CRICKET
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
LAKE Albert captain Kurt Robertson is toying with the idea of sending Wagga City into bat first in a bid to put the reigning premier outside its comfort zone in Saturday's clash at Robertson Oval.
Robertson has noticed Wagga City's preference to chase totals over the last couple of years and is keen to put the Cats under pressure should he win the toss in the second round match.
Robertson is a big believer in winning the toss and batting, always, but will consider a change in method against Wagga City.
"They usually set themselves up for a chase in one-dayers and they seem to not mind chasing," Robertson said.
"I wouldn't mind putting them in first and seeing that kind of runs they see as competitive.
"We've got a lot of firepower down the bottom order too, so I think we could chase.
"The one-dayers will produce a lot of runs, I think, with the white ball, it doesn't seem to swing as much.
"I think you need to be looking at 200 at least in a one-dayer."
Lake Albert posted 5-195 in its opening round match against Wagga RSL, but the Bulldogs passed it with five wickets in hand as they finished 5-209 from 40 overs.
Robertson believes there were plenty of positive signs despite the first-round loss.
"I'm looking forward to it, I don't think we started the season too bad," he said.
"There were some pretty positive signs there last week even though we didn't come away with the win.
"We were definitely in it for the whole game and the big thing is to keep up our early season consistency with the bat up so we can build a platform for our bowlers."
Lake Albert has not made any changes for the match.
Robertson said the improvement must come from the Bulls' bowling ranks.
"Probably bowling in partnerships, it's just as important as batting in partnerships," he said.
"We've got to bowl a little bit more outside off stump, we didn't do that last week, we were probably a little bit too straight.
"We've got to try and get those dot balls and build the pressure up."
If Lake Albert can get things right, Robertson believes his team is capable of knocking over the Cats.
"We can only worry about what we're doing," he said.
"They are a pretty well run outfit so we have to take it one ball at a time and if we can do the simple things right, hopefully we can win the battle."