IT'S a virtual preliminary final, but South Wagga skipper Luke Gerhard believes a win over Wagga City in their cutthroat Twenty20 clash on Tuesday night would be the ideal preparation should they earn a spot in the decider.
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After dropping their opening clash of the competition against Wagga RSL, the Blues have won their last three games and need to continue that streak at Harris Park to earn a spot in Friday's decider.
Wagga RSL (4-1) will be anxious spectators given they need the Cats to win to guarantee their place in the final.
South Wagga is coming off a 77-run win over Lake Albert on Saturday, set up by a superb 95 off 52 balls from opener Alex Smeeth.
Gerhard said a chance to play some pressure cooker cricket with a Twenty20 trophy up for grabs for the first time has been a huge boost for the competition.
"I reckon it's definitely a lot better having something to play for," Gerhard said.
"It's been a good competition so far, getting some supporters down there midweek and having something else to look forward to.
"We'll be nearly full strength and if we can bat like we did Saturday it'd be nice. In terms of Twenty20 cricket that (Smeeth innings) is probably the best I've seen.
"Around here it's not often a player has a chance to score 100 and hopefully he can back it up on Tuesday."
Batting all-rounder Warren Clunes returns to the line-up in place of youngster Jake Scott.
Wagga City enters the match on the back of two dominant wins over the weekend. They accounted for Kooringal Colts by eight wickets with more than five overs in hand on Friday, before hammering St Michaels by 50 runs on Sunday.
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