By Lachlan Onions
SOUTH Gambier plays host to West Gambier in an eye-catching encounter in Round 5 of the Barber Shield this Saturday.
The Demons have been rejuvenated this season with two wins from three games, while the Roos have won two games from two.
West Gambier looks like one of the teams to beat this campaign while South Gambier has resurrected itself after a disappointing 2021/22 season.
For the hosts, it is impossible to look past Robbie Drenthen, who has been a weapon with bat and ball.
There are few batters in the competition who are seeing the ball better than Drenthen at the moment, who has made his presence felt almost every time he’s walked out to the middle.
In Round 4, he carried the South Gambier batting line-up on his back and scored 61 runs at an impressive strike-rate to ease the pressure on the batters around him on the way to a six-wicket win over North Sportsman’s.
With the ball, you have to look no further than Round 3, where he took 6/24 including a hat-trick.
Drenthen backed this up with three wickets against the Tigers and will be a pivotal for his side.
Camron Jorgensen and Daniel Loupos will also need to be restricted by the Roos if they are to continue their winning streak.
Loupos has had a quiet start to the season but will look to do the damage batting at the top of the order, while Jorgensen took three wickets last time out.
For West Gambier, Nuwan Gunawardana, Trent Badman and Jake Blackwell will be key players.
Gunawardana has shown his intent with the bat at the top of the order and has the ability to put opposition bowlers under pressure from the outset, while Blackwell has picked up two half-centuries this season.
Badman has been a key all-rounder for the Roos this season and has made solid contributions with bat and ball.
His best game this season was in Round 1, where he scored 24 runs and took 4/19.
When these two sides met last season, West Gambier claimed a first innings win in the first clash and then were the only side in the competition to win a game outright when they defeated South Gambier at Malseed Park.
This upcoming contest is expected to be much closer but the Roos will ultimately prove too good for the Demons and take home their third win of the year.
