Mildura East v Irymple
IRYMPLE will look to sharpen themselves up for a crack at another premiership when they take on seventh-placed Mildura East today.
The Swallows can secure the all-important top spot with a win and will not want to open the door for second-placed Workers Gol Gol to leapfrog them in the last round.
Irymple’s bowling attack has been dominant all season and they will look to strangle the Mildura East top order, which has been overly reliant on veteran Tom Vadlja in recent times. East have struggled to score at more than three an over, so it’s difficult to see them bucking this trend against the relentless Irymple attack.
Perhaps the message could be to throw a bit of caution to the wind in the opening 10 overs to give themselves an outside chance of posting a winning score.
East’s strength likes with their bowlers, and Tom Dowling hits the match full of confidence after snaring 4/20 off eight overs last weekend against Nichols Point.
Workers Gol Gol v Mildura Settlers
TWO of the league’s heavyweights clash ahead of the finals in what could be a preview of next week’s semi-final.
Workers Gol Gol are likely to remain in second given top side Irymple should have few issues accounting for Mildura East, but that won’t prevent coach Adam Thomson from pushing hard for a victory here.
Mildura Settlers can’t move from third place and may keep a few cards up their sleeve from a tactical viewpoint.
Although skipper Braidyn Turner knows his team won’t simply be able to pull the trigger and find form in the finals, so it starts today.
The opening 10 overs of both innings will tell a story, as both teams load up with their firepower at the top.
Hard to split them.
Coomealla-Wentworth v Merbein South
COOMEALLA-WENTWORTH should have no dramas trumping bottom of the ladder Merbein South this week.
And Coomy, who are half a win behind fourth-placed Mildura West, are looking to bring their last remaining hope of finals to fruition.
If sixth-placed Nichols Point beat Mildura West, and Coomealla-Wentworth take their likely win this week, Coomy will take Mildura West’s ticket to the semi.
Dangerman Tom Douglas will be looking to build on his form, coming off 68 last week against Mildura Settlers, while skipper Justin Freeman could collect another bag of wickets to end a brilliant season that may earn him a league medal. Coomealla-Wentworth should win this one comfortably.
