Captain Mitch O’Brien said his team not only wanted to get back to winning ways, but wanted to do it against the Panthers after letting victory slip in their recent one dayer.

“For us to play finals we need to be winning every game,” he said.

“But this one we’d really love to win.

“We had a close game against them in the one dayers, it was a game we should have won and we let it slip so we’re keen to make amends there.

“And every game is important for us to win to get us back onto that positive track.”

O’Brien admitted 300, helped by a Nathan Brown 120 and half-centuries by Sam Harris (52) and Mick Howard (53), was a tough ask.

But he said New City had the firepower to get there.

“We’re fairly confident if the deck is anything like it was, and the ground is quick like it was then we can chase them down,” he said.

“They batted really well in the first period, their top three all got good scores and they were probably on track for more than 300.

“But in the afternoon session I think we did well to tie them down a bit and get a few wickets, so we finished the day on a positive.”

And that’s something New City will focus on today and beyond.

“It’s all a learning curve,” O’Brien said.

“We’re a young side that’s developing, so it’s all learning experience.

“We’ve got to get out there and be positive and we should be able to give it a good crack.”

Hayden Wishart, who took 4-12 last week, will again be the key today.

With an average of 72.3 and a high score of 94no, it’s that kind of innings New City needs him to replicate.

“Every game so far he’s played in he’s looked to be positive and has looked in good touch,” O’Brien said.

“I’m hoping he’ll have a good day out — we need someone to go on make a big score and we need a few others to chip in here and there.

“If someone bats for most of the day and makes a big score, and if everyone contributes, we should go close.”