By Lachlan Onions
WITH just one round left in the Barber Shield season, Alan Scott Park is the place to be this Saturday for Day 1 of the Round 11 clash where East Gambier will host South Gambier in a hotly-anticipated encounter.
Both sides have plenty to play for as the Demons are not yet a mathematical certainty to make finals, while the Bulldogs could claim the minor premiership if they claim a strong enough win.
To add further heat to this contest, the two sides faced off just last Friday in the T20 Big Bash final, where South prevailed by 11 runs at Frew Park.
Looking at the two Barber Shield clashes between the Bulldogs and the Demons this year, East has bowled South out twice for a grand total of 193 runs and claimed victory on both occasions.
Back in Round 1, Dion Stratford scored an unforgettable ton to guide East to victory.
The in Round 6, it was Liam Turley and Alex Hentschke who helped the Bulldogs claim the win as they combined for seven wickets.
Looking at the rest of the season for both teams, South Gambier has won four games and lost four, while East Gambier has won five games and lost twice.
In the two-day clashes, the Demons have been the benchmark of the competition with three wins from four games.
The Bulldogs have been another strong side in the two-dayers with two wins and one loss.
If East bowls on Day 1, Hentschke and Emerson Marks will be players to watch.
Hentschke leads the competition in wickets taken with 22 scalps, while Marks has claimed 15 wickets of his own.
With the bat, Stratford and Marks will be key players and have scored almost 500 runs this season between the pair.
For South, Robbie Drenthen will be a key player with bat and ball.
Drenthen has scored 213 runs this campaign and claimed 17 wickets.
He was also player of the match in the Big Bash final recently when he claimed four wickets, including three in one over in an electrifying spell.
In what should be the match of the round, a close contest is on the cards but the Bulldogs will be slight favourites to claim victory and solidify a top-two finish.
