CRICKET - Testing time for primed Knights

The time is right for the Northern Knights to begin their final assault on the State Shield title and coach Grant Bradburn thinks there is more to come from his side.
The Knights sit in second place on the table but with two games scheduled in Whangarei - against one-day champions Otago Volts tomorrow and the competition leaders and favourites the Central Stags on Wednesday - they have a perfect chance to further enhance their semifinal aspirations.
"The next two games are critical for us. We're halfway through the series and, if we're going to continue to feature in the State Shield, we need to further refine our game so we're performing at the sharp end of the season," he said.
Bradburn believes the side has performed well since losing to Wellington in their first match but says there is room for improvement - especially in the bowling department.
"Generally our batting is going well, at the top of the order in particular, but we still haven't really put it together with the ball. We've bowled well at times but not consistently enough."
Wickets are proving hard to come by. Only once in the first five games - a one-sided win over Otago that Bradburn termed as his team's "most polished performance" - have the Knights taken more than seven wickets in a match.
Bradburn said the team was a work in progress and that despite not playing to the best of their ability they were still in a good position on the table.
"That's a positive because we've still got the best to come but now's a good time to put it all together."
He said a healthy team environment had helped the side. "The guys are enjoying one another's company and that's made us work harder off the field so we can gel together as a unit and that's seen us start to play some good cricket," he said.
The Knights need to capitalise on their good start but both Otago and Central will provide good tests.
"Both sides are strong but then again there are no easy sides in this competition. Against CD we showed we could match them but we didn't bring our A-game to Fitzherbert Park and it wasn't good enough to win."
Central have only lost one game and are five points in front of the Knights, while Otago are in third place and are looking for revenge. Both matches start at 11pm.