Shield back on track after rain

Brothers all-rounder Dylan Bibby has left the area and will attend university at Brisbane.

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The frustrations of the past month are hopefully a thing of the past with the Southern Star Sports Shield getting under way once more.

Last weekend’s washout of the two-day games means the matches today come under the one-day format.

Whether that gives any team an advantage is open to conjecture with the overall feeling from respective captains being one of relief that they can again get out on the park.

A big unknown is whether the rain of the past few weeks has changed the characteristics of the playing strips at the Rockhampton Cricket Ground.

Prior to the break the wickets were a batsmen’s paradise despite the bounce proving to be a little low.

Gracemere captain Michael Harth is not expecting that to have changed too much.

“There has been a lot of sunshine and a bit of wind so they should be hard,” he said.

If the wickets have retained moisture then bowlers might extract a bit of cut and should conditions be steamy then swing bowlers might well come into their own.

Gracemere will be missing a couple of regulars with Mark O’Keeffe unavailable and Calvin Murray unable to make the journey from Emerald for this game.

O’Keeffe’s unavailability leaves the Gracemere captain with a problem as he is the regular gloveman.

“We’ll probably use Alex Raguse there as he has done it for us before,” Harth said.

That sounds like a good plan except that Raguse has also been selected to play for the Young Brahmans at Rugby Park and that game has a 4pm kick off.

“We’ll probably use Aaron Harmsworth if he (Raguse) has to go,” the captain said.

At this stage of the season there is little new to learn about opponents and so Harth knows Frenchville will be tough.

“Frenchville is always very competitive,” he said.

He also dismisses ideas that Gracemere has a better chance of the win now the match is a one-day game.

“I’m not sure it will help as Frenchville play one-day just as well as the two-day game,” he concluded.

With just three games remaining it looks as if the main interest on the points table is whether it is Gracemere or Brothers that finishes runner-up to Frenchville.

Norths Tigers will be going all out to destroy Brothers chances today when the two teams meet.

“We are a bit underdone,” admitted Brothers captain Richie Pershouse.

Also Brothers have lost brilliant young all-rounder Dylan Bibby who has gone to Brisbane to attend university.

“We are hoping to get him back for the finals,” he said.

“He is a big loss for our team.”

Since moving to Brothers, following the demise of Capricorn Coast, Bibby has been in sparkling form, especially with the bat where he can turn a game by compiling runs quickly.

Pershouse admits that at this stage he is unsure what he will decide to do if he wins the toss but will make that decision after inspecting the wicket.