Red Ball Grand Final Preview

After registering the same three-win, one-outright and two-loss regular season win-loss record, the two sides will come face-to-face in the biggest game of the year.

When the teams last met, the Power comfortably won the two-day match by nine wickets as the Warriors’ score of 220 was chased down with nine wickets to spare at Gardens Oval.

Spinners Rommel Shahzad and Hamish Martin combined for seven wickets that day while some top-notch fielding led to three runouts to skittle the Warriors.

Caleb Montague struck an unbeaten 108 and Tahj Hill scored 64 not out with the bat in a dominant performance for the Power to kick off the two-day season.

But since that opening game of the two-day season, the Warriors have just recorded one more loss and found promising form with some strong performances.

Skipper Jagadesh Koduru took out the Ralph Wiese medal after a stellar campaign which featured two centuries and two fifties in the long-form campaign.

Koduru has also hit form at the right time of the season after launching a match winning 98 last week to power his side over the line against Nightcliff in the semi-final.

Meanwhile, Warriors skipper Hamish Martin has been equally as good, claiming nine wickets last week to lift his side to a grand final over reigning premiers Southern Districts.

Martin has also been strong throughout the long-form campaign, claiming a total of 36 wickets across seven matches.

The Power star has also taken three five-wicket hauls in what has been one of the best seasons yet for the left-arm off spinner.

Ahead of the decider, Martin said he was excited for his club’s first grand final appearance since 2020 where they also took on the Warriors and lost by 94 runs.

“Super pumped, we have been training very well as sort of a 22, we are really pumped, we think we are ready for it,” he said.

“Hopefully we have a bit more success than we did in the 2020 grand final but it will be good to come up against the Tahs.”

Martin took 2-54 in that decider four years ago which was a 50-over match due to Covid.

Warriors player-coach Udara Weerasinghe, who also played in the 2020 decider and took 4-29, said his side had come a long way since suffering a heavy defeat to the Power in early June where the Warriors had a collapse of 9-74.

“I think it’s the same, we got to keep the same attitude and just perform the way we have been performing,” he said.

“Obviously Hamish Martin will bowl 40 overs, that’s the main bowler for them - I think we played him well in the first round.

“Yes, we had a big collapse in the first game so we learnt from it and we have rectified those things now.

“We were 1-150 so I don’t think our batting is an issue, it’s just a matter of assessing the conditions and playing the situation well as a batting group.

“Our bowling has been good too, consistency wise, we have been doing that.

“It’s another opportunity to keep continuing our performances.”

The two sides also met in a do-or-die one day semi-final earlier this year where the Warriors comfortably won by eight wickets after bowling out the Power for 124 and chasing it two wickets down.

Overall, across the one and two-day seasons in 2024, the Warriors lead the head-to-head record 2-1.

Prediction: Power