Title hopefuls St David’s and St George’s face off
Unbeaten St David’s will attempt to stretch their lead in the Premier Division T20 championship when they clash with fellow title contenders St George’s at Wellington Oval today.
Ricky Brangman’s team are off to a flyer having gone unbeaten in their first three outings of the season but have their work cut out against second-place St George’s, who will be keen to get back to winning ways having suffered their first defeat against fellow title hopefuls Somerset in their previous fixture.
Sinclair Smith, the St George’s captain and wicketkeeper, is relaxed heading into the intriguing East End derby.
“I expect my team to go out there and perform one hundred per cent, trust themselves, trust their skills and let the result fall as it may,” he told The Royal Gazette.
“It’s been a good week of preparation, especially after last week’s loss, and my players are in good spirits.
“The intensity in training has been good. Everybody has been training with a purpose working on different things for their game, which the coach has identified.”
The weekend’s top T20 match-up will mark Onias Bascome’s first against former team St George’s since joining St David’s during the last transfer period.
St David’s top the standings by ten points over St George’s, who are ahead of third place Somerset on run rate.
Elsewhere, Somerset are away to struggling Devonshire who have yet to pick up a victory at Devonshire Rec, while Eastern Counties rivals Bailey’s Bay and Cleveland County will do battle at Southampton Oval in today’s remaining top flight T20 fixtures.
Today’s First Division T20 fixtures will see unbeaten leaders Southampton Rangers take on Warwick at Southampton Oval, second place Western Stars are up against Flatts at Devonshire Rec, while Somerset Bridge and Willow Cuts will square off at Wellington Oval.
Premier Division T20 action continues tomorrow with St David’s facing another tough outing away to Bailey’s Bay at Sea Breeze Oval, while Somerset take on Cleveland at PHC Field and St George’s host Devonshire at Wellington Oval.
First Division T20 match ups will see hosts PHC take on Western Stars at PHC Field, Warwick are up against Somerset Bridge at Wellington Oval, while Willow Cuts and Flatts will face off at Sea Breeze Oval.
All Premier Division T20 fixtures begin at 2.30pm and First Division at 10.30am.