James Murphy
SOUTH GAMBIER v NORTH SPORTSMAN’S
NORTH Sportsman’s will be the hot favourite when it visits South Gambier at Blue Lake Sports Park for Round 7 of Barber Shield cricket.
The Tigers have been in good form and have only improved as the first half of the season unfolded.
Now returning to the pitch for 2024, they will be eager to close the gap between them and the top two teams.
Prior to the Christmas break North impressively held reigning premier East Gambier to 70 runs in another one-day clash, with a diverse bowling attack to thank for the feat.
Elliott Fisher and Isaac Mulraney were the main culprits with three wickets each, while Declan Kenny and Tim Young both claimed two.
Nick McInerney had a quiet day by his standards, but while not taking a wicket he did hold the Bulldogs to jut nine runs during his five overs.
McInerney is just as dangerous with the bat and has made some solid totals this season.
Alex Hutton also comes off a strong batting performance after he made a game-high 40 runs against East, while Fisher has consistently scored well for the Tigers.
Currently in third place, with a rained out game against Penola keeping them out of second place, a big win to start the year will desirable.
However, South should not be ruled out completely and while the Demons have tasted limited success this campaign, it has not been all bad news.
The young outfit has mustered just the one win from its six outings, but has certainly shown potential.
The experience from the likes of Robbie Drenthen and Stephen Easterbrook steady the ship, while there is plenty of raw young talent in the mix.
Young-gun James Miller claimed four wickets in his last outing, which was a win over Penola to end 2023.
Jakob Opie has also been playing some good cricket and is capable with both bat and ball, while Jaggar Geary and Jed Sims also have some X Factor about them.
Drenthen has been solid in both disciplines this season, as he so often is, while a century from Sam Bradbrook against the Eagles has been a highlight so far.
