Round 4 - Sticky Wickets v Stingrays at Stevil Oval (completed)

Sticky Wickets v Stingrays

Sticky Wickets: Speirs*, Thornton, Dempsey†, Parker, Petrucci, Chowdhuri, Hughes, King, Laing, Izett, Hutchinson
Stingrays: Dafter, Morgan*, Martyn, Fung†, Logan, Lee, Das, Rask, James, Cambridge, Ikram

We head to Stevil Oval as both the Sticky Wickets and Stingrays look to grab their first win of the season. So far, the Stickies have been comprehensively outplayed by the Ravens, Gamblers and Crusaders, while the Stingrays provided no opposition against the Allstars and Vipers. Looking at that, one could probably guess that any side with mid table aspirations would lose to both the Vipers and 'Stars, while it'd be the sign of a real cellar dweller to lose to three seemingly mid table sides.

That all said, the team at the Herald expect this to be a close game. The pitch at Stevil Oval really cancels out the Stingrays' two strike fast bowlers, while bringing in their two medium pacers and two spinners. It should hold up well enough from day one as well, so taking 20 wickets will be difficult.

The pressure is on Keith Rask to perform - the new signing for the Stingrays has underwhelmed in his first grade career so far but finally travels to a pitch where he might thrive. If the 'Rays are to win, he'll need to show why he's playing in the Bannerman Shield. On the other hand, Daniel Speirs is the man the Stickies will be relying on if they're to succeed. Having been disappointing for the best part of two seasons now, nobody can deny his talent and he'll be looking to revitalise his career with a match winning knock from the top of the order.

The Herald predicts a closely fought 40 run/3 wicket victory for the Sticky Wickets, with James Hughes receiving man of the match for his twin 50s and 7 wickets for the match. Truman Lee will be the sole resitance however, with his 100 in the first innings