ELDERS Cup cricket action returns this Saturday with the Adelong Donkeys, sitting in fourth on the ladder with two wins and two losses, heading to the Bull Paddock to face Wyangle.
Wyangle’s Dave Shedden and his teammates are looking forward to the game.
“We trained really well last week and will welcome back our skipper Ryan Bulger on Saturday, but we will have to get our heads down against the Donkeys. They have a very handy attack, the likes of Ben Hardwick and Jordie Maher are always at you early with the new ball and then there is the likes of wily veteran Dave Turnbull who comes on around the 15-over mark with his induckers and has the ability to trap batters dead in front for LBW even after they have made solid starts. I can speak first hand of this as I have fallen victim to his traps on more than one occasion over the years,” he said.
He said the Wyangle bowlers would need to work hard on Saturday as well.
“Especially if Marcus Williams plays. He is such a hard batter to remove and there is no reason the Donkeys can’t bat around him on Saturday,” he said.
He doesn’t think the week off will worry the team too much.
“We had a wash out against Adelong five weeks ago and came out the following week and played very well to defeat Gundagai at home,” he said.
The mood in the Wyangle team, which has had two wins and three losses so far this season, is good.
“We are going to be up for the challenge on Saturday,” Shedden said.
“We realise that we are approaching the crossroads of the season and need to string some wins together in order to stay in touch with the big boys coming into the Christmas break, otherwise we may have too much work to do on the other side. Big Tahir’s been hitting the pitch hard with the ball and has been one of our best with the bat. Hopefully he can go on with that on Saturday. Josh Ryan has also been in good form but the rest of us also need to stand up with the bat. We cannot afford another collapse with the bat like we had against the Mankadders.”
He is tipping Tom Boxall to be the joker in the pack on Saturday.
“Not only has he been bowling very well lately, he’s starting to show some signs of coming into some form with the bat and I’d love to see him spend some quality time at the crease on Saturday,” he said.
Premiers Tumut Plains head north to Stan Crowe Oval to face Gundagai.
Gundagai captain Caleb Lindley-Kell believes last weekend’s general bye will be beneficial for all six competition teams, and the home team is ready for the match-up.
“I think the week off would do most teams good and if we can concentrate on bowling, which is probably our strongest aspect, it will go a long way to getting the result we want,” he said.
Gundagai sit at the foot of the ladder in their return season in the Elders Cup, but have scored one impressive win and have put in some impressive performances too.
The Murrumbidgee Mankadders, who are enjoying a good season with three wins so far, face a stern test against ladder leaders Coolac at Coolac.
“The game will be a good test for us,” Mankadders captain Michael Hargraves said.
“We won’t be at absolute full strength, with a few out, but we will have a strong enough team. Everyone has to perform to beat Coolac and we will have to see how we go. Our bowlers have been outstanding. It’s up to our top six batsmen to step up.
“I’m super impressed by our efforts so far, but we’re only one-third the way through the season. Love to see us build on this momentum.”
