Red Star look to trophy win

It's been a long time between drinks for Red Star in the Wairarapa Cricket Association's Bidwell Cup competition but they have a chance to snare a long overdue trophy when they meet Flight Centre Lansdowne in the final at Queen Elizabeth Park oval in Masterton tomorrow and Sunday.
Not since the 1995-96 season when Malcolm Wyeth captained them to victory, have Red Star had the Bidwell Cup in their keeping and, interestingly enough, current skipper Shay O'Gorman is the only member of their present line-up who was playing then.
O'Gorman concedes the form book suggests Lansdowne deserve to start favourites this weekend as they have been the dominant team in this particular competition all season, but he is quick to add that Red Star are peaking at the right time.
This sentiment is supported by stats which show that after some poor form early they have tasted defeat just three times over the past three months, and won the inaugural More FM Cup Twenty20 series in the process.
It is no surprise, of course, that Red Star's improved showings have largely coincided with Dean van Deventer's arrival at the club. The former Rathkeale College all-rounder often produced match-winning efforts with bat and ball and you can virtually guarantee that if Red Star do prevail in the Cup final he will have played a major role.
Not that van Deventer is a one-man band. O'Gorman himself has captured some handsome "bags" as a bowler this season and he and fellow spinner Aaron Wilson are sure to make their presence felt again, particularly if the park oval pitch favours the slower bowlers, something it has done in recent months. Red Star are also well served as far as medium pacers are concerned with Jared Watt, Nikolai Karaitiana and Sean Jarvis the leading lights there.
There are, though, obvious question marks over the Red Star batting with even O'Gorman admitting that has been their "achilles heel" over the 2010-11 season. No doubt van Deventer will be seen by Lansdowne as the prize wicket as he has a wide enough range of strokes to take full advantage of the short boundaries at the park oval while Robbie Anderson, Charlie Bevan, Wilson and Watt are capable of posting hefty scores as well.
Lansdowne will be without two of their key players, Sam Curtis and Daniel Ingham, this weekend with Curtis being sidelined by injury and Ingham moving to the South Island to continue his studies. Obviously players with their all-round skills will be missed but captain Henry Cameron says there will be no excuses if his team fails to take the spoils. "We have a side good enough to win and that's the only result we're after," he said.
The depth of the batting is one of Lansdowne's main strengths with Cameron, Jamie Holmes, Brock Price, Alex Treseder, Matt Stringfellow, Robbie Speers and James Adamson all having the ability to make a big impact.
There is depth, too, in the Lansdowne bowling where Mark Scully, Choi Jackson, Leighton Calkin, Holmes, Price and Cameron are regular wicket-takers on the club scene. Medium pacer Scully could be the main danger to Red Star as he is the type of player who constantly runs in hard and asks questions of the batsmen with practically every ball.
Tactically, both teams will be looking for a strong start to this weekend's encounter as they will be acutely aware that if either of them can pick up an outright win then the Bidwell Cup will go to the side who lead on the first innings. And if the game is rained out then it will be Lansdowne who will be celebrating because they will win the trophy by virtue of being top qualifiers.