Rain, hail or shine this weekend, the Swifts-Great Western have one focus and that is getting ready for its Grampians Cricket Association title defence next week.
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Swifts-Great Western bowled 75 overs on day one of what looms to be a grand final preview against Buangor.
Buangor batted well and made an impressive total, but for Marc Brilliant and his Swifts-Great Western team the bowling practice was key.
The focus turns to batting in day two of the match on Saturday.
Brilliant said his team was looking to win, but there was a bigger picture for Swifts-Great Western.
“Ideally you want to go through the season without loss and continue with that in the finals,” Brilliant said.
“The loss doesn't hurt or change anything, but we don’t want a team like Buangor to know that they can beat us in the final round. The win will give us confidence for finals.”
“Its more about batting the 75 overs out I think,” Brilliant said.
“The result isn't of any real issue for us, really we are looking forward to having a look at Buangor’s bowling attack and see what score we can manage.”
Travis Nicholson returned to form last game and Jamie Bach has been in excellent form down the order.
“Bachy has been playing that middle order role excellent,” Brilliant said.
“That is the best thing about this team we all know our roles and we stick to them each week. Team work is a huge part of successful teams and we really pride ourselves on having all the guys doing their bit.”
Brilliant believes Buangor will be out to win at all costs which could make for an exciting game.
“I think they will attack from the start,” Brilliant said
The Swifts-Great Western line up remained the same this week and so did their goals. Each week they focus on the job at hand and on Saturday they need to get the required runs.
“We want to get the run with minimal damage,” Brilliant said.
“If that doesn't work out at least we have had a good look at the bowling which was the basis of bowling last week..
“We are just keen to get this week out of the way and get into the finals action. Everyone lifts a level for finals.”
Swifts-Great Western are more than two games clear and can no lose top spot.
Play resumes tomorrow.
The combine are currently 1-8 chasing 182.
The Grampians Cricket Association finals start next weekend across both A, B and C grade divisions. In C grade grand final will be played between Willaura and Halls Gap despite the competition dissolving.