Greytown should have too many guns for Wairarapa College in the final of the Wairarapa Cricket Association's Umpires Cup limited-overs competition at the Park Oval in Masterton tomorrow.
The southerners were beaten by just the one wicket by Lansdowne in the Bidwell Cup two-day final last weekend, and the knowledge they
gained then on the intricacies of the pitch should be a huge assist to their cause on this occasion.
It was not the type of pitch on which runs came easily, with the uneven bounce often catching batsmen unawares, and the greater experience in Greytown's batting line-up suggests they should handle its tricks better than the students.
Willie Tatham, Mark Childs, Josh Doherty and Shane Mellor will be four of the key wickets for Wairarapa College, as they are all capable of scoring heavily, while others like Mark Jonas and Hayden Spierling are attacking batsmen well suited to the demands of the one-day game.
Wairarapa College will be relying on teacher Cameron Stone at the top of the order to give their innings a solid start.
Stone is a gritty player who will thrive on this responsibility, and he will be looking for solid support from the likes of the Andersons, Jeremy and Robbie, and the hard hitting Joel Macklin.
In bowling too Greytown seems to have the odds in their favour with Spierling, Mellor and Doherty three of the best in the region and Ben Hodder and Glen Jonas little behind them.
Wairarapa College do have some sting in their pace attack through the efforts of Seth Rance and Macklin while Stone is very useful with his slow-medium deliveries, but whether their other bowlers can restrict runs to a significant degree is questionable.
Playing off in the Chairman's Cup second grade final will be Greytown 2 and Lansdowne 2 and in the Ben Iveson Cup third grade final, Greytown 3 and Cossie.
If bad weather prevents play tomorrow then all three finals will be rescheduled to Sunday.
