Canberra Cavalry's title charge comes full circle for former Bandit Justin Erasmus

But now he's a key part of the Canberra Cavalry's charge for the Claxton Shield this weekend at Melbourne Ballpark.

The 31-year-old was let go by the Brisbane Bandits in December and all he could do was watch from afar as border restrictions barred him from travelling to a new club.

Once those restrictions lifted, in came the Cavalry and Erasmus has since played six matches and pitched 10.2 innings.

The Canberra move also saw Erasmus surpass Matt William's ABL record for the most matches pitched, making his 140^th appearance on the mound against the Sydney Blue Sox in late January.

"There was a lot of built up tension. I didn't play for three weeks and Ryan Searle, who was also at the Brisbane Bandits, was pitching in that time too," Erasmus said.

"We were going back and forth, talking to each other. It got to the point where I just wanted it over and done with. I wanted to be the first to break Matt William's record. And I did.

"Keith Ward just keeps giving me the ball and I got lucky enough to get a couple of games up on Ryan."

Erasmus is keen to build on his record when the Cavalry meet the Melbourne Aces in a semi-final clash on Thursday night.

Canberra advanced to the final four with a 3-2 win over Sydney in the wildcard match on Tuesday, with Erasmus helping close out the match when he relieved starting-pitcher Frank Gailey on the mound.

Erasmus, Rhys Niit and Shawn Morimando only pitched one innings each to ensure they get at least two more matches this season.

A win over Melbourne - a team they've already met 13 times this season - sends Canberra into a grand final qualifier, while a loss would send them into an elimination final. The final two teams standing will battle for the Claxton Shield in Sunday's decider.

"We just need to win three games and then we've won the championship, if we lose one then we'll get a second chance. So we're taking it one game at a time, one pitch at a time," Erasmus said.

"We're on a three-game winning streak right now. All the boys are healthy, we just want to get out there and show the rest of Australia that if they think we're the underdogs then they're badly mistaken.

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"Any momentum is good momentum going into finals. We won the wildcard, it's a very important game and we're ready to go."

Erasmus is excited to take the field alongside fellow Queenslanders Niit, Josh Warner and James Albury - for what will be their first time playing in the finals together.

The quartet were part of Brisbane's bullpen in the first couple of ABL seasons, with Erasmus' move making them teammates once more.

"It's come full circle for us to be in the same team again, and now we're in the playoffs altogether for the first time. I think we just want to play and win," he said.

ABL double elimination bracket

Thursday: Adelaide Giants v Perth Heat, 1pm, Melbourne Aces v Canberra Cavalry, 7pm, both at Melbourne Ballpark