IT’S not quite do or die, but Exies batsman Phil Burge accepts a loss against Leagues Club on Saturday could cost his team a spot in the Griffith District Cricket Association one-day final.
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Exies are third on the ladder, one point behind second-placed Leagues Club with two games to play.
It’s not the position the reigning two-day premiers wanted to be in at this stage of the summer, but Burge said their assignment was clear.
“Pretty much every game for us now is a must-win if we want to make it,” he said.
“It’ll be a hard game. I’m not sure who Leagues have got for Saturday, but they’ve always got a good side.”
Exies were denied a full hit-out last week after their match against Coro was washed out in the first innings.
Exies were in trouble at 6-54 when the rain arrived, but Burge doesn't believe they dodged a bullet.
“I actually think something around 80 would have been a pretty good total,” he said.
“The ball was popping around all over the place when we were out there.”
“It wasn’t easy batting at all.”
Leagues Club also had to battle a rain-affected pitch last week, but its total of 103 proved enough against Hanwood. However, with sunny weather forecast for the next two days, Leagues Club captain Paul Plummer said a similarly low score would prove almost impossible to defend.
“They (Exies) have probably got the best batting team in the comp,” he said.
“They’ve got both the Burges, the Winklers. They bat right down the order.
“Our bowlers are going to have to be on song, and we’re going to have to take all our chances.”
The Panthers have struggled to do that during the season, but Plummer was heartened by his team’s performance in the field against Hanwood.
“Our fielding was just unreal,” he said.
“We’ve dropped a few catches the previous weeks, but last week we took some absolute screamers.
“Everyone walked off smiling saying, ‘I can’t believe you took that’ or, ‘How did you hold on to that one?’.”
“It’d be good if we can do it again.”
The Panthers have premiership ambitions in all formats, and Plummer said it was time for them to start playing like it.
“Coming into finals, we’ve got to start picking our best people who can qualify,” he said.
“I definitely know what our best 11 is, and most of the boys know who they are as well.
“We’ve got a squad of 13 or 14 to pick from, and out of that we can get a pretty good side.”