Horouta ‘playing to win’ final

Positive mindset: Horouta captain David Situ believes a positive mindset will be best for his team in the DJ Barry Cup final against High School Old Boys tomorrow. He is pictured batting in an earlier game, with Andrew Gibbs in the field for HSOB. Pictures by Paul Rickard

HOROUTA will take a positive mindset into their quest to win Poverty Bay cricket's DJ Barry Cup tomorrow.

For captain David Situ, it doesn't really matter that his team are the top qualifiers and therefore could secure the trophy with a conservative game plan.

“We're going to play to win,” he said.

Horouta will play Bollywood Stars High School Old Boys in the final tomorrow.

HSOB captain Carl Shaw said the equation for his team was simple.

“We will need to get 10 wickets and bat well,” he said.

The top qualifiers have an advantage in the final — their opponents have to get the better of them conclusively to take the DJ Barry Cup.

That almost certainly means HSOB will have to bowl out Horouta, as well as score more runs than them, to triumph.

Horouta qualified top after the third team in the competition, OBR, forfeited two of their last three games — one against HSOB and one against Horouta.

It's hard to argue that the newcomers to the A grade did not deserve their position at the top of the table, however.

Horouta outplayed HSOB when the two teams last encountered each other and, on the other occasion when they met, HSOB benefited handsomely from having Poverty Bay captain Andrew Gibbs fill in for them. The seamer had an eight-wicket haul.

HSOB have been the most convincing side with the bat, however, and that may yet be important in the final.

The key to the contest might well be how Horouta fare with the willow.

They have enough quality in their side to produce solid scores but have tended to get better results when on the attack, rather than batting for time.

Bowlers have had a better time of it in this year's competition than batsmen and Situ said both sides would be keen to produce strong batting performances in the final.

Shaw, who scored a century in his last outing against OBR, said it had been a “weird season, with the weather, Sunday games and teams defaulting”.

He had enjoyed the competition, though, and was looking forward to both the final and next year's edition.

HSOB have one piece of silverware so far this season and the club will hope to have two more by the end of tomorrow.

HSOB Presidents made the B grade's Hope Cup final, so the two HSOB teams will be playing alongside each other at Harry Barker Reserve.

The HSOB A-grade side are looking to do the double this season, backing up their win of the Doleman Cup 40-over competition with victory in the DJ Barry Cup.

Last year's DJ Barry Cup competition, won by OBR, wasn't decided until the final minutes.

The form guide indicates this year's final may be tense as well.

The DJ Barry Cup final is due to start at 1pm and the Hope Cup final, between HSOB Presidents and Ngatapa, is due to get under way at 2pm.