Canberra Cavalry pitcher Frank Gailey eyes ABL wild card triumph

Not just for him, but everyone in the Cavalry clubhouse. Because "no one could predict a COVID-19 season. No one had that on their little profile just in case this happens."

The Cavalry have moved mountains to keep the ABL season alive and the fact they have managed to find themselves in the playoffs is something of a minor miracle.

But now they're here, and Cavalry pitcher Gailey may well hold the key to victory in an ABL wild card game against the Sydney Blue Sox at Narrabundah Ballpark on Tuesday night.

The Cavalry must win to keep their season alive and advance to the double elimination bracket alongside rivals Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide at Melbourne Ballpark from Thursday.

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"Obviously there were probably a few things we wish had been a little bit differently, but in the end no one could predict the type of season we were going to have," Gailey said.

"In the end the team is all about the team, so no matter how bad a decision or a short a turnaround to go elsewhere, sometimes it's a couple of days before we find out what we're doing, but the guys in the clubhouse just pull together.

"It's a team camaraderie thing, we just say 'look, it is what it is, let's go out there and compete and have fun'."

Club boss Donn McMichael fell on his sword before the season started. Cavalry players voiced concerns about the roster to management. Some feared they might struggle to wrangle a team together.

Their season opening series was derailed by border restrictions. League officials and rival teams wanted them to scrape together a group of local Perth-based players to fill out the roster when a stack of Cavalry players were forced to stay home.

Then players and coaches once made a mad dash to Melbourne after the Aces' original home series scheduled against another rival was derailed by border restrictions. The hasty nature of the arrangement meant only 10 players were available for game one.

"We had our ups and downs to get this far and be possibly one game away to entering that final four in Melbourne," Gailey said.

"It just shows the resilience and the kind of team we have to pull together despite what happened or things we wish would have happened.

"It's all said and done now, and we've just got to take care of our business. We've played well at home. Now we've just got to keep that momentum going."