Tara Murray
Rivergum is priming itself for the North Metro Cricket Association Jika Shield finals starting on Saturday.
The Kookas, who have made the past 10 grand finals including winning five, will again be one of the favorites for the title.
Kookas captain-coach Matt Perri said they were happy with how the season had gone despite a couple of hiccups in recent weeks.
“Everything is going well and it’s been pretty good,” he said.
“We did lose two in a row and then just get over the line in the last match.
“We were going through the motions a bit, sitting two games clear on top of the ladder and a top two spot pretty much sewn up.
“We can’t blame them for going through the motions, but we lifted our game a bit in the last round.”
The Kookas, enter the final round on top on percentage ahead of Preston Baseballers, and will face the Baseballers in the first week of the finals.
The winner will go through to the grand final and the loser into the preliminary final.
With a similar line up to last season, the Kookas looked to change things up to try and return to the top of the table.
Perri said they needed to improve their batting after a couple of failures in finals last season. One big reason for better batting at the top was James Bonnici returning after a year off.
“He’s averaging nearly 60, the second most in the competition.
“It was something we missed last year. We were bowled out cheaply in a couple of finals.”
Kyl Ewart also moved up the order and has opened all season, giving the side an attacking edge.
Perri said that was a result of fielding restriction changes and wanting to get off to a quick start.
The skipper said Jarrod Bannister had been the star throughout the year.
“He has been amazing,” he said. “He will go close to winning the competition medal.
“He has the most wickets in the competition. He is averaging nearly 60 with bat and is reliable with the ball.
“He bowls his overs for not many.”
Perri said it had been a really even spread across the board, but said he hadn’t made the runs he would have liked.
With finals now here, Perri said there was a fire burning in the playing group after falling short last season.
“Baseballers pretty much embarrassed us in two finals last year,” he said.
“We are keen to make amends for last year, it burns in everyone.”
While the Kookas have locked up a top two spot, fourth spot is still on the line in the final round.
Heidelberg West and Northern Socials enter the round even on points.
Heidelberg West will play Donath, while Northern Socials will play Holy Trinity.
