United and Marist back for another shot at the two-day title
Two regular customers are back again for another crack at the twoday title.
The two sides have contested the past four two-day finals, with Unitedwinning last year, but Maristwon the three before that and theywill clash againweekend at Fitzherbert Park.
United captain Logan Mchardy said they had been playing good cricket in the two-day competition and there was no reasonwhy they couldn’t win one more game.
United have a full-strength team available, with rep players Mchardy, Mason Hughes, Tom O’connor and Ma’ara Ave key men in the batting lineup, and their bowling attack will be led by seamers Jack Harris and Thomas Kirk.
‘‘We were just trying to make sure we had enough batting really,’’ Mchardy said. ‘‘In a final it’s always good to get runs on the board.’’
Maristwon the one-day final before Christmas and captain Arana Noema-barnett was hopeful of finishing the season by grabbing another title.
‘‘We always like to think we can get up, but we will have to play well to beat them, they are a pretty strong team at the moment.’’
He said all of their team had played a final before, whether it was two-dayers or one-dayers, so they would know what to expect.
Marist are also at full strength and will look to key men Floyd na Nagara, Noema-barnett, Connor Morriss, Matt Wells and Jack Gleeson to play a big role.
United beat Freyberg on first innings in the semifinals, and in pool play they beat Feilding by 10 wickets, beat Palmerston on first innings and had their match against Palmerston North Boys’ High School abandoned after the sprinklers at Manawaroa Park came on overnight.
Marist beat Palmerston on first innings in the semifinal. In pool play Marist beat Freyberg and Old Boys on first innings and had their match against Freyberg abandoned due to the sprinklers.
Play starts today at 11.30am. United: Mason Hughes, Tom O’connor, Jason Mcgregor, Logan Mchardy (captain), Robbie James, Ma’ara Ave, Hayden Hill, Braden Rowe, Ben O’connor, Thomas Kirk, Jack Harris, Camharris.
Marist: Craig Lawrence, Liam Gunning, Floyd na Nagara, Arana Noema-barnett (captain), Seamus O’reilly, Jacob Edmonds, Levi Woolston, Connor Morriss, Nic Carter, Matt Wells, Dylan Lynch, Jack Gleeson.