Demons pad up to defend Twenty20 Cup

READY TO DEFEND: South Gambier’s Robert Drenthen proudly displays the refurbished Big Bash Twenty20 cup the Demons claimed last season against North Sportsman’s.

WITH the Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association Twenty20 season set to kick off, South Gambier is geared up to defend its championship title.

The Demons claimed the honours last season – probably against the odds – with a win over North Sportsman’s.

The Tigers looked the goods all season, completing the minor rounds unscathed.

In contrast the Demons claimed two wins from their four scheduled games in a rain-affected season.

But in the final game of the season South was on the front foot, reaching 131 runs off the full 20 overs, before taking the North batting line up apart.

Two big wickets early – Matt McInerney for zero and Jake Schutz for three – with the total at just five had the Tigers struggling.

That set the tone for the game, with North all out for 105 runs in the 18th over.

While South has had an average start to the Barber Shield season, with two wins and two losses, Robert Drenthen says the club is confident heading into the short-format competition.

“Twenty20 is a totally different game,” he said.

“I think we have a bit more depth this year which you need.

“You can still club 30-40 runs if you are eight or nine wickets down.

“We have plenty of hitters in the shed and we are confident, but the game changes so fast, you also need a bit of luck.”

The power hitting required in the short game was on display in a recent one-day fixture against East Gambier.

The Bulldogs reached 149 runs, with South down a few early wickets in the run chase.

Dylan Clough entered the arena and took the East bowlers apart.

Off just 90 balls he returned 125 runs, with 21 boundaries in total, six of those clearing the Blue Lake Sports Park fence.

But South is certainly not a one-trick pony when it comes to batting, with Drenthen also able to hit a long ball.

“I like opening to take advantage of the field being up a little bit,” he said.

“But David Vine is a big in for us because he bats and bowls.

“He bats very aggressively and he bowls at the stumps.”

Another good example of the depth in the South line up is young gun Adam Kuhl.

“He always batted 10 or 11, but his technique says he could bat higher in the order, which he has done beautifully,” Drenthen said.

“It means you can continually be aggressive.

“Even if you are five or six down, you can look in the shed and still feel confident.

“But of course you still need to get it together on the day.”

Drenthen said Kuhl is joined by the likes of Camron Jorgenson with the ball, who he said had come a long way in recent seasons.

“He was a C Grader two years ago, but he just listens to advice and wants to learn,” he said.

Drenthen said he felt the side was settled and well led by Clough.

He said the main aim was to get off to a good start with the bat or ball.

“It is hard to win T20 games,” he said.

“You have to try to manipulate the field, try to get the bowler to bowl to your strengths.

“Then when you are bowling you have to try to not worry about anything else but hitting the stumps and carrying out your plans.

“You have to back the bowlers to bowl to your field and back your strategies to get certain dangerous players out.”

Drenthen said in recent seasons the Demons had been able to achieve those goals in the T20 game.

If all goes to plan, the runs flow freely and the bowlers can assert their authority, South will certainly be a chance to claim back-to-back titles.

Drenthen said the plan would simply be to “tee off” early with the bat and back his players down the order to keep the momentum going.

From there it will be up to the bowlers to do their part and take the cup back to Blue lake Sports Park for another year.

Round 1 kicks off tomorrow night at 5.30pm, with South up against Mil Lel at Frew Park.

Penola hosts Millicent at McCorquindale Park, West is home to North at Malseed Park, while East Gambier hosts Glencoe at Scott Park.