Another week, another washout for all senior cricket last weekend.
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Although they are only one day games, it will make it harder for the teams fighting for a spot in the finals later on in the year when it gets tight as the results could have gone their way instead of sharing the points against teams that can't make it.
But, be that as it may, all teams are still in the hunt for a finals spot. This week sees the last of the one-day games for a few rounds.
St Andrews take on Halls Gap at Gordon St oval. This will be a test for St Andrews to see where they sit in regard to playing finals. Halls Gap have been training since August and have played a couple of practice games prior to the season getting underway, so they won't be lacking in preparation leading into this game.
The Challambar v Youth Club game has been moved from Alexandra Oval, as it's still not ready to play on, to Great Western. This will a big test for Chally as they will come up against a number of players who made last season's association team of the year. With the likes of Cam Kimber and Clinton Slorach leading the bowling attack and captain Nic Baird in form with the bat, Chally will need to bring their A grade game with them to compete with Youth Club. With Sam Pilgrim, Josh Bywater and Chad Gilmour leading the bowling attack, Youth Club won't have it all their own way during this game.
Swifts Great Western play Pomonal at Central Park. Youngster Lachie Dalkin will have a steep learning curve coming up against some of the associations top batsmen and hopefully he acquits himself well on the day. The experience that Lee Oliver can pass onto him about how to bowl well on Central Park will be pivotal in how this game is played out.
In B grade, we have Halls Gap taking on Buangor/Tatyoon at Halls Gap. If Malcolm Russell and Brian Driscoll can get amongst the runs, the Gappers can make a decent score and make B/T work hard to get a win. Pomonal play SGW at Pomonal. With the wealth of experienced players for SGW, this won't be easy for Pomonal to win. Youth Club take on Rhymney Moyston at North Park. Youth Club has assured the association they can field a side after a couple of forfeits but their task will be difficult against the experienced Rhymney Moyston side. Trevor Quick will be looking to add more runs to his grand total of 10,000 association runs, which he accomplished last season in the grand final. Aradale takes on Navarre at the Aradale oval. Aradale will hope they can make a good score and make Navarre fight hard to secure a win. With Riley Wood and Clint Rodger capable of making big scores, Jesse Hannett and the Wilkinson boys will have their work in front of them bowling Aradale out cheaply. Chalambar has forfeited its match against Wickliffe Lake Bolac.
Our under 13 juniors are getting some cricket in, which augers well for the future. It was a really close game last week between Tatyoon and Buangor 2 side, with only three runs separating the two sides after their allotted overs. SGW made 7/53 while St Andrews was able to get away to a well compiled 8/107. In a high scoring game, W/LB made 4/87 but it wasn't enough against a strong Halls Gap side who only lost three wickets in making 105 runs. No scores were available from the Pomonal v Buangor 1 game. This weeks round sees Buangor 1 taking on Tatyoon, SGW v Buangor 2, St,A v Halls Gap while Pomonal takes on Wickliffe Lake Bolac.
In under 16s, Halls gap made an impressive 4/157 against Aradale who did well in making 5/96. The other game between Tatyoon and SGW saw SGW run out winners by three runs. Only losing two wickets was a major factor in SGW being able to pass Tatyoon's score. This week Aradale plays SGW, while Halls Gap play Tatyoon.
My selections: A grade: St. Andrews, Youth Club & SGW. B Grade: Buangor Tatyoon, SGW, Rhymney Moyston and Aradale