AN early place at the top of the Sunraysia Cricket Association ladder is handy for Nichols Point, but captain-coach Nick Blacker said there was a long way to go yet.
Wins over Coomealla Wentworth and Mildura East in the opening two rounds have the Pointers in first place, with Mildura Settlers and Mildura West the other sides to have won both games.
A big test however comes against Gol Gol at Alcheringa Oval on Saturday.
“We’re definitely pleased with how things have started this season,” Blacker said.
“You obviously want to bank as many of these early wins as possible, someone said the other day these early points are like gold because you can really set your season up.
“Coming up against Gol Gol we don’t really want to change too much or over complicate things, just keep it tight.
“They’ve obviously got some brilliant batsmen like Shac (Thomas) and Wade (Hancock) so if we can keep them quieter it will certainly make our job easier.”
Blacker said the team’s strength in the opening rounds has been their bowling, with their spin twins Shaun Mathews and Jarrod Forrester especially shining.
Forrester, who joined from Merbein this season, leads all wicket takers over the first two rounds, while veteran all-rounder Mathews has been a game breaker.
“Jarrod Forrester has been brilliant in the first two games, taking three wickets in each, he’s been landing them so well,” Blacker said.
“And then Shauny Matthews has been brilliant again. East were off to a pretty good start last week but he got both openers out and really brought the game back in our direction a bit more.
“I’ve been really impressed with young Colby Marr, too. His line and length has been great and hasn’t been giving much away at all. He’s been getting rewarded with more overs, but he’s also rewarding us by performing so well.”
Berri recruit Brad Rosenzweig has also been invaluable so far with the bat and ball, taking five wickets and having knocks of 32 and 44.
“Rosey has been unbelievable,” Blacker said.
“We’re so fortunate to have someone of his calibre join us this year, and you can see his quality in his batting and bowling.”
As for areas of improvement, the captain-coach believes it comes at the top of the batting order.
“I know personally I’ve felt a little scratchy early and we just haven’t had that opening partnership yet so hopefully we can build on that,” he said.
The Gol Gol versus Nichols Point contest begins at 1.30pm.
