A PRACTICE match this weekend will give Colac district cricketers an insight into how their Melbourne Country Week campaign could pan out.

The neighbouring Colac District and South West cricket associations will take to Colac’s Eastern Reserve on Sunday to fine-tune preparations ahead of the week-long tournament.

Fans who venture to the ground can catch some of the south-west’s best talents attempting to play themselves into form with the hope of replicating the display in Melbourne.

Colac District will contest Division Three at Country Week while South West will contest Division Two.

The teams last met in a MCW Division Three match in 2010, when Alvie’s Mark Kent – a former Pomborneit captain – made 49 and took 5-34 as Colac District won by 21 runs.

Colac District captain Leighton Hart said the practice match was an opportunity for players to prove they should have a major role at MCW.

Hart said he and his assistants, Tim Foley and Mark Kent, were open to influence about which players should fill which roles.

He said a healthy rivalry between players in the practice match, eight days out from the real stuff, was a good thing.

“We’ll look Sunday to see how they can go and that’ll give us an idea for Country Week,” he said.

“Tim Foley and Kent are co-captains so I’ll talk to those guys and there are a lot of young guys in there we’ll be watching.

“We’ll be strong in the field, which will be important, and there’s plenty of batting depth.

“Nothing is set in stone, we’ll see how we go. There are quite a few batters in there so you can mix it up a bit.

“That’s what Sunday is all about.”

Hart said the cricketers should take pride in their representative selection.

“What I’ve said in previous years and what I’ll say again this year is to represent the association you have to do the best you can,” he said.

“It’s not just a given in any sense, it’s an honour to represent your association and you have to do it justice.”

Selectors have drafted James Rowan into the squad for Sunday’s match due to unavailability, while another non-selection, Dale Menzies, is a chance to be 12th man.

Tags: Cricket