St Annes ready for redemption
THERE is a vast contrast between the recent history of the two sides playing off in this season’s Southern Cricket Association grand final today at Cadbury Oval.
Wellington is looking to continue its dominance on the competition, while St Annes will be hoping to overcome a hurdle that has repeatedly stood in its way.
Before New Norfolk won last season’s flag, Wellington had won the competition five times in a row. Last season’s grand final also marked St Annes’ fourth defeat in the big dance in seven seasons, with the club’s last flag coming in 2010-11.
Wellington captain Nathan Muir doesn’t believe his club’s success in recent times has any bearing on today’s game.
“It’s a different ball game,” Muir said.
“It’s a different year with a different side.
“I think only three players were a part of a couple of those wins.”
St Annes captain Jason Shelton said last season’s loss still hurts, but admits his side has not talked about it heading into today.
“Last year we were expecting to win and were a bit uptight on the day,” Shelton said.
“The last few weeks we have just tried to relax and have some fun, which I think helps us play better cricket.”
St Annes’ poor record in grand finals doesn’t concern Shelton, but the differences in the amount of cricket the two sides have played in the past month is something Shelton believes works in his opposition’s favour.
“The way the finals are set up we didn’t play the first week of finals, then played a 25-over rain-affected match in the semi-final and didn’t play last week,” Shelton said. “Wellington have played some tough cricket week in and week out, but we still think we are in the right space to get the win.”