THE last teams remaining in the Hamilton and District Cricket Association (HDCA) A grade competition will not only have to defeat their opponents in their respective semi-finals, but also the forecast heatwave that is due to hit the region today, to earn a spot in next weekend’s grand final.

Today’s forecast temperature must reach 40 degrees in Hamilton for the HDCA match committee to cancel play, with the final decision not made until 10am today.

Over the last 30 years, there has never been a finals match cancelled due to heat, but the rain has washed a few out.

If games in the lower grades are cancelled due to the heat, then the higher ranked team on the premiership ladder goes through to the grand final, there are no reserve days.

If play on Saturday is cancelled, then the A grade teams will play on Sunday under the two-day rules and unless a result can be achieved on Sunday, the higher ranked team will go through from each game.

Unlike a home and away game when a first day is unplayable due to the weather, semi-finals don’t revert to a one-day game on Sunday, as this is the advantage the higher placed team earns after the home and away season results.

Tyrendarra v Gorae-Portland

MONIVAE Turf has hosted many Tyrendarra home games this summer, and the minor premiers quickly chose to hold its semi-final at the venue when given the opportunity by the match committee.

Both these teams played in the one-day final back in January at Monivae, but on that occasion Gorae-Portland capitulated for 51 with the highest individual score being 11.

An astonishing come-from-behind outright victory last Saturday saw Gorae-Portland leapfrog Portland Colts into fourth place and claim a spot in the finals where they will once again meet the Darras.

They cannot afford another batting collapse against the odds-on favourites and can look to last Saturday to gain inspiration for the task ahead.

Chasing a target of 148 in the second innings against College with only a maximum of 24 overs to bat, Gorae-Portland chased down the score with more than two overs to spare.

This was a fantastic effort, as the team found itself 52 runs behind on the first innings, and College set the target, only because it needed an outright victory to gain entry to the finals too.

Tyrendarra used the last round as a tune-up for the finals, hunting down the 223 required against Grampians, with five wickets in hand and 19 overs to spare in an ominous warning to the other three teams left in the competition.

The Darras don’t appear to have a weak link in the team, losing only two games for the summer (both against St Andrew’s, who must bet past Casterton District in the second semi-final) with another washed out to be the dominant team of the competition.

Jordi Withers struck a run-a-ball undefeated century that formed the foundation of the Darras’ chase, while Jake Wilson and Cam Mather were the only members of the top seven to fail.

Ben Menzel and Darren Kilmister have been on fire with the ball all summer and have combined to bag 60 wickets between them.

Sam Wilson and Lachlan Kirk have dual roles, opening the batting and the bowling, and will be pivotal players this weekend once again.

Gorae-Portland captain, Nick Wills, leads from the front and is one of the better batsmen in the competition who can attack or defend as the situation requires.

Stephen O’Brien leads the bowling attack, and his 34 wickets and 336 runs puts him among the best all-rounders in the region.

For Gorae-Portland to reverse the one-day result, the team must put the minor premiers under pressure and play consistent cricket across both days.

Casterton District v St Andrew’s

CASTERTON District has earned the right to host the other semi-final at Island Park Turf after finishing the home and away season in second place, but it was a close-run finish, as St Andrew’s only trailed by 0.87 points (or 87 runs) in third.

These teams only played each other once this summer and that was back at the end of October, when the Maroons were in the middle of a five-game winning streak to start the season.

In the round four game, the Drews had four players who will not feature today with the side evolving over that space in time, while Casterton District is only expected to have two changes from the team that won by 24 runs.

The visitors enter the game with a worrying trend in its batting, where there appears to be a loss of form by the entire top six in the batting order, contributing only 29 and 46 in the last two games.

Darryl Fry will be missing for the remainder of the season after breaking his collarbone at training, leaving a hole im the Drews’ middle order.

Drews skipper, Russell Elton, didn’t bowl against Portland Colts last weekend and it’s to be hoped he has recovered enough to take his place in the bowling attack today, as spin will play a major role on this wicket.

Latham Wishart goes into finals in good form, collecting six wickets against Portland Colts last week after he delivered a marathon 27 consecutive overs.

The batting on paper is strong, but games are not played on paper and runs have been scarce for Brendan Huf, Michael Fitzpatrick, Liam Walsh, John Walsh, and Jacob Hill of late, and the side needs them to rediscover their lost form today.

Casterton District hasn’t set the world alight with its batting lately either, as only Ben Holmes, Rick Killey, and Logan Gibbs can be happy with their form leading into the semi-final.

Gibbs bagged 7-34 against Pigeon Ponds last Saturday to rout the opposition, with Jacob Edwards claiming the other three scalps to take his season tally to 29.

With Killey supplying the spin bowling option, the Maroons attack is bolstered with Carey Megaw and skipper, Kaden Humphries, giving the unit stability.

Home ground advantage is huge, but the Drews can look to the premiership winning experience throughout the team to nullify that advantage in what should be an enthralling contest.