Westbury and South Launceston will have very different lead ups to their Greater Northern Cup semi-final on Sunday at Ingamells Oval.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Shamrocks, who played in the Cricket North Twenty20 grand final against Riverside on Friday night, also have the second half of their two-dayer against Launceston on Saturday.
Meanwhile, South Launceston have Saturday off as they have the two-day competition bye.
It means Westbury's Joel Lloyd is keen to see his team ride a wave of momentum going into Sunday while South captain Jeremy Jackson is hoping fresh legs will serve his side well.
![Westbury bowler Liam Ryan and South Launceston captain Jeremy Jackson are eagerly anticipating the one-day semi-final on Sunday. Pictures by Phillip Biggs, Rod Thompson Westbury bowler Liam Ryan and South Launceston captain Jeremy Jackson are eagerly anticipating the one-day semi-final on Sunday. Pictures by Phillip Biggs, Rod Thompson](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/brian.allen/d215efa4-07ec-4dea-85c7-8c39bb5f881c.jpg/r0_0_2571_1508_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Adding intrigue to the match is Westbury all-rounder Sisitha Jayasinghe and spinner Ian Labrooy will face their former side after crossing during the off-season.
While acknowledging three days of cricket in a row would be a fair battle, Lloyd was upbeat about Westbury's mammoth weekend and said they would have to be flexible.
He noted it helped that the Shamrocks had just come off the Christmas break.
"There are going to be a few sore bodies by the time Sunday comes around so we're just going to be as adaptable as we can," he said.
"We're going to be without Daniel (Murfet) which is a big out in our batting line up for the one-day format.
"But we'll be back out at Westbury and it will be a day full of runs I hope."
Regular captain Murfet, who bats at first-drop, is on his honeymoon while top-order batter Chathura Athukorala comes into the side.
The Shamrocks will also be without reliable all-rounder Jono Chapman.
But the Shamrocks otherwise have a full-strength side that features Greater Northern Raiders regular Joe Griffin.
Jackson said he had the good fortune of having a full list available for the clash which has been rare this season.
Selection will no doubt be tough considering South's spread of contributors through the home-and-away rounds.
Jackson, an all-rounder, and pace bowler Graham Donaldson were arguably their most consistent while there were coming-of-age performances from the likes of youngster Oliver Knowles.
The Knights are determined to make the most of the finals after nervously waiting on Cricket North West results and hanging onto fourth spot.
Westbury have had the wood over South this season with convincing one-day and Twenty20 wins.
The Shamrocks kept the Knights to a mind-blowing 31 in their round six one-dayer at NTCA no. 2.
Spinner Kieren Hume walked away with some of the best figures in league history, a tidy 5-3 and four maidens.
Jackson said the Knights had great respect for the Shamrocks' strength across the years.
"But part of me feels like all the pressure is on them this weekend, they're probably expected to win," he said.
"But I don't mind going in as underdogs and coming off the couple of games they've got the better of us in.
"If we have a good day, we can certainly match it with them."
The winner will face Burnie or Ulverstone who are contesting the other semi-final at West Park Oval on Sunday. The grand final is on Sunday, January 21.
The match at Ingamells Oval starts at 10.30am on Sunday.