must be wondering where the next victory is coming from, but a great run chase in the T20 competition last week must give the side heart.

Ben Holmes started the season well with a century, but his form has dropped off lately, while Carey Megaw started well last weekend in making 49, but knows he should have gone on with the innings.

Pigeon Ponds v Gorae-Portland

THIS game will be played at Pigeon Ponds Recreation Reserve, but the home side will be badly under-manned while the visitors are expected to be at full strength.

Gorae-Portland is riding high in third place while the Pigeons are trailing the field in 10th, and will be without the three Close brothers, Simon, Anthony, and Michel, due to a wedding.

The club can name up to 13 players for the two-day game which would allow the Pigeons to name two of the brothers to play the second day, as only a maximum of two players can be replaced for the second day.

Gorae-Portland is expected to be at full strength except for James Cannon who is still getting over a recent surgery, and the side will have one eye on the last one-day game the first Saturday of the new year, which it needs to win to secure a place in the one-day final against Tyrendarra.

Gorae-Portland skipper, Nick Wills, comes into the game fresh from an undefeated 109 against College only seven days ago and is the key wicket.

Stephen O’Brien poses the largest threat to the Pigeons with the ball after a seven-wicket haul against Casterton District, including a hat-trick to win the game.

Macarthur v South Portland

MACARTHUR hosts South Portland at Macarthur Recreation Reserve and after South was dismissed for only 71 last weekends, the home side will be looking to repeat the dose.

South Portland is a much better team than that performance and with the game being played on a hard wicket, bowlers can expect the batsmen to provide plenty of shots and keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Macarthur is the form batting team with Olie Wortley and Kyle Smitten feasting on some average bowling from the opposition recently.

Wortley has scores of 96 and 54 in his last two knocks, while Smitten hit 74 against Pigeon Ponds last Sunday and 108-not-out against Hamilton North in a T20 match.

Hamilton v St Andrew’s

THE annual Christmas Challenge between these two clubs, that features games between the clubs across the grades, begins today with the A grade clash at Dahl Turf.

These two teams enter the game with vastly different form lines, as Hamilton was thrashed against Portland Tigers last Saturday, while St Andrew’s defeated Macarthur to claim a top four ladder position.

Today will be the last outing for James Guthrig with the Drews, as the young man heads to Queensland to prepare for further education, and he has been in good touch with the bat and ball of late and no doubt would love to post a big score or take a handful of wickets in his farewell to the club.

Brendan Huf returned from a three-week injury last week and it was as if nothing had changed, posting 81 including 10 boundaries at the top of the order.

Hamilton will welcome back some key players who were unavailable last Saturday which will bolster its young team, but the only way the youngsters will learn to perform at this level is to keep playing and build their confidence and knowledge.

Portland Colts v Portland Tigers

THE stage is set for a local match-up down south, as Portland Colts host Portland Tigers at Henty Park on turf, with the two sides at the opposite ends of the table, but both coming off a victory.

Colts have found a rich vein of form, as their successes in both last Thursday’s T20 against South Portland and Saturday’s one-dayer against Grampians.

Their top-order batsmen, notably Glenn Hollis – 131 runs in his past two innings without losing a wicket – James Chapple and Alister Stannard all had a key role to play in one or both victories, and they’ll be keen to close in on that top spot currently occupied by Tyrendarra.

Meanwhile, a dominant victory for the Tigers over Hamilton could be exactly the spark they need to get their season back on track.

Although there’s just five rounds to go in the season, two-day cricket offers the opportunity to earn far more points each outing, with the potential for second innings runs and wickets as well as outright victories on the cards.

The Tigers’ dominance with the ball was phenomenal on the weekend, allowing just one Hamilton batsman to reach double figures and dismissing the team for just 44.

They may have just found their new opening bowler in Artie Harvey, and they’ll be eager to see what he can produce in the coming weeks.