A run feast could well be on the cards when Northern Midlands neighbours Longford and Cressy meet in Thursday night’s T20 final at Legana.
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Longford are the only side to have knocked off the Bulldogs in the T20 format this season, taking a seven-wicket win a fortnight ago thanks to a quickfire 46 from Shannon Rumbel.
Cressy coach Damian Whybrow, who was unavailable the last time the two teams met, says his side is raring to go and capable of inflicting the Country Tigers’ first loss of the season.
“They’re a good side Longford and they have been for a few years now so we’ll just have to be at our best to compete with them and anything can happen on a small ground,” Whybrow said.
“The boys are thriving on this game and I think there’s a pretty good rivalry between Longford and Cressy I’ve been told so I’m looking forward to it.
“I love these games of cricket when you’re playing finals, it’s what it’s all about.”
Whybrow said his side would need to bat well to take it up to the reigning TCL premiers.
“We didn’t score enough runs (last time).
“On that ground you need to get 120, 130, maybe even 150, but anything’s possible in the game of cricket, it can change easily with the bat and ball.”
Longford coach Josh Adams will take a settled side into the decider and go in confident his troops can collect their tenth-straight win.
But despite his side’s recent dominance, Adams refuses to underestimate Cressy’s firepower.
“Twenty20 cricket’s a funny game, it only takes a couple of players to get away from you with the bat and you’re going to be chasing a few runs but I think it’s going to come down to the top five or six at both clubs with the bat,” Adams said.
“It’s a grand final and I’m sure both teams are pretty keen to get the victory.”
The match is likely to provide plenty for spectators, with the smaller dimensions of Legana Oval and the need for quick runs shaping up as the perfect recipe for a crowd catch carnivale.
But Adams insists his side is unlikely to alter its gameplan having consistently posted big scores all season.
“I don’t think you change too much in how you play, it’s only a small ground but the same things apply with both bat and ball.
“We’re starting to get a few blokes hit a bit of form with the bat which is pleasing, we struggled for a few weeks but (recently) we’ve started to hit our straps and build some partnerships, so I don’t think too much different applies from Twenty20 to 40-over cricket.”
The match starts at 5.15pm.