Marist’s top order needs to stand up

Marist captain Reece O’Connell has called for his top order to stand up in this Saturday’s preliminary final against Colts at Forrest Park.

The Blues have failed to post a decent score in recent weeks, losing 7-63 in their semi-final clash against Eaton at the weekend after being in trouble against Leschenault a week earlier, losing 6-63.

O’Connell said he was confident his side could beat Colts, who belted Dalyellup Beach by 150 runs.

“It really depends on our top six and them making a big score,” he said.

“We have bowled and fielded well this year, we just need to get the runs on the board and we will get the results we want.”

O’Connell acknowledged that Colts had a number of match winners, with Jayden Goodwin coming off an unbeaten 138.

“It will be about controlling Murray and Jayden (Goodwin) as well as James Anderson,” he said.

“Murray is a match winner. We know how important his wicket is.

“Jayden is a talented kid, so we also need to get his wicket.

“And James Anderson is another match winner for them. So if we can get those three wickets then we will be a big chance.”

O’Connell said the toss before the match would be vital, with the pitch at Forrest Park North having a fair bit of grass on it.

“It is going to be interesting to see what sort of wicket we get,” he said.

Colts captain Cruize Ciallella said his team needed to stop O’Connell from having an impact.

“They have a couple of match winners, but the key wicket is Reece,” he said.

“If we get him and Kyle Davis early, then we are a massive chance to win the game.”

Ciallella said the big win on Saturday gave his side a “massive boost”.

“In the last two games of the season we underperformed a fair bit,” he said.

“So it was a good result on the weekend. It was probably the most complete game we have played.”

Ciallella said fast bowler Josh Topliss had been vital since returning to the top team.

“He has played A-Grade for the past seven or eight years,” he said.

“It took him a bit to get interested this year, but now he is really keen.

“And as you can see by his stats he has been bowling well at the moment. It is probably the best I have seen him bowl.”