GCA DIVISION ONE SEMI FINALS
By Mark Browning It promises to be a nerve wracking weekend for followers of GCA Division semi-final teams East Belmont, Geelong West, Lara and St Josephs.
All summer the gap between these four top sides has never been wider than a cigarette paper and both results are likely to be on a knife edge until the final overs.
On Sunday night, though, two clubs will be triumphant and beginning to think towards the Grand Final the following week and for the other two season 2009-10 will be over.
The clash at Burdoo Reserve pits Minor Premiers East Belmont against reigning premier, Geelong West who finished second.
East Belmont has the advantage of having won at the same venue last week.
Geelong West, though, knows they can improve on their form in the Qualifying Final against Lara; a match they still might have won had they held their catches. They also defeated East Belmont in a one-dayer just before Christmas.
Rams captain, Glen Talarico is under no illusions as to the tough task in front of his side.
“The two teams match up so well,” Talarico said. “We both have strong seam attacks and my experience of the wicket at Grovedale is that it moves around a bit. I think any total in excess of 200 is likely to be enough to win t
he match.
“But the batting, too, is similar, with lots of left-handers in both groups and a nice blend of youth and experience.
“Last week was a hiccup. We didn’t get partnerships going and lost wickets in doubles.
“But we have played good cricket in the last two months. We’re going to prepare in the same way and stick to the same team that has brought us our success to date.
“However, no one is talking about the Grand Final yet. If we win then the possibility of back to back flags may be discussed. But we’re not getting ahead of ourselves.” The quality of the cricket played at Winter Reserve in the other semi-final between St Josephs and Lara will be just as high and the outcome as difficult to predict.
Lara had the better of the Round 12 clash where Nathan Yates and Danny Hughes were major contributors, but Joeys thrashed the Cats way back in Round One.
Lara, whose disciplined bowling and astute field placing is highly rated by many, had to scrap hard for last week’s three wicket win.
St Josephs, on the other hand, led by century maker, David Morgan and fast bowler, Sam Farnsworth were impressive in their demolition of Grovedale.
Like East Belmont, Lara returns to the same venue as last week. Familiarity with the conditions may help their cause. |
