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CHASING THE CUP

THE stage is set for the biggest game of the Hamilton and District Cricket Association (HDCA) season, with Tyrendarra and St Andrew’s facing off against one another in the A grade grand final at Monivae Turf.

The A grade decider can stretch across four days should it be required to achieve a first innings result, with the third and fourth days played next weekend if needed.

Tyrendarra has been the team to beat across the course of the entire season, with a Sungold Cup and HDCA A grade one-day final victory already under their belts so far this season.

However, St Andrews has proven to be the Darras’ Achilles heel so far this season, beating them in both their one-day and two-day matchups.

Going into the decider as the only team to defeat the Darras, St Andrew’s captain, Russell Elton said he was confident the team had what was needed to defeat the minor premiers for a third time.

“At the start of every season, the goal for us is to first improve on the previous season’s performance, and to make finals,” he said.

“Reaching the grand final and winning it is obviously every team’s goal and every captains dream so to be in the hunt this year is great validation of every player’s hard work throughout the season, but we all know once the first ball is bowled, it all means nothing if we stray from our work ethic we have displayed all season.

“The result of the two-day game between us gave us the belief we can beat them in the (longer) format when we perform well and stick to the plan.

“We also know wins midway through the season will have no effect on the game whatsoever, so we will be treating it like every other game we play and working together to hopefully achieve the desired result.”

Darras skipper, Cam Mather said he believed the key to his side’s success will be getting it right with the ball early.

“They rely on their top three or four batsmen getting them a good start so if we can bowl a good line and length early, I think we’ll be in good shape,” Mather said.

“What we need to do is show up and play the same way we have all season, control what we can control.

“I believe we’re a deeper side than them, so we need to play to our strengths and make sure all 11 guys are ready to go.

“Playing them twice (already), we have learned a lot about how they play and who they rely on to perform, so hopefully if we can reduce the impact of those players will certainly help us.”

The Darras demonstrated their depth in their semi-final win over Gorae-Portland, with the likes of Jake Wilson, Lachie Kirk and Mark Pitt stepping up, while star batsman, Jordi Withers, largely took a backseat until late in the game.

Withers is one player the Drews have identified as someone who could shift the momentum towards Tyrendarra.

“The biggest threat with the bat I'd say be Jordi Withers, simply because after watching the lad bat for two seasons when we played together (has meant) I’ve seen first-hand what he can do,” Elton said.

“With the ball, Ben Menzel is one to watch, as he has come on and blitzed through sides on multiple occasions.”

The Drews are coming off a semi-final win against Casterton District, with Mike Fitzpatrick scoring 77 at the top of the order and will be one to watch for the Darras along with three-time P.F. Christie Medallist, Brendan Huf.

“Reaching the grand final in first year of the competition means a lot to the club and players,” Mather said.

“We have played a lot of cricket this season and had a good first year in our own right, but this is what we have been striving for all year.

“We will go into the game with the same mentality as a 160-over game.

“The boys have played (at Monivae) the last three weeks, so know what the ground has to offer when you get established and how disciplined you need to be with the ball.”

Elton said the Drews would be sticking with what had worked for them all season and backed the process to lead to the team’s first A grade premiership since 2018-19.

“All year our goal was to reach the close of innings with wickets in hand which we did more often than not and that has got us in good shape to bat out the 85 overs or more needed to bat in the finals,” he said.

“Our bowling plan will also be the same, which has been to bowl well and take 10 wickets, I think either way it’s going to be a great game.”

Play gets underway at 1pm.

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