Waratah v Nightcliff – Gardens Oval
It is the one-day grand final rematch headlining this week’s round of DDCC matches.
Both Waratah and Nightcliff hold the two best records in the competition after four rounds, which sets up a huge encounter on Saturday.
Reigning premiers Tigers are undefeated with a 4-0 record and the Warriors are 2-1 with the bye under their belt, with the next best record is Palmerston at 2-2.
The Warriors will have the home ground advantage heading into this one and will also benefit from playing just one game last weekend as opposed to the Tigers who had a few “tired bodies” on Sunday afternoon after a double-header weekend.
But the Tigers have set the benchmark in the competition, defeating a strong Southern Districts last Sunday where openers Connor Carroll and Douwtjie Hoogenboezem starred again.
The pair have scored more than half of their side’s runs this season with 524. Hoogenboezem is topping the competition charts with 274 runs and opening partner Carroll is next best with 250.
As a whole the Tigers have scored 989 runs from four games, with every total exceeding 215. Their biggest total came just last game where they put up 272.
But when one goes out, there has been a trend of both going as majority of the pair’s runs have been scored when they’re out there together (463 v 61).
In return, the Tigers will have to be wary of Tahs skipper Jagadesh Koduru who is the third leading run scorer in Darwin with 231 runs. Note, he has played one less game.
Koduru will be roaring to go as the Warriors look to bounce back from a narrow loss to the Crocs last Saturday.
Spin is deemed to be the biggest threat in this game with both side’s leading with spinners this season when it comes to wickets taken.
Tigers up-and-coming leg spinner Charlie Smith has 10 wickets (the most in the competition) and Warriors coach and off spinner Udara Weerasinghe has the equal third most wickets with seven.
Prediction: Warriors
PINT v Darwin – DXC Arena
It is crunch time for these two sides.
Third-last Darwin travels to face bottom-placed PINT with the winner to well and truly remain in contention for finals in the 50-over season, while the loser will have top-four chances lowered.
The Greens will aim to break a three-game losing streak on their home turf but will need to lift immensely after suffering a poor collapse of 10-47 last week to Tracy Village.
The loss of wickets in short time came after openers Mitch Doolan (77) and Coby Edmondstone (45) had set up the game with an impressive 120-run opening stand.
So it will be a big game for the Greens who have been slow-going after a top-notch opening round win to Southern Districts. With the bye in round 6 too, a loss will make the prospect of making the top four near impossible.
Meanwhile, the Eagles will be looking to bounce back from a tight loss at home to Palmerston to keep their finals chances alive.
Opener Jacob Dickman will be a big factor in the game after scoring a mammoth century of 122 last Sunday. He will enjoy the flat surface that DCX Arena tends to produce.
Other players to watch in this game include Greens off spinner Bradley Ilott who took 4-36 last Sunday. He also has seven wickets for the season – the equal-third most in the competition. Edmondstone also has seven for the campaign after taking 3-39 last game.
The Eagles have also had success with spin this season with left-arm off spinner Adi Dave taking five wickets from the first three Eagles games, including 2-54 last Sunday.
With the bat, Greens skipper Farzan Chowna (150 runs this season) will be important while Mitch Jamieson (148 runs) and skipper Daniel Kerber (114 runs) will be key in the Eagles line-up.
Prediction: Greens
Southern Districts v Tracy Village – Gerry Wood Oval
Tracy Village will be doing everything it can to hold a spot in the top four as it heads down the highway to face Southern Districts.
It will be a massive encounter as both sides look to improve their record to 2-2 and significantly improve their chances of making the Casuarina AllSports Club One-Day finals series.
The Villagers are up and about after claiming their first win of the season last Sunday.
Tracy took an incredible 10-47 to win the game by 43 runs after the Greens powered to a 0-120 start with the bat.
Darcy Gregory-Francis will be a watch after pulling off one of the performances of the season. The allrounder scored a team-high 41 before taking 4-14 to win the game last Sunday.
Off spinner Arjun Sehrawat will be a player to watch as well after taking 3-36 and scoring 27 in the thrilling win.
Meanwhile the Crocs will be targeting a win after a busy weekend in rounds 3 and 4 where they claimed a tight victory over the Warriors on Saturday but lost 24 hours later in a close encounter with the Tigers.
Off spinner Andrew Bourne was the match-winner on Saturday with a thrilling wicket in the dying stages to leave the Warriors 10 runs short. So he will be a player to watch this week. Can he back it up?
So will Christopher McEvoy who has put the pressure on the Crocs top eight after scoring an unbeaten 16 on Saturday batting at eight before a thrilling 48 not-out on Sunday batting at nine. His near-half century almost got his side over the line for an unexpected win after he came to the crease when his side were 7-111. With the support of Matt Hammond (89), the Crocs almost chased down 272 but ran out of time at the end to finish 8-256 after 50 overs.
The strong pace bowler McEvoy also took 2-23 and 3-46 across both matches.
Prediction: Crocs
Don't expect it to be as windy as it was last Saturday cricket players, officials and spectators. Enjoy the game - play well, play fair.