Greytown depth to be tested

CAPABLE: Red Star skipper Chris Wenden points out his side has beaten Greytown already this year.PHOTOS/FILE

The form book says Turkey Red Greytown should make short work of Red Star in the final of Cricket Wairarapa's Bidwill Cup competition at Queen Elizabeth Park oval in Masterton tomorrow and Sunday but neither of the two protagonists are buying into that proposition.

Greytown accepts they will start favourites through already having the Umpires Cup and The Rock Twenty20 titles in the bag, not to mention qualifying for the national one-day finals in Auckland next month. However, with gun all-rounder Seth Rance on duty with the Central Stags and four other regulars, Ben Foster, Harry Greenwood, Martin Reisima and Jackson Kibblewhite, all unavailable, their depth will be sorely tested as a consequence.

"We've been going well but it's back to square one now ... we're certainly not taking anything for granted," Greytown vice-captain Gordon Reisima told the Times-Age yesterday. "Quite honestly it could go either way, it should be a tough game."

Red Star skipper Chris Wenden freely concedes consistency has not been one of his side's strong points but he is quick to point out they are the only side to have beaten Greytown in a club game this season - a Twenty20 affair - and that they have the experience to cope with the extra pressures of a final.

"Most of our guys have been around a while now so they know what to expect. We're looking forward to a good battle," Wenden said.

Even a cursory glance at the make-up of the two finalists suggests they have very different strengths. With the likes of Jared Watt, Aaron Wilson, Peter Sigvertsen, Sean Jarvis, George Deans and Nicolai Karaitiana to lead the way, Red Star have the greater options in the bowling department but Greytown look to have a similar edge in the batting where they will be expecting plenty from Steve Coleman, captain Tim Lucas, Mark Childs, Paul Lyttle and Robbie Speers.

Coleman will undoubtedly be a key figure for Greytown. He has been a prolific scorer of runs all season but not only that, he has also been a prolific taker of wickets. If one player is going to sway the result of this one he is the most likely candidate for the southerners.

Categorising Red Star in similar fashion, you'd have to think on the evidence from recent matches that Robbie Anderson will be their star act. He has been striking the ball in confident fashion at the batting crease and while he doesn't have anything like the same success rate as Coleman as a bowler, he does have the happy knack of breaking dangerous partnerships.

It could be, however, of all the equations leading into this weekend's match, the most telling in the end result will be the state of the wicket. A variable bounce has made the park oval pitch something of a minefield for batsmen through most of this season with any team even threatening to reach the 200 mark being seen to have over-achieved. The hope is that the use of the heavy roller over the past couple of days will have helped make the surface less tricky for batsmen to negotiate.

The likely squads are:

GREYTOWN: Jake Ross, Tim Lucas, Steve Coleman, Robbie Speers, Paul Lyttle, Gordon Reisima, Mark Childs, Daniel Haxton, Quintin McKenna, Jacob Smith, Brian James.

RED STAR: Troy Burling, Richard French, Daniel Stonely, Robbie Anderson, George Deans, Chris Wenden, Sean Jarvis, Nicolai Karaitiana, Jared Watt, Peter Sigvertsen, Aaron Wilson.