Everything is bigger in Texas, so the saying goes – and the same could be said for the cricket scores at Buckley Park.
On paper, a victory target of 347 looks as though it will be a mammoth task for Burnside Springs United when play resumes in the North West Metropolitan Cricket Association’s Luscombe Shield top-of-the-table blockbuster with Buckley Park on Saturday.
But, happily for United, it’s not being played on paper – it is taking place at batsman-friendly Buckley Park East, which will give United all the assistance it will need to pull off a huge run chase, if it is good enough.
United playing president Adam Spiteri said that while such a target would always be tough, it needed to be put into the context of the size of the ground and the speed of the outfield.
“It’s half the size of the ground that we’ve got, so it is conducive to big scores,” he said. “If you look at it, traditionally there has been a lot of big scores and a lot of big chases on that ground. We’d back ourselves to give it a red hot go.”
Burnside Springs is not the first bowling side to feel the wrath of the Buckley Park batsmen, but it is hellbent on being the first to give the home side a dose of its own medicine.
The Beavers, as Buckley Park is known, are the last remaining unbeaten side this season, but Spiteri believes his side has what it takes to bring them down.
“You want to compete and beat the best and they’re probably the best at the moment,” he said.
“We toiled away pretty hard with the ball. It’s a tough deck to be bowling on. You don’t get any reward because there’s a get-out-of-jail card – every time you hit the ball hard, everything goes for four or six.
“We competed well all day, but it would’ve been nice to get a few more wickets and bowl them out. I’m a little bit arrogant – I’ll back ourselves to win from anywhere.”
Incredibly, Burnside Springs, second on the ladder, has no batsmen in the top 15 run-scorers in the competition.
Spiteri, United’s leader with 127 runs, is the highest ranked at 17th, but the side also has three other players – Paul Sammut, Anthony Fawcus and Daniel Kosinski – with 100-plus runs for the season.
“Partnerships, that’s the key, rather than individuals,” Spiteri said. “That’s what the club is about – we work as a team and the partnerships are the critical thing.”
Meanwhile, Kealba-Green Gully is closing in on victory over the Northern Lions at Green Gully Reserve.
Set 161 for victory after four wickets to Evan Long, the Cougars are 2-95 in reply.
