AT IT AGAIN: City Colts’ Justin Solimo (left) and Bruck skipper Adam McNamara will battle it out for the WDCA one-day title tonight at the Norm Minns Oval. PHOTO: Cheryl Browne
Written by By SCOTT ANDERSON.
EXCITEMENT for tonight’s final of the Rod Newton Shield has reached fever pitch.
And while he is focused on knuckling down and putting a good score on the board, City Colts batsman Justin Solimo wasn’t playing down the buzz surrounding the big game.
"We’re all really excited," Solimo said.
"It’s a new experience for everyone to be playing under lights.
"We’ve played the odd game with a white ball and some of us have played footy under lights, but this is something new.
"We really won’t know what effect it will have until we get started – there may be a few more shadows and things like that.
"But it’s going to be great for the players and the spectators, so hopefully we can get a good crowd down there."
Coming off a stunning victory over Beechworth, after the Colts claimed 8/38 to turn the match on its head, Solimo said confidence was high, particularly heading onto the batting-friendly showgrounds pitch.
"I think we’ll take a bit out of that – the fact we were able to win from the position we were in," he said.
"It was a very strange match, and the wicket wasn’t terrible, but it was a difficult wicket to make runs on.
"We’ve been spoiled by the wickets at the Barr – they’ve been flat and hard.
"The showgrounds has always been one of my favorite wickets – it’s the premier ground in the competition and you always love playing there.
"It’s good for batsmen, so we’ll be looking for a score of at least 180-200.
"The crowd will want to see some runs scored, so hopefully we can get the job done."
Nick Norris proved the unlikely match winner against Beechworth, with the part time spinner picking up five wickets, and Solimo said the opening batsman was likely to be tossed the ball more often in future.
"It was something we’ve talked about a bit, because we haven’t really had a spinner," he said.
"Nick works hard at training, and the way he bowls is a bit different – it’s a bit quicker and he makes you play.
"He thinks of himself as an all rounder now, and I’m excited for him – he’s been a great addition at the club since coming across from Rovers."
Coming up against Bruck, Solimo said the Colts would be desperate to break their finals hoodoo against the reigning two-day premiers and defend the shield they won against Beechworth last year.
"It seems like we can’t get enough of each other," he said.
"We always seem to meet them in the finals, and losing all the two day grand finals against them has been hard.
"But our one day form has been really good – we are undefeated this year.
"They have been the benchmark for a while now, and they always seem to have their noses in front in the big games.
"But we’re confident we can turn that around this time."
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