Bendigo United is favourite to win its first BDCA Twenty20 premiership when it takes on Kangaroo Flat in the grand final at the QEO on Wednesday night.
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The Redbacks, who have traditionally struggled in the T20 format, go into the final on the back of a 3-1 win/loss ratio in the preliminary rounds.
They also retain the services of marquee player Tom Smyth, who belted 100 off 53 balls in last week’s win over Strathfieldsaye.
The Carlton star hit 13 fours and three sixes last week and shapes as the key wicket for the Roos.
In contrast, Kangaroo Flat won’t have a marquee player in the grand final. Their 2016-17 marquee player Mark Watt is in Dubai representing Scotland.
“We’ve had 12 Kangaroo Flat players play during the Twenty20 series, so the good thing is we can play them all in the final,’’ Roos’ skipper Brent Hamblin said.
“It would have been nice to have Mark playing because he’s really been important for us, particularly with his bowling, but we’re confident that we can still get the job done.”
The Roos are also yet to win a T20 title and go into Wednesday night’s game buoyed by a gutsy win over Bendigo United in a one-day game last Saturday.
“Every win you take confidence from and you learn from it,’’ Hamblin said.
“We took some things out of the win, but at the same time T20 is a strange game. We need to take our chances early on otherwise, with their strong batting line-up, we’ll be chasing a big total.”
Redbacks’ T20 skipper Ben Gunn said his side’s form in the shorter format had helped build momentum for the two-day competition.
“We probably haven’t played our best teams in T20 games in years previous, but this year we decided to play a full-strength side, apart from a couple of the older guys,’’ Gunn said.
“Obviously, the Saturday competition is what we all want to win, but if you’re winning any games of cricket it creates a good feeling around the club.
“We’re really keen to win this Twenty20 final for the first time.”
Wednesday night’s grand final at the QEO starts at 7.15pm. Entry is free for spectators.