James Murphy
WEST GAMBIER v SOUTH GAMBIER
WEST Gambier will look to defend its recently acquired top spot when it hosts South Gambier over the next two weekends.
The Roos have hit their straps and are currently one of the teams to beat in the 2023-24 Barber Shield competition.
Last week West embarrassed Penola with a proper thrashing in the 40-over format.
Sam Willis continued his red-hot form with 67 runs and five wickets.
He will look to uphold his impressive run this round, with his last two-day outing rewarding him with 129 runs and a pair of wickets.
Nuwan Gunawardana was the top run maker last round with 71, while the likes of captain Bray Stephenson and youngster Jayden Prior have had some good knocks recently.
There are few weaknesses in the Roos’ roster at the moment and they look well placed to make a consecutive grand final appearance.
South will look to provide a speedbump in that goal over the next two weeks, but while the Demons have their share of talent, the young roster is yet to put it all together this season.
A Round 6 win over bottom-placed Penola is their only success, while they enter this weekend off a short-format loss to North Sportsman’s.
Sam Bradbrook and captain Robbie Drenthen will attract plenty of attention and they may be the key to South’s fortunes particularly if batting first.
Drenthen is also a prolific wicket taker and had three last round, second only to Stephen Easterbrook with four.
Easterbrook is another experienced head in the young team and his presence at the crease also helps steady the ship.
The two teams met in the Twenty20 Big Bash competition last week and while a vastly different beast, the Demons had a close loss to the Roos.
They will hope to translate some of that confidence across two days with the aim to start strong on Saturday and set up a proper battle.
However, it is hard to bet against West at present and it should sit in the box seat for another victory.
