Bottom teams desperate for wins
The Revital Fertilisers Premier Grade moves into round four this weekend with three teams still winless and desperate for points if they are going to make any sort of challenge for a semifinal spot.
Two of the winless teams, Ha¯wera United and Francis Douglas Memorial College, take each other on at the TSB Hub.
With Ethan Keller on representative duty, Ha¯ wera will be without their in-form strike bowler and Francis Douglas have an opportunity for the upset this week.
The other winless team surprisingly, Woodleigh.
However, they have played the three stronger teams in the competition – being New Plymouth Marist United (NPMU), New Plymouth Old Boys (NPOB) and Inglewood.
Woodleigh will be looking to is,
NPBHS 15, NPOB 13, NPMU 10, Stratford 10, Inglewood 9, Woodleigh 0, Ha¯wera 0, FDMC 0.
win the remainder of their games to get into the semifinals.
It won’t be easy this weekend as they take on the in-form Stratford team who were handed their first loss of the season last week by New Plymouth Boys’ High
School (NPBHS).
Top of the table NPBHS will face their strongest test of the season going up against NPMU.
Life is made somewhat easier for the school side with NPMU missing four of their representative players, Dean Robinson, Ryan Watson, Michael Blanks and Shay Smith.
In the game of the round, second placed NPOB take on fifth placed Inglewood.
NPOB will missing their captain, Mattie Thomas, opening batsman Josh Borrell and all rounder Davis Mills to representative duty.
They will be replaced by Jamie Watkins, Matt Shaw and Jackson Braddock Pajo.
Inglewood, on the other hand, have no representative players and welcome back experienced duo of Hayden McIntyre and Jason Dombroski. They will replace Ryan Wills and Brent How.
Kate Baxter, Emily Cunningham, Jessie Hollard, Aimee Wisnewski, Nellie Chapman, Briana Watson, Lucy Mitchell, Lydia Proffit, Jordan Bolger, Bronte Hill, Mackenzie Gardner