MACQUARIE'S aim of a possible outright win over CYMS has been affected by the rain around Dubbo but opening bowler Jeremy Dickson said his side will do all it can to achieve maximum points on Saturday.
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After winning the toss and batting last week the Blues could only manage 176 but they then tore through the Cougars lineup late in the day, leaving them 7-49 at stumps.
Heavy rain around on Friday afternoon has cast some doubt on the match but Dickson confessed bowling out CYMS before they score another 27 and avoid the follow on was the goal.
"It was tough for the captain to decide to bat or bowl (last week) but after we batted we had to make the most of it and 170 was a bit disappointing but an hour later the game was turned on its head," he said.
"We're going in with confidence and the goal is to take those three wickets and maybe enforce the follow on, there's no secret about that, but the weather is a bit of a concern now so the priority is just getting the win."
Todd Summers (4 not out) and Callan Braithwaite (1 not out) are the batsmen at the crease for the Cougars while Ben O'Donnell and Nick Guthrie are the two men in the sheds.
After such a dominant bowling performance last week, the Blues could be forgiven for thinking the last three wickets will fall easily but Dickson said that is not the case.
"We've got enough senior blokes in our team and in our bowling unit to help those younger guys but they're all pretty mature so we know we've got to start again," he said.
"Plus having that bonus of the follow on target of another 26 runs and having an actual target helps but we'll be patient."
Ben Taylor was the catalyst for the Cougars collapse last week, taking 4-27 from nine overs.
Dickson, enjoying cricket consistently after battling injury for the past two seasons, and Taylor have formed one of the most lethal new ball partnerships in the Whitney Cup and have regularly knocked over opposition top orders.
"I'd never really played much with him apart from a little bit of rep cricket but it's really good and you know he's rarely going to bowl a bad ball," Dickson said of Taylor.
"We've got a lot of trust in each other and you know if you bowl a good over then it's going to be followed up from the other end and that builds pressure on the batsmen.
"But we've also got other options, we've got four quicks in our team and two spinners as well."
The weekend's cricket actions begins at 1pm.
