Experience vs youth in Hawks-Colts derby

It’s a tale of two sides this weekend at Bill O’Callaghan Oval when the young City Colts cricketers host the tried and tested Rovers United Bruck in their WDCA A grade one-day fixture. The obvious divergence between the two sides forms the backdrop of what should be a close contest with bat and ball. After taking last weekend off with the bye, Hawks skipper Jeremy Wilson said his side could be pushed by the young Colts if momentum swings towards the boys in blue. “The Colts won their first game last week, so we don’t really want them to get their momentum up, get their tails up, because they are a young side and that can happen with young sides,” he said. “I watched a few highlights of their game last week. “Maxy and Jed Marek, they certainly come out and they play their shots, ‘Thrummy’ [Aaron Thrum] is probably the old head in the top order, but the rest of them, they’re young so they don’t have any scars or anything like that, they just play with freedom. “Some weeks that’s going to see them fall over for not many, and other weeks, like last week, they put nearly 200 runs on the board. “We’ve got to be mindful of not letting them get their tails up.” With just two rounds of 45-over cricket remaining before the A grade season transitions into the competition in the lead-up to Christmas, banking wins at this time of year is instrumental in setting up the push for finals in the new year. So far, Rovers United Bruck has been the benchmark side, comfortably winning all three of their matches played so far (nine wickets vs Benalla, six wickets vs Beechworth, four wickets vs Yarrawonga Mulwala). “Just looking at the ladder, there’s already a little bit of a gap opening, so for us, this week’s another chance for us to put a bit of a gap on a side,” Wilson said. “It does seem like it’s going quickly, but by the same token we’re only four rounds in and there are 14 games, so there’s still a lot of one-day cricket to be played before we start charging towards finals. “This time of year, you’ve got blokes going in and out of sides, and this week’s no different with us. “Mick Honman will be back in for sure – he had a wedding in round three and we didn’t play last week, so he’s had a couple of weeks off. “Josh O’Donohue made 75 in the A reserve last week, so he’s more than likely to come back in. “It’s just good to see him playing, he didn’t play last year, we know he’s more than capable of playing at the A grade level, so he was probably always going to come back in, but making 75 last weekend helps strengthen our top order.” The first ball at Bill O’Callaghan Oval is set to be delivered at 12.30pm this Saturday, 8 November. Around the grounds, Ovens Valley host Benalla Bushrangers, and the Magpies are at home to the Lakers.

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