LAST Saturday’s unplayable pitch conditions due to the weather has caused the Round 5 Barber Shield fixtures to be reverted from the scheduled two-day format into one-day matches.
As both of their victories this season took place during the one-day games, West Gambier will welcome tomorrow’s format change and start strong favourites in their match against a win-less East Gambier, despite the game being scheduled at the Bulldogs’ home of Scott Park.
After West Gambier experienced a heavy loss to North Sportsman’s in the first two-day fixture of the season, the whole side will be determined to rediscover their early one-day form.
Opening bowlers Sam Willis and Richard Crute will aim to be more economical after conceding a large amount of runs to the North batsman on a day when no bowler could restrict the flow.
Willis will also be turned to for runs as he was both the leading wicket taker and run scorer in that defeat, with 38 runs and three scalps.
He was supported by co-captain Jake Blackwell (28) and Josh Cornolo (23) who will look to convert their starts into match-defining scores and build a total much greater than the 130 posted against North.
The Roo’s will be excited by the return of co-captain Niall Easterbrook who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury and will strengthen their stocks with both bat and ball.
The likes of Ben Hentschke, Bray Stephenson and Cornolo will look to keep the depth of the bowling attack solid as bowlers will now be restricted to eight overs or less under the revised playing conditions.
Aside from a surprise draw against top-of-the-table Penola, East has struggled to recreate that performance and sit bottom of the ladder as the only team yet to win a game in the Barber Shield.
A first-innings defeat – on the first day of play – at the hands of Mil Lel would have lowered the Bulldogs’ confidence, who will need to bat out the full 40 overs and produce a competitive total.
Captain Dion Stratford was the only standout on day one in a first-innings score of just 78, with 35 to his name.
But it was the only other batsman who achieved double figures in that innings, Emerson Marks who used his all-round skills to produce the most promising performance for the Bulldogs.
Although Mil Lel had claimed the first-innings points, Marks took four wickets to rip through the opposition’s tail, while Luke Allen and Simon Golebiowski supported with two wickets each.
With the bat, Marks came to the crease in the second innings under pressure from the Mil Lel attack, but produced a gritty 53 to deny another batting collapse.
Down the order Nathan Gore entertained but fell just short of a half century with 49.
Stratford’s and Marks’ impressive efforts against Mil Lel would spark memories of the last time East and West met in the Barber Shield competition in 2017-18, when the duo both played crucial roles to snatch an unlikely victory at Malseed Park, which was the Bulldogs’ only win of last season.
If East can pull together and produce a stronger all-round performance, the Roos will have to push hard for the expected victory in what could be a low-scoring contest dominated by the bowlers and decided by the stand out batsmen.
