Published: Thursday, 2nd July, 2009 9:00am

Rivals gear up for derby showdown

Comments (0) | Print | Email

FINCHAMPSTEAD and Wokingham head into this Saturday"s crunch Home Counties Division Two West derby clash with very differing agendas.

Three wins in a row for Finch have seen them move up to third in the table following a shaky start but Wokingham have slipped to third from bottom following a run of four games without success.

Last weekend the Wellington Road outfit crashed to an eight wicket defeat at Aston Rowant following another poor batting display which saw them manage just 104.

Lack of runs has been a consistent problem throughout the campaign with the 218 they hit at bottom club Burnham their highest total of the season.

Club stalwart Dan Reddyhough admits performances with the willow have not been good enough but he is adamant that it is just a matter of time before the runs return.

He said: 'Historically batting has always been the strength of the club and there"s no reason that can"t continue to be the case.

'Things haven"t been good enough recently. We haven"t been getting enough runs and our performances with the bat have been putting far too much pressure on our bowlers.

'But we"ve got players who can put on some big scores and we can"t ask for a better game to get things back on track than the one we"ve got on Saturday.

'We showed last year against Finch that we can do it. They"ve got a strong bowling attack but we scored 250-plus against them in both games.'

Finch skipper Russell Lane admits he is surprised by Wokingham"s current plight but insists his team will not be taking their threat lightly.

He said: 'They always seem to pull out a good performance against us. They are at home so we know it"s going to be a very difficult game.

'They are a good team and there is a lot of rivalry between the two clubs.

'There are a lot of friends on both sides so the form book goes out the window a bit.

'Whenever we meet them it"s an interesting game and it"s one that both sides always look forward to.'

Morale is high within the Finch ranks following their recent winning streak and Lane knows another success will leave them in great shape for the second half of the campaign.

He added: 'There"s a fantastic atmosphere at the club at the moment. Team morale is very high and we want to keep that going.

'More and more people are turning up for nets, the boys are growing as a team and it"s great to see.

'We"re third in the table now and I would have taken that after our results in the first four games. It"s a good position to be in at halfway.'

Things aren"t looking quite so rosy at Wellington Road but Reddyhough knows that a win against their neighbours could spark a revival.

'If you put a run together in this league you can climb up the table,' he said.

'Finch have shown that with their recent results.

'They had a patchy start but they"ve put a few performances together over the last few weeks and have shot up the table.

'We"re looking to emulate that and what better way to start than by getting one over on them.

'We had the better of them last year so there"s no reason why can"t do it again.'