TAMWORTH will be out to avenge last season’s upset loss to Gunnedah in the War Veterans Cup when the two renew hostilities on Sunday.
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However, this year’s encounter won’t have quite the same sting as Gunnedah will be without fast bowling duo Brad Jenkinson and Ben Irwin due to injury.
Tamworth captain Tom O’Neill said his side would look to capitalise on the absence of the duo.
“I’m not too sure who will be doing the bowling for them, so it might be something we can exploit,” O’Neill said.
“If we can keep wickets in hand and set ourselves a solid platform with 10 to 15 overs left, then I think we should be able to make a pretty solid score.”
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O’Neill said he was looking to his side’s top order to “help set up the game” for his side.
“Our top order has been in good form of late so I’m hopeful guys like Tom Fitzgerald and Jye Paterson can make a few runs for us,” he said.
“I think it’s better to have a few younger guys in our side because I think they can bring something new to the table and get something from the experience.”
With the region’s recent rainfall it remains to be seen how the No.1 Oval pitch will play on Sunday.
“To be honest I reckon it will be pretty similar to last week’s pitch,” O’Neill said, in reference to Souths’ win over Old Boys at the ground.
“It will be pretty tough to get started on but once you do it should be pretty good to bat on.
“Hopefully we can get a bit of a run on because I think it will certainly be the sort of pitch you can bowl teams out cheaply on.”
Gunnedah captain Mitchell Swain said he was confident his side could repeat last year’s feat despite being down on personal.
“While it does hurt to have a couple of key players out of the side, I have a lot of confidence some of our younger players can step up,” Swain said.
“Guys like Kaleb McIlveen and Adam McGuirk, who have have been batting well lately, will be guys we will certainly look towards to help lead the way for us.
“As well as that, some of our more experienced guys like Farran Lamb and Troy Sands should also hold us in good stead.
“We beat them last year and I am confident we can perform well enough to do it again.”
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
