Surprise packets Prospect and Southern District in Grade competition finals mix, while Tea Tree Gully again leads the way
GRADE Cricket will resume from its Christmas break this weekend and there are a few surprise packets in finals contention.
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PROSPECT high-performance manager Andrew Zesers says the Pirates are ahead of pre-season expectations and eyeing off a finals berth in Grade Cricket’s two-day competition.
The Pirates have been one of the competition’s surprise packets, having entered the Christmas break undefeated with four wins and a draw to sit second on the ladder, behind Tea Tree Gully.
It has been a remarkable rise for Prospect, which has collected eight wooden spoons over the past decade and has not played finals since winning the premiership in 2000/01.
The competition resumes with Saturday-Sunday fixtures this weekend.
“We are way ahead of where I expected us to be – the guys have gone really well,” Zesers said.
“We’re trying to keep a lid on it and at this stage.
“If we could get six wins, that would get us somewhere in the middle or close to the four.
“That would be a dream come true, really, to win six games.”
Captain Sam Miller (396 runs at 79.20) and Victorian recruit Alex Keath (388 at 129.33) have been instrumental in the Pirates’ resurgence but Zesers said his side needed other players to keep firing.
“(The club’s success) has only really been on the back of a couple of big batting performances from our top order so we really need some chipping in from more guys to ensure we get those wins,” Zesers said.
“Our best win was against Port Adelaide and we did that without Alex Keath and (club leading wicket-taker) Greg West got injured early.
“So that gives us a boost that we can get it done without them doing all the work for us.”
Southern District is another surprise finals contender but player/coach Andrew Staunton is not allowing the club to get ahead of itself.
The Stingrays, who finished eighth last season, are third on the ladder.
First-year player/coach Staunton said the club was thrilled with its start to the campaign but had plenty of work ahead to make the top four.
“Obviously we’re very pleased with where we’re at,” Staunton said.
“So far, so good.
“We’re heading towards finals but there’s a long way to go.”
Staunton said a busy schedule would be a major challenge during the second half of the season.
Clubs will play two Saturday-Sunday fixtures and round seven clashes will also be rescheduled for later this month after being abandoned on December 19 due to extreme heat.
“We’re going to be training quite intensely over the next couple of weeks ... to make sure we’re prepared well for the second half,” Staunton said.
Josh Barrett (360 runs at 90), Englishman Lewis Hatchett (14 wickets at 16.07) and Staunton (14 wickets at 21.07) have been key to the Stingrays’ success.
Southern’s season resumes away to Glenelg this weekend.
The Seahorses have been inconsistent, winning two games, losing two and drawing once.
“We’re obviously not sitting where we want to be just yet but we feel like our best cricket, when we put it together, is good enough,” Glenelg coach Matthew Chapman said.
Wicketkeeper Alex Carey (250 runs at 42.83) and Tom Plant (195 at 48.75) have been the Seahorses’ best performers.
Chapman hoped former Redbacks captain Johan Botha would return to the line-up after his Big Bash commitments with Sydney Sixers.
Botha, a veteran of five Tests, 78 One-Day Internationals and 40 Twenty20s for South Africa, has featured in three games for Glenelg this season and played in its 2012/13 premiership side.
Woodville coach Sam McNally says his side is in a strong position to reach the finals despite an unprecedented run of injuries this season.
The Peckers, runners-up last summer, are fourth with three wins and three losses.
They have been without several injured players, including last season’s leading wicket-taker Ben Turley, who sustained a season-ending knee injury.
“In my 15 years at the club I can’t remember a run of injuries like it,” McNally said.
“Across the grades we’ve had 12 or 13 players miss at least one game through injury and half of those have been in our top 15, which stretches your depth.
“(Ben) has been a big loss for us over the last couple of games and it’s certainly something we are going to have to manage, and perhaps change the way we play.”
Aside from Turley, McNally expected Woodville to have a full-strength side available when it hosted Adelaide this weekend.
“The next two or three weeks are really big for us,” McNally said.
“If we don’t come away with the points this weekend, the rest of the season will be a lot tougher.
“It’s a congested ladder and with six games to go we probably have to win four to make the finals again.
“So if we can get through the next few weeks with some wins, we will be looking really good.”
McNally praised Redbacks’ spinning prodigy Tom Andrews, who has 439 runs and 12 wickets from five games.
Kensington coach Ben Johnswood is confident his side can overcome its poor start and make a run at the top four.
The Browns have not missed the major round since 2009/10 but entered the competition’s Christmas break 11th on the ladder with one win, a draw and three losses.
“It’s an unfamiliar place we’re in,” Johnswood said.
“We’re a little behind the eight-ball at the moment but the way we’re looking at it is there’s seven matches to go.
“The premiership table is tight enough that if we play good cricket in the second half of the season, we can still be around the top four.”
Kensington began the season with an outright victory over last season’s runner-up Woodville but lost star bowlers Elliot Opie and Jamie Panelli to hamstring injuries after that match.
The Browns had a bye the following round and have not won since.
“We haven’t been quite good enough in the crunch moments,” Johnswood said.
A major reason for Kensington’s struggles has been its reliance on veterans Jake Brown, Opie and Panelli.
Brown, a dual Bradman Medallist, ranks ninth among the competition’s batsmen with 280 runs at 46.67 but no other Kensington player is in the top 35.
Opie has taken eight wickets in four matches, while Panelli has been limited to two games.
Brad Davis has been key to helping Sturt sit fifth and in finals contention with three wins, a draw and two defeats.
The Blues captain leads the competition with 468 runs at 78.
East Torrens will resume in seventh spot after a mixed start to the campaign.
It has a 2-4 record but one of its wins – against West Torrens – was an outright so the gap to fourth is only 20 points.
East Torrens is away to Sturt this weekend, while Prospect visits Kensington, Northern hosts cellar-dweller West Torrens and the Blacks travel to Port Adelaide.
Reigning premier Tea Tree Gully is on top of the ladder with just one loss from the opening seven rounds.
Tim Evans (393 runs at 55.57) and returning paceman Jake Haberfield (competition-best 21 wickets at 16.95) have spearheaded the Gullies’ title defence.
Tea Tree Gully resumes against Southern District on January 16 after a bye this weekend.
Northern Districts, sitting sixth with a 3-2 record, and Adelaide University (eighth with two wins) remain in contention for a top-four spot.
Port Adelaide, sitting 10th with two wins from six starts, must secure points against University to keep its finals prospects alive.
The Magpies are 30 points adrift of the fourth-placed Peckers.
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