Central bowlers turned in a season-best collective bowling effort against South last weekend and they will need to repeat that today against North at the Jubilee Oval if they are to string three wins together on the trot.
Early wickets will be the order of the day against the powerful North batting line-up and continued pressure applied will form a critical ingredient to this effort.
Rick Ninovic, a new member of the Magpies side, was most impressive taking the new ball and he gave the South batters no latitude at all.
David O’Mally and Sheldon Hall likewise were very frugal and were well supported by Kade Ticehurst and Jarred Paull. These bowlers must not let the likes of Tobias Hack and Ben Jurd get a start today or the horse may have bolted.
Tobias Hack has found good touch with the bat since his efforts in the S.A Country Carnival while Ben Jurd may be heading in the opposite direction after an amazing first half of the season. The Bulldogs will be hoping that this is only a temporary blip on Jurd’s radar.
Codie Howard is also a sleeping giant in the Bulldogs’ middle order and he will bear watching by the Central bowling.
Jarred Paull returned to some good form with the bat last weekend and the Central captain will carry a fairly large burden on his shoulders if they are to chase anywhere over 100 runs. I am not fully convinced that the Magpies have the batters to offer Paull too much support so it will be critical for the Magpie bowlers to keep North under triple digits.
North should win this game based on their better form over the season but as we have seen recently, cricket is a funny game.
