Tamworth’s first-grade competition turns into the home straight on Saturday, with several intriguing narratives set to unfold.
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Old Boys’ surge in the Twenty20 competition – culminating in their clash against Bective East in the final at No.1 Oval on Friday night – has resulted in them scorching up the ladder and topping it with three two-day clashes to go before the playoffs.
They will look to duplicate their T20 form in the competition’s longest format, firstly against North Tamworth at Riverside 1 on Saturday.
Fourth-placed Norths would be close to full strength for the clash, said their skipper, Brendan Rixon.
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“We can come anywhere from second to missing out on the finals if we don’t perform,” Rixon said.
“It’s all responsibly tight … We’ve got an opportunity to finish with a finals berth, so it all starts tomorrow [Saturday] with the guys that are leading [the competition].”
Rixon said Old Boys and second-placed City United, up against third-placed South Tamworth at No.1 Oval on Saturday, were “setting the pace.”
“It will be a good opportunity to test ourselves tomorrow [Saturday] against an Old Boys side,” he said.
City skipper Brad Smith believes that his talented side can improve – and that involves his top order, which includes himself, scoring more runs.
“Our bowling has been our strength throughout the year, but I think we’ve got another gear with our bats,” he said.
“I think there’s a lot more runs in us. The guys just need to step up in the back end of the season and provide that.”
At Riverside 2, fifth-placed Bective East play sixth-placed West Tamworth.
The Bulls would have got a lift out of making the T20 final, coming from the clouds to do so, and will be looking for a similar catapult up the ladder over the next three rounds.