The A-grade Rhinos resume their charge to the finish line this Saturday.
They will lock horns with Nathalia in the return game, after last taking to the pitch on December 21.
The Saturday clash will be a two-day match held over two weekends at Deniliquin’s Memorial Park.
The two sides have met once so far this season, playing a one-day match in Nathalia.
Nathalia took the win in a super tight contest - 9/184 to Deni’s 9/183.
In that match, Andrew Hogan made an unbeaten 52.
He came to the crease at number three, and went through batting partners one after the other, trying to steady the ship before batting out the innings.
Hogan, made it look easy with bat and ball, taking two wickets.
Brodie Bennett took another two on a tidy economy of 4.22.
Prem Reddy also chipped in with two of his own wickets, one of particular importance was the high scoring Luke Quinn, who made 81 from 94.
This weekend, the Rhinos hope to use the home ground advantage to get some revenge.
With only four more rounds before finals, the Rhinos sit in third position on the Murray Valley Cricket Association’s A-grade ladder.
Above them holding second position is Cobram Tigers, and topping the ladder is Nathalia.
Impacting on the Rhinos’ position at this stage of the competition has been abandoned games due to weather.
The top-three sides are fairly evenly matched, having only conceded one loss each this season so far.
Deni sits just three points behind the top two sides, having played only nine games to their 10 each.
One interesting thing about the Rhinos and their ladder position, beyond playing one less game than the other two, is that their quotient is an astonishing 3.553 - the highest in the competition.
A teams' quotient is their batting average divided by their bowling average.
In comparison, Cobram’s quotient is at 2.019 and Nathalia’s is 2.388.
This Saturday’s clash will be hosted by Deniliquin, starting at 12.30pm.
Spectators are welcome, and the clubhouse will be open.
C-grade
The Deni Rhinos C-grade team have another week to wait before getting back to cricket, due to take on Nathalia in a one-day game on Saturday, January 18.
The Rhinos are MVCA ladder leaders in the competition, even with two abandoned matches for the season.
Again, Nathalia (second place) and Cobram (third place) are among the top performers in C-grade.
When Deni C-grade last met Nathalia, in round three, Deni was able to get away with a pretty convincing win in a one-day match.
The Rhinos ran down Nathalia’s score with four wickets in hand, 6/124 to Nathalia’s 10/121.
Deni’s bowling attack really helped their cause in that match, with economic and steady bowling.
Both Oscar Marshall and Cooper King took two wickets apiece, with respective economies of 2.25 from four overs for Marshall, and 2.33 from three for King, the platform was set.
Another impressive performance out of the Rhinos C-grade side, with bat and ball, was Dushan Rathwatte, who was the only bowler with a maiden, as well as two wickets at an economy of 3.80.
Rathwatte also had a more than adequate opening partnership with Charlie McCallum, with a partnership of 56, and individual scores of 31 for Rathwatte, and 25 for McCallum the Rhinos were given a solid start.
The Rhinos C-grade team are heading into round 10 of 15, leaving them five games to be played before finals start.
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