THERE will be a point to prove for both East Gambier and West Gambier today, when they lock horns at Scott Park in day one of the fifth round of Mount Gambier and District Barber Shield cricket.
Other than the unexpected draw to ladder leader Penola in Round 1, the Bulldogs have been on the back foot this season, with that result their best to date.
The loss to Mil Lel last round would have dampened the Bulldogs’ spirits and East now sits in sixth place as the only Barber Shield team without a win.
However, the Roos are also not without their woes, with the side unable to compete with the top teams in the competition so far in 2018-19.
That can be put mainly to their performances with the bat, which are yet to reach the full potential based on the players in their ranks.
Last round North Sportsman’s set an impressive target of 325 in day one, a total the Roos did not even halve.
On day two West finished up in the 69th over with 130 runs to its name, a score it will want to improve on against the Bulldogs.
Sam Willis top scored for the Roos with 38 runs, while co-captain Jake Blackwell (28) and Josh Cornolo (23) were the next best.
Ben Hentschke (15) and Nick Bone (14) recorded the only other double figure scorers for the day.
Willis and Blackwell will be looked to again at the crease, either in day one or two, with the former also out to impress with the ball.
Willis claimed three wickets against the Tigers last round, but gave away 69 runs, in a day which saw no bowler able to stem the flow.
The likes of Hentshke, Bray Stephenson and Cornolo will also look for solid bowling performances, while Bowen Hosking will hope to do well with bat and ball.
The return of Niall Easterbrook will also be a welcome relief, after the Roos’ co-captain has been sidelined for the past two rounds due to a shoulder injury.
For East, Dion Stratford contributed the bulk of the score on day one against Mil Lel and added 35 runs towards the total of 78.
Although Mil Lel claimed the first-innings points, the Bulldogs came out firing when they returned to the crease to bat out day two.
Darren Whitehorn opened with Stratford and managed 19 runs, but it was the performance of young gun Emerson Marks which saw the day two total well on its way to an eventual 180 runs.
The youngster recorded 53 runs, while Nathan Gore fell painfully short of his half century with 49.
Marks also excelled with the ball, bagging four wickets over the two days, while Luke Allen and Simon Golebiowski claimed two scalps each.
If the Bulldogs can carry some of those figures into this round, West may have to fight hard for the win.
However, it could all come down to the toss and which team starts on the front foot today before heading into day two next week.
