WANGARATTA Magpies are tantalisingly close to locking in a home final. The ‘Pies ended day one of their final round match with Ovens Valley United at 0/4, seeing off five overs in pursuit of the Tigers’ total of 111 all out. Wangaratta skipper Cooper Matheson credited an exceptional bowling effort from his attack, as well as favourable ground conditions at the Wangaratta Showgrounds, with the target remaining quite chaseable. “I think we bowled pretty well – I said last week it was probably our best bowling performance last week, but I think we topped it on the weekend just gone. “Ollie Andrew is back to his best bowling, along with Chook [Kyle Winter-Irving] and Frase [Ellis] who I thought bowled unreal. “We just bowled that fourth, fifth stump line, putting the pressure on them. “It went in our favour as well, the ground was very slow, so any shots they did get away, they only hit four boundaries for the day which is unfortunate for them because the ground is so slow. “The council scarified it and whatnot, we knew it was going to be slow so we won the toss and bowled – I think they thought I was a bit stupid at the start, then they realised why. “The deck will be the same, it’s always a road at the Showies, but I’m hoping the outfield is a little bit better for us. “We have no control over it, so we play with what we get.” Ground conditions will have an impact on how the game will be finished off. If the outfield is as slow as it was last week, it will be a grind for the Magpies batters, whereas if conditions change, the match could blow out to a runfest. “I’m hoping we can surpass it pretty easily and get a good bat into some of the boys,” Matheson said. “If the outfield’s as slow as it was last week, their score of 111 is probably 150—160 any other week, which could be reasonable. “Hopefully Chook can have a bat, he’s got to leave early for a wedding, so he’s probably going to bat at three and treat it like a T20. “If we get an early wicket, we could win within 20 overs if Chook just tees off. “It’d be exciting for however long he’s in for. “Outside of that, it’d be good for Ollie to find some form with the bat again and Jacko [Davies], they’ve been struggling a bit of late, so if they can get some time in the middle and get a solid hit in, it’ll be good. “Nothing beats having time in the middle.” A win this weekend means no matter how other matches play out, Wangaratta Magpies will book a home semi-final. Day two between Wangaratta Magpies and Ovens Valley United commences at 1pm at the Wangaratta Showgrounds.
