ANU are on the cusp of securing their first Cricket ACT Douglas Cup finals berth in six years - but they will need a little help from a rival across the bridge.
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The Owls will resume at 1-60 in pursuit of North Canberra-Gungahlin's 178 on day two at ANU South Oval on Saturday.
A first innings win would move ANU to 24 competition points with one game to spare. They currently sit on 18 with Queanbeyan (14) snapping at their heels.
Queanbeyan face a tough task against Eastlake at Kingston Oval, with the hosts set to resume at 3-191 in the first innings of the match.
"We've been lucky to have two really good recruits from Adelaide, Luke Crocker who took five wickets last Saturday, and we've just picked up a Hanno Jacobs, a tall fast bowler," ANU coach Ben Ryan said.
"He's come over from Adelaide to study at ANU, they've been very welcome, that's for sure.
"We're in a good position, but when you've got to start again on day two, the first hour is crucial both ways.
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"If we win this game and get the six points, we're in a good position to make the finals no matter what happens in the last game. We're not locked in but it does put us in the box seat.
"It's a very young club, they're enthusiastic and have plenty of energy. Everybody wants to get better and that has shown with a gradual improvement over the year.
"Early on we were making a few too many execution mistakes, but we've got better in that regard."
Queanbeyan's finals hopes don't rest solely on this weekend, they will have one eye on Weston Creek Molonglo's clash with Tuggeranong Valley.
Tuggeranong (20 competition points) are 9-173 in their first innings at Stirling Oval.
A loss to the competition leaders for Tuggeranong would be enough to give Queanbeyan hope of forcing their way into the top four in the final round.
CRICKET ACT DOUGLAS CUP
Stumps, day one: NORTH CANBERRA-GUNGAHLIN 178 (A Vala 69, E Rahman 26; L Crocker 5-18, B Mitchell 3-50) v ANU 1-60 (N Groenewegon 34*, F Ford 19*; H Jones 1-20) at ANU South Oval.
GINNINDERRA 4-64 (R Healy 30, D Faram 18*; S Murn 2-29, J Corbett 1-3) v WESTERN DISTRICT at Jamison Oval.
EASTLAKE 3-191 (P O'Malveney 50, O Blaney-Brown 48*; T Van Luin 1-26) v QUEANBEYAN at Kingston Oval.
TUGGERANONG VALLEY 9-173 (M Barrington-Smith 54, N Joseph 32; D Bloomfield 4-41, B Faunce 4-78) v WESTON CREEK MOLONGLO at Stirling Oval.
Play resumes at 11am on Saturday.
Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
