James Murphy
EAST GAMBIER v PENOLA
BARBER Shield cricket returns to the two-day format this weekend with Round 8 of the 2023-24 season contested over the next two Saturdays.
East Gambier hosts Penola at Alan Scott Park and the home team will be well placed for a good win.
The Bulldogs enter the round off a win against previous ladder leader Mil Lel in the 40-over format and have shown signs of their premiership form of last year.
On the other hand Penola has struggled this campaign.
The Eagles are yet to record a win and last week a disappointing 173-run loss to West Gambier was their worst result to date.
Michael Waters has been the only consistent in the side and he continues to show decent form with both the bat and the ball.
The absence of Jack Mullan hurt Penola’s opening batting partnership and his return would be welcomed this weekend.
However, with the Bulldogs carrying some good form, it will likely be another tough day at the office for Penola.
East had an interesting match last week, with both the Bulldogs and their Mil Lel rival starting slow with bat in hand.
In the end the Bulldogs were able to recover from their slow start and chased down Mil Lel’s total in the 34th over.
In the two-day format East has had mixed results.
The most recent outing was a win over South Gambier in Round 5, where captain Alex Hentschke registered an unbeaten century of 108 runs.
Hentschke will be a focal point again this round and his ability in both disciplines is enough to unsettle most opponents.
Marc Roberts is also in form and comes off a good bowling performances, while Riley Flamank and Dion Stratford enter off strong efforts with the bat.
At this point in the season Penola has nothing to lose, with finals a far reach from here.
That could make the Eagles dangerous, but East should set itself up well for victory on Day 1.
