Who The Devil Are They, Bally Asking

Illawarra Mercury

Saturday December 20, 2008

By MICHAEL COX

BALGOWNIE captain Chris Sheppard admits he doesn't know much about Wests but says his side is primed for today's top-of-the-table clash with the Red Devils.

With all of last week's Cricket Illawarra fixtures being washed out, the round-eight matches will be played today as 50-over fixtures, but without fielding or bowling restrictions.

Wests' youthful bowling attack and in-form batting line-up have taken them to second position on the ladder after seven rounds, surprising many.

First-placed Balgownie, defending champions in all forms of the game, have only lost once all year and are beginning to hit their straps.

Sheppard said the "unknown factor" could work in Wests' favour at Judy Masters Oval - but he warned the Magpies might give them some problems.

"I don't know that much about them really - they've got a lot of names that I don't think I've played against," Sheppard said.

"From all reports they've played well - obviously from their results they are travelling well and it should be a tough game for us," he conceded.

"It can be more difficult when you haven't played someone before - but that also applies to them - their blokes haven't seen us either and we're playing quite well at the moment.

"We've got a lot of blokes with years of experience both here and in rep cricket. Given our record over the last couple of years, and given we're defending premiers ... they might be nervous."

Going into this season, Wests captain Nathan Dodd was relying on a youthful bowling line-up to get results.

They have been exceptional, but it has been the top-order batsmen who have surprised.

The Red Devils boast three of the competition's top four batsmen, with David Giorgio (298 runs at 74.5), Dodd (289 at 96.33) and Andrew Tougher (234 at 58.5) leading the way.

Dodd said some new training techniques had helped his team become consistent with the bat.

"Different sorts of batting drills we have been working on have been starting to pay dividends for everybody.

"And it's not just one guy who is doing the job for us, it's the whole team," he added.

At North Dalton Park, Wollongong will try to win back the annual Foundation Cup against old rivals Dapto.

A combination of results from first, second and third grades decides the winner of the cup, which is played between the competition's two oldest clubs.

In other games, Northern Districts will be out to make it two wins in a row at Helensburgh, University host Keira and Corrimal play Port Kembla at Ziems Park.

Today's games are the last before the Christmas break, with round nine on January 10.

Ladder: Balgownie 35, Wests 32, Keira 25, Corrimal 21, Wollongong 21, Dapto 19, Port Kembla 19, Helensburgh 18, University 17, and Northern Districts 16.

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

Back to News Index | Back to Home