Mt Clear is one good day away from booking its ticket to the finals.
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Last week the Mounties piled on the runs against Napoleons-Sebastopol – 389 in fact.
Steve Nicholson led the charge with 174 runs at the top of the order.
Mt Clear simply needs to win to secure a top four spot, as fifth-placed Darley does its best to put itself in the mix.
The Mounties are in a commanding position after day one and will be searching hard for 10 wickets on Saturday.
Napoleons-Sebastopol have struggled with the bat this season, making the least amount of runs of any club. While the Mounties attack, with the likes of Darcy Thomson, Nathan Yates and Steve Nicholson, have taken 90 wickets as a side – the most in the competition.
Naps-Sebas’ top score this season has been 304 against Brown Hill, aside from that it has only cracked 200 on two other occasions.
If Mt Clear can do what is expected and knock-off Naps-Sebas for less than the imposing total, a top four spot will be locked away and the attention will then turn to the make-up of the finals.
Golden Point will finish on top of the ladder, Wendouree will be second – barring a big change in percentage. But depending if the Roosters win or lose against the Pointies, it will either finish third or fourth.
DARLEY will need something of a miracle if it is to pinch fourth spot.
The Lions got on the front foot last week and made their intentions clear – if we want to make finals, we’re going to need an outright victory.
That part of the equation is going to plan, Darley declaring at 5-192 and sending Brown Hill in to bat, having them at 6-80 at stumps.
Darley is pushing hard to gain a 10-point outright victory, but it will all come to nothing it Mt Clear bowls Napoleons-Sebastopol out for less than its dominant total of 389. After a positive day for the Lions, it made for deflating reading going through the scores at the conclusion of play.
Paul White (28 runs not out) and Cameron Inglis (five runs not out) will return to the crease in a bid to steady the ship.
White will be the big scalp for Darley, it will feel if it can dismiss the inform batsmen, who has enjoyed a great season with the bat – averaging 38.3 down the order – that the rest of the tail will fall quickly.
Brown Hill needs 14 runs to avoid the follow-on.
The Bulls are without a win this season and it looks unlikely that will change. This year, as was forecast pre-season, has been about development and the Bulls have given plenty of opportunities to a number of players which will hopefully pay dividends in the near future.
Golden Point and North Ballarat are evenly poised entering day two of its round 12 clash.
THE ROOSTERS will return to the crease at 0-19 in pursuit of 218 for victory.
Laurence Parker (11 runs not out) and Jason Crosbie (six not out) will resume after 11 overs.
If North Ballarat wants to retain third spot, victory is a must as Mt Clear looks destined for a win against Napoleons-Sebastopol.
Crosbie will be the man to drive the run chase.
Parker opened as the nightwatchman and will be hoping to hang around as long as possible and add some valuable runs, but Crosbie is the inform batsmen.
Coming off a century against East Ballarat and an average of 34.8 this season, he will be hoping to make a significant dent in the remaining 199 runs required.
It will not be an easy chase, the Roosters have had mixed results with the bat in recent times with scores of 228, 71 & 137, 142 and 165.
For Golden Point, while victory may mean little from a ladder perspective, it will be keen to enter the finals series on a winning note and keep its unbeaten run alive.
Particularly if it was to meet North Ballarat during the finals, this result will definitely hold some bearing.
Golden Point will be looking for big days from its two key strikers in Andrew Warrick and Simon Ogilvie.
EAST Ballarat will set out in pursuit of 198 runs for victory against Ballarat-Redan.
Robert Hind made an impressive 61 at the top of The Combine order last week, Zac Jenkins chimed in for 43 while Simon Allan delivered 57 runs at a touch under a run-a-ball to help boost the score to a defendable total.
The Hawks have nine wickets in hand after losing Zac Thorne last week – Brendan Thomson making the early strike.
East Ballarat will resume at 1-12 after eight overs, with Harli Givvens and bowler Oliver Hayes at the crease, on six and four respectively.
It will be the final game of the season for both sides, with neither in the finals hunt.
East Ballarat was in the mix but faded in the latter stages, while Ballarat-Redan enjoyed a strong middle period.
Ballarat-Redan has a raft of promising youngsters, Jenkins is one that has made steps this season making 176 runs with nine 20-plus score – he will be looking to go on with some of his starts next year. Taylor Sutton is another, while he has not had the best finish to the season, he has made 223 runs at 20.3.
For East Ballarat, skipper Josh Brown has led the attack with 20 wickets.
While Harry Ganley has been one of the competition’s best performed batsmen with 366 runs at an average of 30.5.