Village minus stars but confident of another upset
IF Tracy Village needs any inspiration to knock defending champions Waratah out of the premiership race in the semi-final on Saturday, a look back at their round 13 meeting will suffice.
Skipper Josh Kann’s unbeaten 162 with the bat, and hauls of three wickets by fast medium bowlers Kann and Kane Hurly undid the premiers by 216 runs.
“The last time we played them the boys jelled well and it wasn’t just me. All the boys put in and everybody chipped in, a big reason we went the way we did,” Kann said ahead of the Gardens Oval clash.
“It will be a very different team on paper this week without a couple of players, (fast bowler) Noah McFadyen’s gone back to Queensland and (all-rounder) Jackson Edmondstone won’t play.
“That means we’ve lost our two main players, but I’ve still got a lot of trust in the boys.”
In the other semi-final, Darwin is looking at a return to the grand final stage after last season’s big loss to Waratah and Southern Districts under firstyear captain Matt Hammond is keen to repeat its 2019 triumph.
“The plan is to make a lot of runs on the big ground at Marrara (DXC Arena) that probably suits us a bit more and our bowling attack should be able to get the job done,” he said.