East has options to switch up batting order for blockbuster
EAST Belmont coach Chris Williams insists his side has not settled on a batting order ahead of Saturday’s blockbuster GCA1 grand final showdown against North Geelong.
The Lions are coming off a preliminary final win over Grovedale where they successfully chased down 244, with opener Sean O’Neill piling on an undefeated 92 runs off 98 balls.
O’Neill had been shifted up the order to open the batting in the final after spending the majority of the season in the middle order, and Williams says he has not decided where he will slot in against the Magpies.
“Sean already is, and will be, a Hall of Famer at our club, he missed a little bit of cricket at the start of the year and Lachie (Inglis) did a really good job opening up for us,” Williams said.
“But we know we always have that switch available to us in the middle order, so having those two able to switch last weekend in the chase, and both be able to do what they can do. Lachie iced the chase at the end and obviously Sean got us off to that flyer until cramp took over and he had to retire.”
Inglis has spent time opening the batting alongside skipper Shane McNamara, but came in at No.6 to secure the win with a 76-run partnership with twos captain Ben Knight, who made 36 after getting called up in Jack Jenkins’ absence.
Williams said Jenkins would slide back into the Lions grand final side after missing the preliminary final with a wedding and that Knight would hold his spot.
It means Noah Quick is the hardluck story for East Belmont, dropped after playing 10 matches in the first XI and having previously held his spot since round 7.
“Jack is one of our best bowlers for the last three years so he’ll come back in,” Williams said.