Although many would argue his side has already done so with two wins from as many starts, Lithgow skipper Ben Sheehan says the Lightning are coming to Wade Park on Friday night to make a statement.
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They want to prove they’re just as big a threat without marquee player Pat Lawrence and firebrand Tanvir Singh, as they are with them.
Lithgow faces Cavaliers at Wade Park on Friday night in a rematch of last year’s Royal Hotel Cup semi-final, where they’ll be missing both of their star quicks, who combined have leaked just 79 runs from 16 overs so far.
They’ve picked up six wickets between them too.
“They are big losses,” Sheehan said.
“We have a couple of good players coming back into the side and I’m confident the guys playing will get the job done, but there’s been a bit of talk about our marquee-type players getting the job done for us.
“To win without them, that’ll send a pretty big statement I think.”
Not only would a win send that statement, it’d lock up a semi-final spot for the Lightning too.
There's been a bit of talk about our marquee players getting the job done for us. To win without them, that'll make a pretty big statement I think.
- Lithgow skipper Ben Sheehan
Lithgow and CYMS are the only sides that can remain undefeated through the preliminary stage. Thanks to results so far and the remaining fixtures, any sides that finish with three wins from four games will qualify.
Ensuring a final four berth with one preliminary game remaining would be a huge step in Lithgow’s title defence, considering Sheehan admitted he was slightly worried about how the side would gel leading into the tournament.
“It’s actually been a bit surprising how quickly we’ve come together, we only had a couple of training sessions before the competition but that’s been really good,” Sheehan said.
“Qualifying for the finals will be the overriding motivator I think, it’s something we [spoke] about [at training on Wednesday night].”
Sheehan knows how desperate Cavaliers are for a win, with a 1-1 record through two games Friday is basically a must-win game for the maroons.
“We’re full of confidence though, we know we can beat them, we did it last year’s semi-final,” he said.
“I don’t really focus too much on what the other sides are doing though, we prefer to play our game.
“I mean, I have a quick look just to see who’s scoring runs or taking wickets and we do chat quickly about them, but for the most part we don’t really read into the opposition too much.”
Friday’s clash kicks off at 6.30pm at Wade Park, the final Twenty20 game of 2017 will be the following Wednesday.