Fighting slippery slope
TORQUAY co-coach Ash Russell says the risk of slipping two games behind the win-loss ledger will be inspiration for today’s GCA2 one-dayer against Manifold Heights.
Both sides sit 1-2 after three matches and the loser is set to fall even further behind the leading contenders after the 50-over game.
But Russell is confident his side’s form is on an upward trend after a convincing victory over St Peters, piling on 7-219 before snaring 10-142.
“Mikey Jones has been in pretty good form, that’s two 50s in a row, so we’re pretty happy with how he’s going, and obviously myself making some runs finally,” Russell said.
“We’re building. Obviously a win on the weekend was another step in that direction. “It was a good team effort, I thought.” Russell said that it has taken some time to develop the right chemistry in the team.
“We were hoping it wouldn’t (take until Round 3 to jell), but we didn’t quite have it all settled in the first week or two, just getting that balance right,” he said.
“I think now we’re starting to see some good results and getting the team a bit more settled.”
The importance of today’s game hasn’t been played down in the Torquay changerooms.
“I’ve kind of put it on the group that we want to be going into the two-dayers 2-2,” he said.
“It’s a long way coming back from being 1-3, so I think this is an extremely important game for both sides.”
Co-coach Clinton Place comes into Torquay’s first XI after finding some form in the twos.