By Lachlan Onions
Penola hosts Mil Lel for the final round of Barber Shield cricket before the Christmas break.
It has been a disruptive first half of the season for the Eagles with three of their six fixtures disrupted by rain.
In the three games Penola has completed, it has claimed two wins.
For Mil Lel, it has been a disappointing start to the season with five losses from as many games.
When these two teams met in Round 4, Penola claimed a comfortable first innings win at Frew Park.
On that occasion, Mil Lel was bowled out for 79, with Lachy Jones, Josh Doyle and Jack Mullan combining for nine of the wickets.
With the bat, it was Lewis March and Drew Clayfield who led the side to victory.
Clayfield has been in superb form this season in both the Big Bash and Barber Shield and will look to keep his impressive run going this Saturday.
Fresh off being named in the SA Outbacks side, Mullan will look to build some form before next month’s Country Championships.
He has proven to be a handful with both bat and ball and scored 61 runs last time he played at McCorquindale Park.
For Mil Lel, Jack Miller, William Rowland and Logan Gibbs will be players to watch.
Rowland has been one of the key players for Mil Lel with the bat this season and has shown that once he gets his eye in, he is a dangerous player with the bat.
Miller is one of his side’s main threats with both bat and ball and will need to be at his best if his team is to claim their first win of the year.
After Mil Lel was bowled out cheaply by West Gambier on the weekend, Gibbs gave his side a chance of victory with three wickets.
However, it was not enough as the Kangaroos proved too good and surpassed Mil Lel’s total of 51 with relative ease.
Penola’s bowling line-up of Mullan, Michael Waters and Jones will look to expose the visitors’ inconsistency with the bat this season.
With the Eagles looking to assert their place in the top four in the second half of the season, this game could prove very difficult for Mil Lel.
However, there is some form of hope for the away side.
Mil Lel has been in unstoppable form in the Big Bash and defeated the Eagles on their home deck last week.
If Mil Lel can transfer its Big bash form into the Barber Shield then there could be an exciting game ahead.
However, after Mil Lel’s loss to West Gambier in Round 6, it seems unlikely they will be able to topple Penola in the shield and the hosts should claim a reasonably comfortable win.
