CRICKET
CGCA
THORPDALE faces the tough task of chasing 222 on a slowish pitch against a strong Yallourn North bowling attack.
Rowan Kelly and Lucas Fry have formed a potent opening partnership, while Luke and Ryan Nelson have been doing a fantastic job in support along with captain Glenn Sheekey.
Henk and Schalke Conradie can both play big shots but may need to shelve the attacking approach here, and could do worse than take a leaf out of the patient Harvey Poole’s book.
The rest of the batting order must step up.
Trafalgar v Morwell
TRAFALGAR has Morwell on the ropes and needs just 136 more runs with 10 wickets left in the bank.
Aiden George has started to find some form in a promising sign for the Ships, and menacing captain Rhys Holdsworth is still to come.
The Tigers must remove both cheaply to expose a struggling middle order which has relied heavily on Holdsworth to date.
Latrobe v Mirboo North
LATROBE and Mirboo North will play back-to-back days this weekend after rain prevented play last Saturday.
Mirboo North now boasts a dangerous bowling lineup to complement its always ferocious batting card, featuring the talents of Shane Peters, Brett Pedlow and Ben Heath, and captain Rhys Holdsworth is on fire with bat and ball.
Batting is the main worry for the Sharks, who have leant heavily on key batsmen Anthony Bloomfield and Kaushik Aphale.
Aphale has a strong record against the Tigers, including three centuries and a 95.
Under 18 GCL
CENTRAL Gippsland was sent in to bowl and had Leongatha spluttering at 3/26 before letting them off the hook.
The bowlers restricted the target to 161, with Travis Pickering (3/25), Connor Williams (2/8) and Kayne O’Connell (2/35) the best performers, while Shannon Pickering and Dylan Day each picked up a wicket.
In reply Central Gippsland looked good at 2/75 but a collapse of 4/14 took the wind out of the sails.
The lower order was left with too much ground to make up and finished 25 runs short.
Matt Hibbs (35) and Kayne O’Connell (27) were the standouts.
