James Murphy
A WINLESS Mil Lel will take to Alan Scott Park for a Round 9 Barber Shield meeting with East Gambier tomorrow.
Yet to play each other this season due to Round 2’s abandoned fixture, the Bulldogs will be hot favourites on their home deck.
They sit in third place on the premiership table and are in line for another strong finals campaign.
Mil Lel on the other hand are out of finals contention, but will remain desperate for a 2022-23 victory to boost morale.
It will not come easily and regardless of who bats or bowls in day one, East should have its bases covered.
Alex Hentshke looms as an imposing opponent in both disciplines and will look to lead his team by example.
He has claimed four scalps in his last two bowling performances, while the likes of Liam Turley, Marc Roberts and Emerson Marks have all had their moments with ball in hand.
A half century from Aiden Creasey was a highlight for the Bulldogs in their last outing – a loss against West Gambier in the short format.
Dion Stratford has been the frontrunner with the bat, having scored 238 runs from his five appearances at the crease for an average of 59.5 per game.
Hentschke is the next most consistent with the bat with an average of 19 runs a game.
They will be key to East’s attack, but there is no shortage of young talent able to step up when required.
For Mil Lel it will take some confidence from a respectable one-day performance against reigning premier Penola prior to Christmas.
A well-rounded batting performance where five players reached double figures was not enough to silence the Eagles, but it showed some promise.
Nick Walters bagged four wickets in that clash, while Mil Lel’s last two-day game saw William Rowland and Jack Miller with 41 and 42 runs each respectively.
Both are capable with the ball as well, while Logan Gibbs has taken the most wickets for the side with a total of eight for the season.
As it stands, East should set itself up well in day one of the contest and leave Mil Lel plenty of work to do next week.
