With first innings points already secured, Shellharbour will chase an outright victory in their two-day clash with Oak Flats.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Shellharbour bowled Oak Flats out for 153 before blasting their way to 7/254 off just 48 overs and captain Ned Taylor is keen to push the game along when play resumes on Saturday.
“The idea is to go for the outright victory,” Taylor said. “Saturday’s a different game, but we’ll certainly be pushing for maximum points.”
“We’ll see how the first hour goes, it’s fairly crucial to the rest of day, so we’ll see what comes of the first hour. But we won’t be looking too far before we start thinking about a declaration.”
Taylor’s side currently sits in fifth-place on the ladder and an outright victory is crucial to the team’s finals hopes. This is especially so given fourth-placed Gerringong are a genuine chance of upsetting unbeaten Lake Illawarra and claiming the outright win.
Gerringong will commence their second innings trailing by 18 runs, however both captains are viewing the second day of play as a match reset of sorts, with all three results still in play.
“It would’ve been nice to take first innings points given we had them 7/39,” Gerringong captain Manning Berry said. “We certainly think we are a chance to get them outright if things go our way and if we bat well.”
The Rail will resume at 5/157, a lead of 54 after bowling Kookas out for 103. The Razorbacks sit directly beneath Kookas on the ladder and an outright victory will edge them ever closer to that crucial second position and the finals safety it provides.