By Jonty Ralphsmith
DANDENONG WEST V PARKFIELD
Details: Saturday 9, Sunday 10 March, Thomas Carroll Reserve, 12:30pm
Dandenong West
Strength: Experience: Bowlers Nuwan Kulasekera and Malinga Bandara have played international cricket; batters Anthony Brannan and Shaun Weir have plenty of First XI cricket to their name; Riley Siwes has Turf 1 games to fall back on. The poise that brings is worth a premium in a grand final.
Challenge: The return of Peter Atkinson. The fast bowler has been representing Australia in a veterans tournament overseas in recent weeks but returns early in the week and is a walk-up start. An unlucky player will miss out, but the difficulty will be in rejigging the bowling order, given he, Adam Reid and Noman Khan all have claims to partner Nuwan Kulasekera with the new ball.
Parkfield
Strength: Unpredictability: Their even spread of talent makes it difficult to construct a plan to beat the Bandits. A big opening partnership is as likely to beat you as a metronomic Sanjay Kahawatte spell, frustrating spinners from Nick Jeffrey, class from Travis D’Souza with the bat, Riley Payne screamers in the gully or a dozen other possibilities. They’ve got an asset for all conditions and you can’t confidently get a wicket or see off a bowler unscathed and feel on the front foot.
Challenge: Lack of star power: As good as the Parkfield XI is, their top five players are no match for Dandenong West’s Malinga Bandara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Anthony Brannan, Shaun Weir and Riley Siwes. Where Parkfield relies on everyone to do their bit, Dandy West has a long list of players who can get going and just about win a game on their own.
