By Lachlan Onions
CRICKET fans will be treated to an exciting clash this weekend as South Gambier makes the trip to Alan Scott Park to meet East Gambier in the semi-final of the Barber Shield.
Clashes between these two sides have not been short of drama this season and the trend is likely to continue on Saturday and Sunday.
The fixture is a rematch from the last round of he regular season, where the Demons claimed an emphatic first-innings win after the Bulldogs were bowled out for 27 thanks to a seven-wicket haul from Robbie Drenthen which included a hat-trick.
Looking at the other Barber Shield games, East won both of the other two fixtures between these two sides and Dion Stratford stole the show back in Round 1 as he put the Demons bowlers to the sword with an unbeaten century to kickstart his campaign.
It has been a memorable season for the Bulldogs batter, as he has scored 343 runs at an average of 42.88.
Stratford heads into this clash in impressive form after he scored 76 runs in the second innings on Saturday.
East Gambier will also look to Emerson Marks and Alex Hentschke to do the damage with bat and ball.
Hentschke has claimed 25 scalps at an average of 10.64 and scored 213 runs at 21.3 this season.
Marks has been handy with the bat as well and averages 27.6 and scored a 50 in his last outing.
With the ball, the left-arm spinner has taken 16 wickets this season, the equal most out of any spinner in the competition.
For the Demons, all eyes will be on Drenthen with bat and ball.
The veteran all-rounder has taken two hat-tricks this season and claimed 24 wickets at an average of 9.24.
With the bat, Drenthen has scored 244 runs at an average of 27.11.
He has been a thorn in the side of the Bulldogs over the last month as he claimed four wickets in the big bash final and blitzed through the batting order last weekend in one of the greatest spells in Barber Shield history.
Drenthen will be supported by Elwood Geary, Camron Jorgensen and Jakob Opie with the ball.
The fast-bowling quartet has rarely failed this season and has been one of the most effective bowling line-ups in the competition this year.
With the bat, Stephen Easterbrook will be a player to watch and will look to continue his solid form.
East Gambier will have the home-ground advantage but this is a clash which could go either way with a winner anyone’s guess.
