Geraldton cricket Rd 6 preview: Sportsmans at full strength in double-header against Towns

Sportsmans aim to make a statement in this weekend’s Geraldton Bendigo Bank Cricket League. At this stage, Bluff Point and Chapman Valley-Northampton won’t make the top three and play finals while Wanderers and Towns are way ahead of the rest. Between the top two and bottom two is Sportsmans, who play Towns in a Young Motors T20 on Friday and again face Towns in a 50-over game on Saturday. Both games are at Wonthella. Sporties don’t intend to just make up the numbers in the finals, they want to be a premiership contender. “Wanderers and Towns definitely look the best two,” Sportsmans captain Riley Barham said. “But in 50-over games against them this season we were only 20 runs off Towns and not too far behind Wanderers when dropped catches probably cost us. “None of our batters have made a big score but we’ve consistently made competitive scores as a team.” Sportsmans will field a close to their best side this weekend. “The return of Brad Roworth is handy as he scores quickly, bowls well and is a good fielder and you need that type of player, while Kapil Gohel is a swing bowler who did well last week,” Barham said. “We have competition for spots at the moment, haven’t had that at this time of the season for a couple of years. “(Clint) Yeates, (James) Greenlees, (Darcy) Ingle and (Flynn) Dillon are in and we’re looking forward to the contest against Towns, they can be hard to score runs against but we’ll enjoy the challenge.” Key players for Towns include Jeremy Bedford who is coming off his record 198, all-rounder Ringo McKenna, batter Jay Comben, paceman Tom Forsyth and when the pressure’s on, Jai Russell. In Saturday’s other game, Wanderers meet CVN at GBSC1. CVN has some capable players but Wanderers has more of them. It’s likely the Valley Rams face another tough day. In Sunday’s Women’s Young Motors Cricket League, another round of 30-over games is on. Current table-topper Sportsmans play CVN at Mazzuchelli Oval. Sporties are favoured but if CVN can find more runs, they have the attack to spring an upset. Wanderers should be too strong for Towns at GBSC Park. B-grade: Don v Twn at Dongara; BP v Spo at Muir Pk; CVN v Wan at Mazzuchelli Oval.