Playing for pride
Struggling clubs get chance on big stage
TWO teams with an outright defeat each and 11 losses combined for the season will contest tomorrow’s Geelong Advertiser GCA3 Twenty20 grand final — and they both know this is their chance.
For Waurn Ponds-Deakin and Alexander Thomson, this is their chance to claim something unexpected.
“It’s not until we actually made the final that we sort of went, ‘ Wow we can actually play for something this season’,” Waurn Ponds T20 captain Matt Wescombe said.
Waurn Ponds will today look to defend 172 against a Guild-Saints side that will resume at 2-36 in their regularseason match. But the Eagles admit they have an eye on tomorrow’s short-form grand final.
“There’s two games of cricket we play this weekend that we’re realistic chances of winning, but it’s fair to say one of them means a bit more than the other.”
With just five wins in their past three-and-a-half seasons, tomorrow presents an opportunity to spark some hope and drive around Jarvis Oval.
The Eagles defeated strong Modewarre and Thomson sides on their road to the T20 grand final.
They restricted the Warriors to 107 in game one, before defending a meagre total of 94 by skittling the Tigers for 70 in game two, with Wescombe declaring “we lift our game” for the shortest format.
“It gives us heaps (of confidence), we beat them convincingly as well,” Wescombe said.
“We put three full performances together in the three games, and if we replicate that this Sunday we’ll go a fair way to winning it.”
For Alexander Thomson, the T20 section of the season came at a time where its twoday cricket was struggling.
Bowled out for 75, 24 and 91 in successive rounds of twoday cricket, the Tuesday night fixtures, combined with trusting a youthful side, has seemingly breathed new life into the Vikings’ season.
“We’ve got a really young side and we’re excited,” said Jay Dunstan, who, like Wescombe, has taken reins of the T20 side.
“It does sneak up a bit. It’s (T20) not something we put all our focus on, but in saying that we still want to win it.
“But we want to win a redball premiership as well.
“We’ve got two big games this weekend and if we could get a premiership on Sunday, that’d be great.”
AT has added Michael Cox to its squad, while Wescombe said there will be “two or three minor changes” to the Waurn Ponds side for the grand final.