IT will be a matter of redemption for South Gambier and Mil Lel in the Barber Shield competition this week, after both teams suffered convincing Round 1 losses.
North Sportsman proved too much for Mil Lel when the two sides clashed at Marist Park in the season opener, while South was hit hard on its home turf by West Gambier.
Both sides will be licking their wounds going into tomorrow, as both first round losses were of margins more than 150 runs.
But with the season in its early stages, nothing is set in stone and when the two teams face off at Frew Park, players from both sides will be out to secure that crucial first win for 2017-18.
Robert Drenthen was the only batsman to make double figures for South last week, with 39 runs to his name, while Sam Phelan fell just shy on eight.
There will need to be improvement in this area if the side will see better results in tomorrow’s one-day format match.
For Mil Lel it was a similar story, with batsmen struggling against the might of North’s bowlers last week.
Justin Lamont led the way with 18 runs, while Jarryd Burston made 16 and Daniel Justin was caught out on 15.
Josh Jantosh and Jack Miller rounded out the double figure scores, indicating Mil Lel may have more depth than its Round 2 opponent.
South will again look to Adam Kuhl, Drenthen and Liam Neshoda with the ball, after they each claimed two wickets in the previous round.
However, if the team will compete with the top sides this season, South will need its players to step up to another level.
Mil Lel struggled with the ball against North last week, allowing the victors to run away on the scoreboard.
Caleb Bachmann, Justin Lock and youngster Ben Thiel recorded a wicket each for their team – a tally which they will all look to improve on tomorrow.
With both teams losing some key players in the off-season, without many new recruits, the two sides will need to find a way to fill the space left by these losses if they are to be competitive this year.
Based on last week’s results, tomorrow’s game could be an even affair, but Mil Lel will likely make the most of the home ground advantage and take out the win.
