Last time Rugby took on CYMS the side was brought undone by a magnificent partnership between Brock Larance and Ben Strachan.
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Larance made a century while the latter fell for 91 as the Cougars scored a win and continued its charge towards the final while Rugby had showed enough glimpses of talent to prove they weren’t far off the RSL-Whitney Cup pace.
But since that match neither team has scored a win and another loss this round would be a real blow to either side’s finals hopes with just one more regular season match remaining.
With so much on the line, the match at No. 3 Oval is sure to deliver.
Strachan is back in the CYMS lineup, having not played since the last clash between the two sides, giving the Cougars its strongest 11 in some time.
Ben O’Donnell and James ‘Busta’ Nelson also return after missing the drawn match with Macquarie last round.
Rugby has also named a strong squad with captain Nathan Munro joined by Australian Country Cricket representative Jordan Moran, James O’Brien and Chris Russo while Zac Murphy has been promoted from second grade.
Murphy is in due to the unavailability of Aidan Bennewith, Jacob Hill and Jacob Bruce.
While the final result of all matches last round was a draw, CYMS had been outplayed by Macquarie in that match and the abandonment of day two’s play due to extreme heat arguably saved the Cougars from another loss.
Rugby was in the exact opposite boat, dominating day one against Newtown and making 300, with an O’Brien century the highlight.
Munro’s side will be hoping to use the momentum built there on Saturday while CYMS captain Ryan Medley will be keen for his side to forget the long day they had in the field against CYMS.
Medley will also be keen to see his side take its chance, with a number of catches dropped and missed in the clash with Macquarie, and Ricky Medway capitalised that day by making 160.
The skipper will be hopeful the return of Strachan can boost his side and get it back on track, with he Nelson, Knaggs brothers Ben and Sam, Brock Larance, Yogi Chawla, Medley himself and Ben O’Donnell and Nick Guthrie form a bowling attack with plenty of depth.
Rugby’s bowling attack didn’t get the chance to fire last round but it also features plenty of depth, with young guns Adlai Shipp and Will Grant now settled in the top grade while Dan Horrocks, O’Brien and Murphy have plenty of experience and Russo can provide the spin option.
Plays starts at 1pm.