Toppled leaders tipped to fire
THEY might be Cricket Far North’s benchmark team but Atherton Cricket Club will go into today’s one-dayer against Mulgrave wary of the competition’s dethroned kings.
Skipper Tommy Boorman said his side would be on high alert when Atherton hosted Mulgrave at Loder Park this afternoon, with the Englishman expecting the visitors to enter the match with extra motivation after a lacklustre twoday campaign.
“We’re always wary of Mulgrave,” he said.
“They’ve got some top players there with Roachy (Jake Roach) and Reidy (Justin Reid) and their bowling attack with (Blake) Raper and (Wade) Matthews.
“They’re always a strong team and after their disappointing, by their standards, start to the season, I think they’ll come out firing for the one-dayers.
“If we can keep them quiet and get a win under our belts at home, it’ll be big for us.”
Mulgrave’s dominance over the Cricket Far North competition in the past decade has been well documented.
The southside club claimed five premierships in eight consecutive grand final appearances prior to the 2019/20 season.
However, they have won just one of seven games in 2019/20 – a stark contrast from last season, where they lost just three of their 26 games.
In comparison, Atherton have dropped just one game this season, while also taking out the two-day premiership by defeating Rovers in last month’s decider.
Atherton and Mulgrave are both coming off a two-week break, after last weekend’s fixtures were washed out.
Both clubs will be eager to walk away with the points today, with just two rounds remaining before finals.
“It’s our last home game for the one-dayers, so it’ll be nice to have a win up there and try and get a bit of a crowd there,” Boorman said.
“We had a good training session on Wednesday and we’re keen to get back out there and continue our good form from the two-dayers into the one-dayers.”
Former Atherton skipper Peter Sceresini has been brought into today’s side for the absent Daniel Parnell.
Sceresini suited up for Atherton’s second-grade side last month, scoring 52 against United Punjabi, and will today return to first-grade for the first time since March 16, 2019, after the talented athlete chose to focus on his hockey in 2019.
Atherton young gun batsman Chris Adams is expected to line up today, despite travelling to Adelaide with the Queensland Country under-21 team earlier this week.