Dogs chomping at the bit

OUT TO PERFORM: East Gambier’s Simon Golebiowski will look to record another credible tally when he takes to the crease against Mil Lel tomorrow for Round 4 of the Barber Shield competition at Frew Park. Picture: JAMES MURPHY

WITH the cancellation of last week’s Barber Shield cricket round due to turf conditions, the previously two-day games will now be played in a limited-overs format tomorrow.

With compulsory declaration at 40 overs, teams will need to re-evaluate their game plans going into single day of competition.

For Mil Lel and East Gambier, it will be a bottom-order clash when they take to Frew Park for Round 4.

With both sides yet to reap the reward of a win in 2017-18, they will be determined to turn their seasons around when they take to the pitch tomorrow.

Mil Lel has shown it can make runs, after a solid total of 207 in its Round 3 clash with West Gambier.

Over half of this score came from Josh Jantosh’s century, with four other batsmen making double figures.

Of these, Daniel Justin lead the way with 21 runs, while Tim McInerney (29), Justin Lamont (13) and Jack Miller (10) added their tallies to the team total.

However, this was a two-day game and Mil Lel will not have the comfort of a whole day at the crease to increase its tally.

The side will need to step up and hit hard if it is to have a chance at taking the points for the round.

Tom Nieuwerkerk and Justin Taylor will be looked to again for performances with the ball, after they both claimed three scalps against West.

Jack Miller also bagged two wickets against the Roos, while the young Ben Thiel and new recruit Jarryd Burston recorded one each.

Mil Lel will hope to see its bowlers with similar tallies when they take on East tomorrow and will need to keep the Bulldogs’ runs to a minimum.

For East, 2017-18 has seen similar results to Mil Lel, with the side’s latest defeat at the hands of South Gambier last week.

This match saw the Bulldogs open with the bat in day one to record a winnable 6/202.

However, this score was not enough to account for South’s 267 runs and East recorded its third Barber Shield loss for the year.

Peter Kerr and Ashley Dumigan were best with the bat in this match, as they made 41 and 40 runs respectively.

They were joined by Dion Stratford (33), Darren Whitehorn (27) and Simon Golebiowski (21), who recorded credible scores for their team.

These players will be looked to again tomorrow, as they look to secure their first Barber Shield win for the year.

However, there is hope for the Bulldogs, as Nathan Gore has been in impressive form with the ball so far this season.

With five-wicket hauls in both Round 1 and Round 3, the season opener saw him bag an impressive 5/12 off seven overs, while last round he returned figures of 5/56 off 14.

Mil Lel will need to bear these statistics in mind when it takes to the crease tomorrow, as Gore will be more than capable of thinning the host’s batting lineup.

With the season results as they stand, tomorrow could go either way and it may come down to who opens with bat or ball that will decide the outcome.