THE battle for second place will take centre stage in the final round of the Gippsland Cricket League on Sunday.
Bairnsdale cemented top spot with a good win over Central Gippsland in round four, while Sale Maffra kept its final’s hope alive with a sound win over Traralgon.
Warragul is also in contention after an impressive victory against Leongatha.
If Warragul and Sale Maffra both win, as expected, it will come down to percentage for the second spot and Warragul has a significant break so should be favoured to make the final.
LEONGATHA V BAIRNSDALE | LEONGATHA TURF
Leongatha will host Bairnsdale on the Leongatha Turf and this will be a tight match.
Mitchell Clark performed well for Leongatha in round four with the bat and he will be looking for support from Kit Rotthier and Tom Piddington.
Tim Wightman will lead the bowling attack with assistance from Alan Jenkins.
The undefeated Bairnsdale has star all-rounder Luke Schumann as well as gun bats Rohan Blanford, Matt Busch and Hayden Erfurth.
Throw in Ben Fielding, who took five wickets in the last round, and a number of capable bowlers like Marcus Latham, and the Bairnsdale side is going to be hard to beat.
TRARALGON V WARRAGUL | ANDREWS PARK CHURCHILL
Traralgon will meet Warragul at Andrews Park, Churchill and would appear to have little chance of participating in the final.
They would need to defeat Warragul and rely on a Sale Maffra loss to Central Gippsland.
Brad Knowles is a fantastic leader for Traralgon and Matt Golding is the leading GCL wicket taker.
They will be hoping VCCL representative Lee Stockdale is back and Mick Higgins and Robert Weber can succeed with the bat.
Warragul is in splendid form and has outstanding all round performers in Chris Savage and Brad Wadlan.
Ryan Williams, Daniel Hamilton, Fraser Duncan and Dale Weller were all good in round four.
Warragul has a lot at stake and a win will assure it of a finals berth.
CENTRAL GIPPSLAND V SALE MAFFRA | YALLOURN NORTH
Central Gippsland welcomes Sale Maffra to the Yallourn North Oval.
Although winless, Central Gippsland has put in a couple of good performances and any team with Rob Phoenix, Andrew Philip, Riyaz Pithan and Rhys Holdsworth is worthy of respect.
Dermott Leys, Henk Conradie and Patrick Farrant have also claimed valuable wickets during the season.
Sale Maffra has been in good touch and has benefited greatly from the form of Dale and Sam Bedgood.
Michael Cafferkey and Ben Howes picked up vital wickets against Traralgon and Josh Rurawhe is a talented batsman.
If Brad Scott returns from VCCL duties, as well as youngsters Taylor Tatterson and Jayden Allison, Sale Maffra will be a challenging proposition.
Should it win and Warragul lose a final’s appearance beckons.
LADDER | ROUND FOUR
BAIRNSDALE 21 (1.58 per cent)
WARRAGUL 15 (1.38 per cent)
SALE MAFFRA 15 (0.85 per cent)
TRARALGON 12 (0.98 per cent)
LEONGATHA 6 (1.50 per cent)
CENTRALGIPPSLAND 3 (0.75 per cent)
