Wests will have the chance to make immediate amends for their Twenty20 semi-final loss to Wollongong when the two sides resume their two-day clash on Saturday.
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In a unique scheduling quirk, the two teams faced off in different formats on Saturday and Sunday last week, with vastly different results arising in the two matches.
Saturday saw Wests come within touching distance of securing first-innings points on the opening day of play, restricting Wollongong to 116 before racing to 1-98 at stumps.
Sunday saw Wollongong turn the tables, claiming a comprehensive eight-wicket victory to earn a place in this weekend's Twenty20 final.
Stand-in Devils skipper Troy Redman said the defeat has made his side even more determined to secure first-innings points and hand Wollongong just their second loss of the season.
“We’re really happy with how Saturday played out,” Redman said. “Facing the top-ranked team, we knew we were up for a big challenge. We took most of our chances, got them out for cheap and our two main batsmen really put it to them to put us in a good position for this week.
“We knew the challenge in the Twenty20 would be bigger, Twenty20 is not really our game. It is motivating though, even though they did beat us pretty easily, we want to make sure we knuckle down on Saturday and get on top of them.”
The Devils' charge was led by an impressive performance from Udara Jayasundara. The Sri Lankan international took over the match with both the bat and ball, taking 4-28 before returning to lead the run chase.
Jayasundara reached 54* at stumps and will look to lead his side past Wollongong's total and into a position where they can chase an outright victory.
“Udara’s a very competitive cricketer. He’s been a bit disappointed with his batting, not getting the big scores he’s been hoping to. Hopefully this week he can kick on a get a big score.
“It’s a good boost for us having him in the team and knowing he can do things with the ball that a lot of people can’t in this area, the batsmen find it tough. He can also change the game when he’s on song with the bat like he did on the weekend.”
With Wests hoping to climb up the ladder with a win over Wollongong, Saturday shapes as an important day for numerous teams.
Defending premiers Balgownie are at risk of slipping out of the top four with a loss to Northern Districts. The Magpies will need a quality bowling effort to defeat the Butchers, with Northern Districts 1-57 chasing 121.
Fifth-placed Keira will resume at 1-33 as they attempt to chase down Port Kembla’s first innings total of 149.
Helensburgh captain Mitch McCrae last week labelled his side’s clash with Corrimal a must-win, however the Tigers have a lot of work to do if they are to defeat the Cougars. After bowling Helensburgh out for 102, Corrimal are 2-4 in reply.
And Uni will push for an outright victory in their clash with Dapto, having reached 8-290 last Saturday.