Tigers prepping for push to finals

After a weekend watching away from the ground, Ovens Valley United’s A grade squad is back in action this weekend, and have a tough fortnight of cricket standing between them and a spot in the grand final. Nominally fourth on the ladder after the weekend’s midpoint of the competition, the Tigers sit even on points with three other squads, and will need to win both of their coming matches to have any hope of qualifying for the decider. Up against Rovers United Bruck (second) this weekend and Wangaratta Magpies (third) in the final round, Tigers skipper Seamus Phillips is under no illusion it’s going to take every bit of cricketing nous, talent, skill and – let’s be honest – a bit of luck to go their way. “The T20 comp is going to be tight, there are going to be two or three teams that end up all on the same point by the end of it, it’ll come down to net run rate,” he said. “Our net run rate is pretty good from the City Colts game and we only just lost against Beechworth, so our net run rate is good. “It’s a weird set up, we don’t play everyone, so there will be some teams with more favourable draws than others, potentially. “We’ve just got to win the next two.” The Hawks have been one of the benchmarks of the competition all year, having only dropped a single game in T20 and one-day cricket so far. While their top order has left a lot to be desired through the short form series, they’ll be buoyed by openers Charith Perera and Jordan Hansted manufacturing a 98-run opening stand on Saturday. “They always are a pretty strong side, so early wickets are the key,” Phillips said. “If you let their top two or three bat for 10 overs, the game’s probably too far gone. “We’ll have to keep early pressure on, try and snag Chazzy [Perera] and a couple of their other guys early and get into the game that way, and see where we end up. “All of our boys can bowl tight, we’ve just got to reduce the boundary balls and then hopefully a bit of frustration sets in. “That will go a long way in getting early wickets.” Ovens Valley United host Rovers United Bruck for their A grade T20 match at McNamara Reserve this Saturday, with the first ball from 12.30pm

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