INTERSTATE rivalry will be at its best today when Portland travels to Frew Park to face Mount Gambier in the President’s Cup one-day cricket match.
After claiming the prestigious trophy in a thrilling game across the border last year, Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association hopes to keep the silverware in South Australia in the 40-over contest.
Despite just five runs the difference, in favour of Mount Gambier, last season’s clash provides little insight into today’s match.
There is no doubt changes have been made to both sides, but the quality of the pitch in Portland in 2016 was less than ideal.
Mount Gambier captain Jake Schutz said last year’s pitch conditions made scoring difficult to come by.
“The pitch was bad,” he said.
“We are not sure what happened to it, but it was wet.
“It was a very close game, but it is hard to get an idea of where we are in comparison to them off that one match.”
Schutz expects another difficult game against Portland with plenty of talent on show.
The one-day match works as a trial for the Senior Country Cricket Carnival in Adelaide early next year.
“Obviously this team does not play together, so it will be good to get everyone together and play a game,” Schutz said.
“Every week we are playing against each other in the local competition.
“We have a strong association, which has improved immensely in the last five years.
“Everyone began to make themselves available, which has made selections hard, but that is what you want.”
The South East side won two consecutive Country Carnival’s, before going down in last season’s grand final to Upper North.
While another victory in Adelaide is the ultimate goal, the initial focus is this weekend’s game against Portland.
Schutz hopes his side can put the match beyond doubt early.
“It would be good for someone in the top four in the batting to get a big score,” he said.
“That is what we are hoping for anyway.
“Dylan Clough has had a good start to the year.
“He has made one 100 and he took five wickets on the weekend.
“Robbie Drenthen has also had a good season, especially with the bat and Jake Blackwell has had a pretty good start to the year.”
Mount Gambier will have plenty of depth when it comes to the field with majority of players selected boasting bowling strength.
“Pretty much everyone in the team bowls, so there are a lot of options,” Schutz said.
“It is supposed to be pretty warm, but we are a pretty fit team.
“We will have shorter bowling spells and will rotate them through, just to keep everyone fresh.”
While still weather dependent, Schutz said ideally Mount Gambier would bat first.
“We will just have to look at the pitch and go from there,” he said.
The game will begin at 11am at Frew Park.
Mount Gambier Cricket Association team: Jake Schutz (captain), Jase Bateman, Jake Blackwell, Dave Somerfield, Nick McInerney, Dylan Clough, Dion Stratford, Josh Janotsh, Alex Hentschke, Robbie Drenthen (vice captain), Michael Waters, Tom Nieuwerkerk.
