DDCC Round 4 Preview

There is plenty on the line in the fourth two-day round of the season as some big clashes emerge. 

Southern Districts v Nightcliff – Gerry Wood Oval

 Southern Districts will aim to score its first win of the two-day season after losing two matches either side of their bye in their opening three rounds.

The Crocs will focus on setting a big score if they bat first after having both their totals easily chased down in their opening two matches.

In their first two-dayer against PINT, they had 251 chased down with five wickets to spare and 217 chased down with seven wickets against Waratah last week.

Bowling will be important but supplying enough with the bat will be just as crucial for the Crocs.

Meanwhile, Nightcliff will be aiming to score a big win to bounce back into similar form to their triumphant one-day season.

The Tigers were on top of the ladder for most, if not all, of the one-day season so they will be eyeing a win here to take second spot from Waratah who have the bye this week.

The Tigers hold a 2-1 record after the first three rounds following a strong win over PINT last week to bounce back from a shock outright loss to Palmerston the round before.

Although another ride down McMillans Road past TIO Stadium might daunt them after they suffered a loss the last time, they took a similar path to face the Power.

Tigers leg spinner Charlie Smith said "it's going to be a hard one" against the Crocs.

"Crocs are a great team, they have got some great local players, probably the most locals in the NT out of the whole comp so it's going to be a really hard one," he said.

"But I think we got two new players back, Tyler Van Luin's coming back in and maybe Connor Carroll, not 100 per cent sure yet but it looks like Connor's going to come back in. 

"They are two massive ins for us obviously so that's a big boost but last week was so impressive from our young boys. 

"Flemo, Nic Fleming and James Hatton bowled the house down and even Jai Allman who bowled so well last week. 

"So hopefully we just take that into this week and take some early wickets, it's always quite a nice deck out at Districts so hopefully we get Nic Broes out early, Dylan Mullen and Jackson Isakka.

"Hopefully we get those three out early, some big gets and then we will see what we can do."

Carroll is set to return to the Top End from Queensland for the Tigers and also a potential stint with the NT Strike side. 

Tigers bowler Hatton and Crocs all-rounder Lachlan Bangs look set to be key players for either side in this game following strong performances last game.

Hatton took 5-24 and Bangs struck 25 and took 2-22 including six maidens.

Prediction: Crocs

 PINT v Tracy Village – DXC Arena

 A huge clash is set between these two sides who haven’t had the number of wins they would have liked so far this year.

PINT has won two matches and lost seven overall across the one and two-day campaigns. Tracy has won a solitary game and lost seven, although they finished a spot higher in the 50-over season after claiming a bonus point in their victory.

But in the long-form season, it has been the Greens who have been superior to date with a 1-2 record compared to Tracy’s 0-2.

It is set to be game on as both sides know this is a winnable game. 

But it will take some work to claim victory as both sides enter coming off some big defeats.

The Villagers have had to bat twice in their last two encounters to avoid outright losses after being bowled out for 135 and 160 in their first innings.

They will be targeting strong efforts with the bat such as Guntaas Brar’s 57 last game against Palmerston to give them a chance with the ball.

Meanwhile, the Greens have taken a turn from their impressive opening-round win over Southern Districts to lose back-to-back games to the Waratah and Nightcliff by big margins.

So, they will be roaring to bounce back and try to score a win on their home turf this week.

The batting will be key for the Greens after just three players got double-digit scores last game as they tried to chase down the Tigers’ 6-295 but fell short at 10-145.

Former Tracy all-rounder Coby Edmondstone is set to be key for the Greens after taking two wickets and scoring 29 runs opening the batting last game.

Prediction: Villagers

Palmerston v Darwin – Cazalys Oval

Palmerston will have the chance to lock itself in as the leading contender for the flag this two-day season with a win over Darwin this round.

But a loss will undo a lot of the Power’s good work from their opening three matches.

The Power have been on fire to start the long-form campaign, defeating one-day champions Nightcliff outright and Waratah and Tracy in their other wins.

Going off that form, it is hard to back in Darwin to win this game after their 1-1 start to the season, but you definitely can’t write them off completely.

The Eagles are coming off a bye so they will be fresh for trips down to Palmerston in the next fortnight.

The Eagles had a poor eight-wicket loss to Nightcliff before a comfortable win over Tracy Village heading into the bye last round.

It leaves onlookers with an intriguing battle ahead as anything could happen. While the temperatures in the Top End have been low in the last month, this game is certainly doing its best to send the curve up.

Jacob Dickman looks set to be the key for the Eagles after scoring a huge century of 135 last game against the Villagers.

Meanwhile, the Power have had captain Hamish Martin star with the club legend recently passing Anthony Dent for most wickets taken in A Grade for the club.

After last week’s six wickets in total against Tracy, Martin now has 153 wickets for the Power, passing Dent who held the record 151.

Prediction: Power