CITY BOYS READY FOR PITCH BATTLE
FAR North representative player and Rovers first-grade skipper Tom Lever believes the city slickers have the right mix of youth and experience in their ranks to take out this weekend’s Cricket Far North President’s Shield.
In what will be a blockbuster weekend for cricket in the region, Lever and City will battle arch foes Country tomorrow afternoon, before the Brisbane Heat and Sydney Thunder WBBL sides go headto-head at Cazalys Stadium under lights tomorrow night.
“We’ve got a pretty good squad in that there’s a lot of youth in there – Ben Shrimpton from Port Douglas and Jack Gardner and Adam Trewin from Barron Cricket Club – but there’s also some old heads in there as well,” Lever said. “We’ve got a lot of big hitters. There’s actually a lot of batting (depth) throughout.
“I believe a couple won’t bat and one will just bowl, so there should be batting the whole way down the order.”
Lever hopes tomorrow’s conditions will allow both teams to post big totals.
“It’s a great facility and it’s always been really good for batting,” he said.
“I know the last Shield game here (Queensland Bulls v South Australia Redbacks, December 2017), the teams really struggled to take wickets.
“It should be good for batting, but we’ll just wait and see with the rain at this point.
“If it rains a bit today and tomorrow morning, I’d probably predict its going to be a slow outfield, but it’s obviously a better outfield than a lot of the other fields in the region.”
Lever said the players selected for the inaugural President’s Shield clash were looking forward to playing against their mates.
“Usually when you put a rep shirt on, you’re playing against a different region, but to be playing against players from within the competition is really exciting,” he said. “I guess we’re friends, but when we go over the line on to the field, things will be a bit different.”
With both teams loaded with game-breakers of both the batting and bowling variety, the game is expected to be a tight contest and one in which anything could happen.
“We have played a lot of T20 cricket with the competition changing this year and I think the players are a lot smarter because of it. I think it will be good for this weekend’s game,” Lever said.
Lever said that while the Country team was full of cricket talent, nullifying the impact of in-form Mulgrave skipper Justin Reid and Atherton tonk-machine Dan Parnell would greatly increase City’s chances of winning.
“I think those two are the players to look out for,” he said.
Parnell hit a T20 100 earlier in the Cricket Far North season and on the weekend was dismissed for 97.