By Lachlan Onions
WEST Gambier and East Gambier will meet one last time in the quest to be crowned Barber Shield premiers in the grand final at Frew Park this weekend.
Action will begin at 1pm tomorrow with play then resuming at the same time on Sunday, where a champion will be crowned for 2022/23.
West Gambier has been the benchmark of the competition this season and finished minor premiers before it comfortably defeated Penola in the semi-final.
East has been in the top four since the start of the year and held second place for the majority of the campaign.
The Bulldogs need no extra motivation for this clash after they suffered defeat in last year’s grand final and will be determined to go one better this year.
East heads into this clash off the back of a solid win over South Gambier in the semi-final last weekend.
If both sides bring their best, then a close game is expected as both teams have proven they have what it takes to down the other.
The first clash saw West Gambier bowled out for 99 before rain ended any chance of a East claiming victory.
The second contest took place in the final game before the Christmas break and West Gambier hit back to cement its spot on top of the ladder with a 49-run win.
Looking at the two sides, both teams boast strong bowling units which are capable of ripping through any side.
Sam Willis continues to go from strength to strength and has claimed 33 wickets this season at an average of five for the Roos.
He will be supported by Bray Stephenson and Kyal Chapman, who have both been in impressive form this season.
Chapman heads into this contest off the back of a dominant display against Penola on Sunday where he ripped through Penola’s top order and finished with figures of 4/33.
Trent Badman is the other bowler the Roos have turned to and claimed 14 wickets at 8.5 in the home-and-away season.
Alex Hentschke will spearhead the Bulldogs’ bowling attack and has taken 28 wickets at an average of less than 11.
With Alex Hentschke providing the pace, Emerson Marks and Ben Hentschke will be the spinners looking to turn the clash into their side’s favour.
Marks has been handy with the bat this season but his bowling has been what has stood out, with 16 scalps at an average of 11.06.
Ben Hentschke has found his form at the right time and took two wickets in East’s win over South in the semi-final last weekend.
Both Ben Hentschke and Marks will be a threat to the right-handed batters with their ability to spin the ball from right to left and will be ones to watch this weekend.
With the bat, East’s Dion Stratford has been far and away the best batter of the competition this year.
He started his campaign off in style with an unbeaten ton in Round 1 and has continued to cause bowlers headaches since then.
Stratford ended the regular season with the most runs in the league with 343 at an average of 42.88.
For West, Nuwan Gunawardana has been the aggressor at the top of the order this year and has scored 335 runs this season.
Gunawardana plays an entertaining brand of cricket and is sure to bring plenty of fireworks from the first ball this weekend.
After taking home the minor premiership, West will enter this contest as slight favourites but both teams are more than capable of reaching the holy grail.
