THE finals have come a fortnight early for Sydenham Hillside.
Locked in a three-club battle to fill the final two spots of the top four in the North West Metropolitan Cricket Association’s George Luscombe Shield, the Storm needed a strong showing at home to Roxburgh Park Broadmeadows.
They delivered in the best possible fashion.
After a mixed run of recent form, the Storm claimed their first outright win of the summer over the Falcons on Saturday.
Coach John Thrush didn’t play down the significance of the result so close to a finals series that looks set to excite.
“It was important to get the win because everything’s pretty tight on the ladder, so to pull an outright (win) was very important for our season,” Thrush said.
“We’ve been a bit up and down to be honest, but we won the one day final the other week, which was pretty good.
“We played pretty good cricket that day and then we had these little lapses where we tended to drop away for 10 or 15 overs and it’s been hurting us, so this game was a lot better.
“It was pretty convincing for the whole game, we lost a few more wickets than we would have liked but obviously any win’s a good win.”
The Storm responded with a declared 6/129 chasing 100 to glean first innings points in just 39 overs, before bowling the Falcons out for a second time in just 25 overs for 79.
Four wickets were lost in the chase for an outright win, but in just under 13 overs the job was done with Sydenham Hillside finishing on 4/53.
All four games coming up in the final round of the competition will have implications on the make-up of the final four.
With the Storm perilously perched in third sport on equal points with Buckley Park and Gladstone Park, Thrush and his team understand how important the next two weeks will be.
Sydenham Hillside will hit the road and face ladder leader Pascoe Vale Central, and Thrush says the approach heading into the clash will be kept simple.
“If Gladstone Park can get an outright (win over battlers Strathmore Heights) it puts a lot of pressure on,” he said.
“The simple fact is if we win, we’re safe.
“We need to win to make sure we control our own destiny, but what we’ve got to do is what we’ve done every week.
“We’ve got to go out there and bowl well for 80 overs and try and bat through 80 overs.
