THE 2022-23 Northern District Cricket Association grand final is set with Murrabit and Barham to again fight it out for the silverware.
Barham booked their spot in this weekend’s big dance with a 28-run preliminary final win over Kerang at the weekend.
They’ll travel to Murrabit looking to avenge last year’s 64-run grand final defeat.
Murrabit scored the week off after dominating a large stretch of the season, yet failed to win their final two regular-season matchups.
Captain Tim Millard told Gannawarra Times it will be Barham heading into the game as slight favourites.
“Coming off two losses, I feel like we’re the underdogs even though were the reigning premiers and finished on top,” he said.
“We’ve got to be right on top of our game because they are a very good side.”
Millard was wary of his opponent’s star players, who are capable of taking the game away from a side in the blink of an eye.
“Leigh Sobotnicki is the league’s No.1 batter at the moment – we’ve got to get him out early because once he gets going, he’s tough to stop,” he said.
“Their captain Chameera Akurugoda should give us a few chances, but like Leigh, once he’s in the grove, watch out.
“His bowling is brilliant as well – he’s just so hard to get away – we’ve got to keep the scoreboard ticking whilst he’s bowling because he’ll try and tie us down.”
While his opponents have the star power, Millard was backing his side’s all-round quality to get the job done.
“I think we’ve got more depth than the other teams – they have the standout players like Leigh and Chameera or Kerang with Declan Hogg and Ron Bright, whereas we’re a well-rounded outfit who bats pretty deep,” he said.
Murrabit spent their bye playing an intra-club match to keep themselves warm.
Shivers would have been sent through the Barham dressing room early on Saturday afternoon when Sobotnicki was sent packing first ball, but Akurugoda steadied the ship with 22.
However, 118 still appeared to be a well below-par total for Barham.
Early wickets were crucial and none was bigger than Declan Hogg – Sobotnicki made up for his golden duck by snaring the prize wicket.
Indiana Boswell (46) provided strong resistance in the chase, but an innings littered with five ducks and nine single-figure scores was never going to get the job done in a final.
Barham rolled the Blues for 90 to ensure their place in a second consecutive grand final.
In the match-ups between the two grand finalists this season, Murrabit held the wood over their rivals early, defeating them in close affairs twice, before Barham proved the pacesetters were beatable, condemning Murrabit to their first defeat of the season in round 5 by 37 runs.
Millard said that loss and the one proceeding it against Koondrook could be a blessing in disguise.
“Losing is always a wake-up call – the competition has been relatively close and we won a few tight games, so it wasn’t the worst thing to put us back in check,” he said.
Wandella
IN the Swan Hill District Cricket Association, Wandella recorded their biggest win of the season, knocking off top-of-the-table St Mary’s Tyntynder by 54 runs.
A home semi-final is within the Bombers’ grasp after Nyah was knocked off by RSL – all that’s required is a win away against Woorinen this Saturday.
Victory against the Saints was the Bombers’ fourth consecutive win since being smashed in the Kookaburra Cup final and it confirmed them as a genuine flag chance.
Skipper Gregory Dickson unsurprisingly hit another 50 while Ethan McKnight’s 41 not out ensured a competitive total of 9/175.
Against the most powerful batting line-up in the competition, it still looked a bit short, but a superb bowling performance with strong showings from Ryan Barnes (2/28), Bohden McKnight (2/41) and Kyle Hodges (3/9) secured the win.
