WODONGA believes its match against Belvoir at Les Cheesley Oval is its to lose after a strong showing last week.
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The Bulldogs will resume today at 0-10 in reply to Belvoir’s modest 206, with Byron Hales (10no) and Ben McGrath at the crease.
Captain Robbie Jackson said he was feeling confident his team could make the runs.
“It’s a very flat, hard wicket so, if we apply ourselves with the bat, we should get the result,” he said.
“It’s on par with the wicket we played on a couple of weeks ago at Tallangatta where we chased them down.”
In that match, Wodonga chased down 267 to beat the Bushies on the final ball, and Jackson said that result would fill his team with confidence.
“If we can’t chase down another 190 or so on that wicket then there’s something wrong,” he said.
“We’ll try and restrict how they bowl and just fight it out.”
Wodonga is in second place on the ladder behind East Albury, but could become the league’s new leaders this weekend depending on other results.
But Jackson conceded his team still had plenty of room for improvement.
“Our bowling was all right, but I would have liked to keep them a bit lower,” he said.
“It was a long day in the field for us.
“At the end they sort of drifted away from us as well, so we’ll work on that for the next game.”
Belvoir will have a hard time trying to restrict Wodonga to such a low total, and its captain Ryan McNeil agreed.
“We’re probably a little light on in the runs department,” McNeil said.
“It would have been nice to get another 50 or 60, so we fell a bit short there.
“Wodonga are definitely in the box seat.”
Fifth-placed Belvoir is not yet assured of its spot in the finals, and a loss against Wodonga could see its rivals creep up on it.
But McNeil hasn’t considering missing out.
“I’m not worried about the finals,” he said.
“Our best cricket is more than good enough for finals cricket.
“We just need to find a bit more consistency.”