“He is their biggest danger; obviously they have a few others as well, but if he bats for a long period of time he can score runs pretty quickly,” Hyde said.

Not only will Macquarie have to keep the top-order batsman quiet, they will also need to find a way to overcome the Taree side’s winning mentality.

“Wingham know how to win,” Hyde said.

“They have put the results on the board and their conference is probably a bit stronger than ours.”

Wingham and Macquarie were scheduled to meet in the grand final of the Mid North Coast Premier League last season, however, the game was washed out without a ball being bowled.

“We’ve had three washouts in about five games and they played us earlier this season before we had a few of the boys that came back,” the Macquarie captain said.

This season, Wingham is the unbeaten leader in the Premier League, while Macquarie has struggled and are languishing outside the top four.

Hyde, however, admitted his side had rediscovered some of their form that had seen them have so much success over the last five years.

“I still see a lot of improvement in us and we’ve won four of our last five matches across all formats,” he said.

Player availability could provide headaches when it came to selecting side for the final with Ricky Arnell and Ethan Hyde unlikely to play.

“We’ll be a bit understrength, but we’ve still got a good core of our squad,” Hyde said.

Macquarie’s answer to Rees comes in the form of Chris Cole who is capable of scoring runs quickly.

“Coley’s the sort of guy who they’ll be looking to get out for less than 20 or 30 because if he bats for 10 overs, he’ll be 70 or 80 because he scores so quickly.”

Wingham will be without all-rounder Dave Rees due to suspension.

First ball is 1pm.

Meanwhile, Hastings River District Cricket Association first, second and third grade finals will take place on Sunday.

In the May Kelly Cup (first grade), Port Macquarie Pirates will take on Macquarie Hotel at 10am while Wauchope RSL clash with Port City at 12.45pm for the right to play in the final at 3.30pm.

Wauchope RSL and Beechwood clash in the Brett Border (second grade) final, while Comboyne host Port Macquarie Pirates in the George Spencer (third grade) final.

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