PORT City Leagues Magpies are welcoming back the cavalry.
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In a season which has been a disappointment so far, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Kyle Bray and his men.
Last week they easily accounted for Wauchope RSL in the May Kelly Cup and Bray is hopeful it will be the catalyst for a late-season revival.
Jesse Schmidt returned to the side last Thursday and took five wickets in his comeback game.
Bray expects Schmidt will again be available for Saturday’s trip to Andrews Park.
“Jesse has played a couple of games for us in the last couple of weeks and he’s been bowling well,” he said.
“He’s a high quality bowler and one which is really valuable to us.”
While the Magpies currently sit on the bottom of the first grade table, an outright win over Wauchope RSL puts them back in contention.
The captain hasn’t given up on the season just yet.
“Two good wins gets us back in the mix,” Bray said.
Jesse is a high quality bowler and one which is really valuable to us.
- Port City captain Kyle Bray
Along with Bray, Schmidt and Tim Harris, Kade Fens will also return to the side for the two-day clash.
“He’ll keep for us; he also played in the T20 so was an important addition,” Bray said.
“We’re starting to get a side similar to the one we had last year. We’ve got a bit more depth now.”
Meanwhile, Port Pirates will face Macquarie Hotel at Laurieton in a battle that sees first take on second.
Macquarie captain Josh Hyde has spent the last week on holidays in Queensland, but will be back to face Nick Bartlett and co.
Michael Pelley and Adrian Sippel are out, with Hyde and brother Ethan returning in time for the match on Saturday.
“We’ve been pretty good on those decks down there over the years so we need to do the basics right,” Hyde said.
In the last encounter – a 20-over May Kelly Cup match – Pirates rolled the Macca for 68, but Hyde isn’t looking too much into that performance.
He knows his side will have to be on their best to lessen the effectiveness of Pirates trio Bartlett, Jeremy Cowin and Ryan McMahon.
“They’re three blokes who can win them the game,” he said.
“I know Nick’s moved to Queensland and has taken his game to a new level. He was difficult to face a few years ago here.”
Hyde likened Bartlett’s effectiveness to that of Macca spearhead Brendan Badenoch.
“He’s similar to what we’ve got with Bads in that they can bowl around him,” he said.
First ball for both matches is at 1pm.