PLAYERS EYE TWODAY WIN
Big weekend for all forms of cricket
The favourite format returns this weekend for the second innings of the two-day game.
It’s the competition everyone wants to win, according to Northern Brothers Diggers captain Louis Reen.
Diggers began their two-day campaign against Highfields Railways last weekend and sent their opponents in to bat.
“We thought we had a strong enough bowling attack to roll through their batsmen,” Reen said.
“They (Highfields) resisted for ages and it was looking like a bad decision (electing to bowl first) but we managed to get them out quickly in the end.”
Highfields were all out for 119 and Diggers started their innings at the end of the first day.
Josh Barrett was the pick of the bowlers and took five wickets off 11 overs.
Diggers will head into tomorrow’s game at one for three after their seventh over.
“Basically we wanted to bowl them out so we had a good chance to bat,” Reen said.
“We want to get lots of runs this weekend so we have to bat well.”
Reen admitted it was an adjustment for the team moving into the two-day format last weekend.
However they looked forward to going one better this year after getting knocked out in the semi-finals last season.
“All the sides are fairly even competition this year,”
Reen said.
In the other two-day match this weekend, University will continue their run against Metropolitan-Easts.
University are seven for 182 with no plans of slowing down.
Wests have a bye in the two-days but still have a busy weekend starting with tonight’s Twenty20 game against Lockyer at Heritage
Oval.
Then the Toowoomba team will take on Laidley at Baxter Oval on Sunday in the Harding-Madsen Shield grand final.
Wests’ captain Brian May said the T20 game was a blessing in disguise for the team.
“It will be good actually because we didn’t play last week so it will give us a bit of a hit out before the
one-day game,” he said.
“Maybe it will settle some nerves if there are some... we’re a pretty young team.”
This weekend Wests face the challenge of missing some key players.
Big hitter Chris Gillam is out and opening bowler Shaun McCarthy is away on representative duties.
Brian May could also be unavailable with the early arrival of his son.