BOTH Nowra and Bomaderry are over the moon they have qualified for the Shoalhaven District Cricket first grade grand final, but know the job isn’t done yet.
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Bomaderry skipper Jordan Matthews said this seasons progress had been two years in the making.
“Last year, we were happy with how we went by making it in to the top four and this year we have tried to build on that,” he said.
“The club and squad are quite young at the moment, with an average age of about 23.
“But the experience of club stalwarts Paul Sawkins and Stu Jeffrey is invaluable in what we are trying to build at the moment.
“Heading into this year, we really wanted to cement our spot in the top four.
“There are no doubts that Berry-Shoalhaven Heads were the standouts during the regular season but we were more than happy to grab second.
“All that means little now, if we can’t make it count this weekend.”
As was shown last weekend, anything can happen in finals cricket, leading Matthews to emphasise his team needs to come to play on both days.
“Although we have beaten Nowra both times this season, it has been close, low scoring affairs both times,” Matthews said.
“It’s fair to say our bowling is our strength but Nowra also have three dangerous bowlers in Justin Weller, Alex Legge and Michael Coulter.
“We are going to have to bat very well and post a big score against them, to give us the best chance of victory.
“With the semi-final second day starting early and the day being longer, you have to be mindful of second innings, meaning we will have to constantly apply pressure to our opposition.”
Opposition captain Michael Coulter admitted his team had an amazing win last weekend but weren’t getting ahead of themselves.
“It was a great win by the boys, as no one really gave us a chance of winning,” he said.
‘We dug deep and came together as a team, which hopefully we do again this weekend.
“The boys are pretty confident but also realise that Bomaderry are a strong side and have the right to be in the final.
“Finals cricket is a funny old game and anything can happen.
“Look at last weekend for example, none of the four teams made big totals with the bat.
“It comes down to who can sustain pressure on their opponents and deal with it themselves.
“I said to the boys last week don’t worry about the names of who you are playing against because really it is just another guy with a bat or ball in his hand.
“Although Bomaderry have got the better of us both times this season, it should be a cracking match this weekend.”
