Fourth heading into the final round, the Bulls still need 178 runs to chase down Wests’ 213. Then it will be a matter of what happens next door between Norths and City, and bonus points.

Stand-in Wests skipper Dave Mudaliar conceded he was a bit uncertain what to do after winning the toss with regular skipper Tim Kensell as well as new Central Northern Zone Academy coach Jeff Cook to come in next week.

In the end he decided to bat first. They quickly got on the front foot, cruising to 1-50 after 15 overs with Mudaliar (27 off 25) and Tom Scoble (25) putting on 33 for the first wicket inside seven overs.

Scoble and Sage Cook (26) then added 30 for the second before Mepham showed what a destructive force he can be with 78 off 75.

“It was a great innings. He hit the ball beautifully and cleanly,” Mudaliar said.

“He’s a standout when he’s in that sort of form.”

It was as good as he’s seen him bat ever he said, and steered them into a strong position.

They were 194 when, after peppering three sixes and nine fours, he was caught behind off Jye Paterson.

He was pretty much a one man band after Cook’s departure with only Dan Collinson (10) and Kristian Grattan (14) making double figures.

“We probably could have scored more runs,” Mudaliar said.

“Guys got starts and looked good. We just lost wickets at crucial times.”

He said they tried to be positive with their batting, but just didn’t quite adjust going from 40 to 80 overs.

“It is a different tempo. That what’s got us into trouble at times,” he said.

Scoble (1-13) and Harrison Kelly (0-17) then gave the Bective batsmen nothing. At one stage they bowled seven straight maidens. 

“When we bowl like that we are a very formidable bowling unit,” Mudaliar said.

Bulls skipper Adam Jones was reasonably happy with how they are placed. They’ll resume on 2-35.

They were in a way bonus runs, with the Bulls inheriting 19 of Wests’ overs and still having 80 next week to score the required runs.

“It was about getting in there and surviving, getting a few runs on the board and then reevaluating next week,” he said.

Losing Toby Whale for 19 in the third last over of the day was a bit of a blow. He was looking good, Jones said.

“It was just about taking your time and waiting for that loose ball, the one you can score off,” he said.

Earlier they were a bit off the mark with the ball in the opening 10 or so overs.

“They got off to a pretty quick start,” Jones said.

“We didn’t quite find the right length early.”

They also at times didn’t bowl particularly well to Mepham. Generally though he thought Gerhard Labaschagne (3-57), Paterson (4-87) and Lachlan Davidson (2-53) were “exceptional”.

Paterson bowled 23 overs straight before turning around and going out and facing the new ball.