THE first premiership of the Sunraysia Cricket Association (SCA) season is up for grabs tomorrow when Irymple and Workers Gol Gol meet in the final of the one-day competition at John Hall Oval.
It will be a historic battle to decide who will be named the first white-ball premier of the SCA.
The significance of the match is not lost on Workers Gol Gol captain Adam Thomson.
“Being the first time the one-day final has happened here it would be nice to get your name on the trophy,” Thomson said.
“We have had two really close finishes against Irymple in the T20 and one-dayer and it would be really nice to get the edge over them knowing we have them in a two-dayer in the last round and then most likely in a semi-final as well, so it will be really important to get a bit of a mental edge over them coming into the finals.”
Little has separated the sides in previous encounters and Thomson is expecting another close contest.
“We definitely have to bat really well – they would be the strongest bowling attack in the competition – I think they bundled us out for 120 last time, so we are definitely going to have to put something up over 160 on the board and then bowl really well at it,” Thomson said.
“We will weigh the situation up, but we would probably prefer to bat first and get the runs on the board.
“If you look at the two-day final, the side who has batted first, I think, has won something like six of the past eight finals or maybe eight of the past 10. So runs on the board, particularly in a final, are a lot more valuable.”
Thomson said the introduction of a one-day final had added another dimension to the SCA competition and believed it would grow in popularity.
“Changing things up has been a good thing and not always the top two teams in the red-ball competition are going to be the top teams in the white-ball competition,” Thomson said.
“It gives teams who are more specialised in the white-ball game more of a chance to win some silverware as well.”
