The skipper is hoping his batsmen will improve on their “ordinary” form if given the chance when play resumes today.

Colwell was ropeable after his batsmen’s efforts in their first dig, berating his team - including himself - for their lack of commitment, but he believes he has the bowling arsenal to right the wrong when the two sides resume today.

“We had a platform to post a big score and we took it too easy,” Colwell said.

“Obviously our bowling is our strength because the rest of us were pretty ordinary.”

A massive second wicket stand of 128 between opener Mark O’Donnell and number three batsman Rod Morrison came as a saving grace for Souths, who were eventually all out for 185 in 71 overs. Jarrod Simpson and Tim Berry then each took two wickets in the shadow of stumps to have Macquarie reeling at 4-2 and put Souths back in the box seat.

But despite his side’s dominant position Colwell remains weary of the threat posed by the Blues’ remaining batsmen.

“They sent out some of their players who don’t bat normally, such as Dan Medway, which was a bit strange,” he said.

“So they will now be relying on their regular openers who are still there, Greeny (Jason Green) and Pagey (Andrew Page).”

Currently running second on the Whitney Cup ladder, Souths (109.2) have almost 10 points between them and first-placed Colts (118.97), and it will take a minor miracle for them to bridge the gap and secure a direct passage into the season’s decider.

Instead of crossing his fingers and praying for Colts to succumb to an unlikely outright defeat against Rugby, Colwell is focusing on preparing his team for the tough games ahead.

“The more practice we get this weekend the better because regardless of how it pans out we will be up for a tough game,” the Souths captain said.

“Of course we will be watching Colts but Rugby are certainly still in the game and so are CYMS.”