Both sides start the second day of the must-win clashes at the crease with Mt Clear in a dominant position against Ballarat-Redan.

The Mounties resume on 0-13, chasing a lowly 142 after a fine performance with the ball last weekend. Spinners Tom Le Lievre (4-17) and Ash George (3-31) starred to move their side closer to first innings points - a bare minimum requirement to crack the top four.

Mt Clear trails the fourth-placed East Ballarat by a point. A positive result would move the Mounties above the Hawks, who have the bye, heading into the final round, where the Mounties themselves have the bye.

Should Mt Clear collapse against the Two Swords, the door is open for Golden Point, which needs to win both of its remaining games and hope East Ballarat loses its final-round game against Napoleons-Sebastopol to make the top four.

The Pointies return for the second day of their clash with Naps-Sebas on 1-9, chasing 200.

Naps-Sebas threatened to post a much larger total before Pointies quick Simon Ogilvie played a leading hand in the hosts' 6-40 collapse en route to career-best figures of 7-55.

History offers no solace for the reigning premiers.

The last time Golden Point met Naps-Sebas, it fell to 63 all out on the back of a Luke Corden double hattrick.

Elsewhere, Wendouree finds itself in a strong position in a top-of-the-table showdown against Darley.

The Red Caps dismissed the ladder leader for 169, Sam Peeters marking his maiden firsts game this season with a five-wicket haul.

The winner will take top spot and all but secure the minor premiership, with both sides expected to win their final-round games. Wendouree plays bottom-of-the-ladder Buninyong, Darley takes on Ballarat-Redan.

At Western Oval, Brown Hill finds itself trailing Buninyong by just 59 runs with opener Ryan Knowles (46*) nearing a third half-century of the season.

BROWN HILL V BUNINYONG

Brown Hill : Tom Bourke-Finn(c), Ryan Knowles, Hamish Irvin, Kento Dobell, Fraser Hunt, Nick Cochrane, Jaxon Thomas, Prabath Priyankara, Nathan Porter, Shashi Fernando, Akila Lakshan, Jason Knowles

Buninyong: Bailey Ryan(c), Harrison Bond, Brad Byrnes, Mitchell Tierney, Hudson Palmer, Ethan Giri, Campbell Palmer, Nicholas Schiemer, Fletcher Downs, Rory Fisher, Darcye Moloney, Pattin Tausif

DARLEY V WENDOUREE

Darley: Ben Longhurst(c), Bradley Barnes, Andrew Pickett, Drew Locke, Mitchell Ward, Rockey Hoey, Dayle Locke, Dilan Chandima, Harry Killoran, Hasitha Wickramasinghe, Madushanka Ekanayaka, Danza Hyatt

Wendouree: Mathew Begbie(c), Thomas Godson, Heath Pyke, Ryan Simmonds, Tom Batters, Brandon Weatherson, Tristan Maple, Liam Brady, Cole Roscholler, Ashley McCafferty, Liam Wood, Sam Peeters

MT CLEAR V BALLARAT-REDAN

Mt Clear: Jarrod Burns(c), Jacob Smith, Thomas Le Lievre, Grant Trevenen, Nathan Yates, Ashley George, Steven Nicholson, Matt Goonan, Zack Maple, Joel Moriarty, Jack Jeffrey, Yo Mani

Ballarat-Redan: Zac Jenkins(c), Robert Hind, Jayden Hayes, Matthew Aikman, Nathan Patrikeos, Max Riding, Michael Hayes, Kyle Hayes, Jack Landwehr, David Carton, Jack Gilbey

NAPOLEONS-SEBASTOPOL V GOLDEN POINT

Napoleons-Sebastopol: Daniel Scott(c), Corey Hucker, Luke Corden, Nathan Doonan, Jonah Healey, Dylan Sexton, Dylan York, Sajith Dissanayaka, Janath Tissera, Mayank Sharma, Viraj Pushpakumara, Zac Healy

Golden Point: Joshua Pegg(c), Joshua White, Daniel White, Andrew Falkner, Simon Ogilvie, Daniel McDonald, Jack Bambury, Lukas Pegg, Angus Watson, Manjula De Zoysa, Lachlan Herring, Leo Turnbull-Gent