Peel Valley will be looking to get off the mark in the MA Connolly Cup when they host Armidale on Sunday.
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It will be the Bush Cricket boys’ ‘home’ debut after making their first foray into the district competition this season.
“We just felt there was a decent number of players that were playing below their potential,” captain Sam Bowden said.
“They needed some outlet to push their abilities and give them that competitive opportunity.”
They were beaten by Glen Innes in their first game, but took a lot away from it.
“They all felt they’ll be better for the run,” Bowden said.
“It is a new experience for us to play that style of cricket rather than the cricket that we normally play.”
For starters most of them are unaccustomed to playing on turf with all the decks synthetic. Games are also only 30-overs a side as opposed to 50 in the Connolly.
“And our cricket normally is a fairly relaxed style of cricket. A lot of the rules are relaxed,” Bowden added.
“We’ve got rules like retiring for 30 and maximum eight ball overs.”
Everyone also bats and bowls.
Brett Douglas was one of the stars for them in the first round, hitting 83.
Bowden also noted Deni Baker’s efforts, the young spinner nabbing three wickets.
“That was fairly impressive, being only 15 and bowling against adult men,” he said.
She will be a key weapon with the ball on Sunday.
Gavin White and Luke Blackler will spearhead the attack.
Bowden has plenty of options to call on. Similarly they bat quite deep.
“At this stage we’re looking at one of our club opening batsmen batting at seven,” he said.
“Last game that was probably our weakness. We bowled quite well but just didn’t get enough runs.”
Tamworth Blue will meanwhile be looking to make it three from three in the western conference when they host last-round victors Narrabri at No.1 Oval
It will be their first home game of the season, and follow after away wins over Moree and Gwydir.
Peel Valley team (v Armidale): Sam Bowden ©, George Barton, Doug Barry, Gavin White, David Miskle, Dylan Patterson, Brett Douglas, Zeb Douglas, Deni Baker, Neil Milne, Andrew Bowden, Luke Blackler
Tamworth Blue team (v Narrabri): Adam Lole ©, Travis John, Richard Bullock, Steven Starr, Killian Apen, Tom Haling, Nathan Mann, Bradley Redshaw, Matt Holmes, Sam Murphy, Jaryd Stevens, Daniel Murphy
