West Warrnambool – fresh off a confidence boosting thumping of cross town rival East Warrnambool-YCW – will take on reigning premier Woodford on Saturday.

Templeton is hopeful the Panthers’ youth-laden bowling attack, headed by paceman Matt Hoy and spinner Jack Mills, will be well suited to the 80-over form of the game.

“I think by this time of the year players can get a bit sick of one-day and Twenty20 cricket,” he said.

“Coming into two-dayers bowlers and batters get the chance to play to their own pace a little.

“In Twenty20 cricket the bowlers only bowl four overs, and they can bowl nine in one-day cricket. There are a few guys ready to have a good trundle.”

Templeton, a casual relief teacher, said Mills’ willingness to bowl in tough stages of the innings meant he was prized capture for the club.

“Jack is the sort of bowler that is good in long spells. As a spinner in one-day cricket, the batsmen tend to go at you a little bit. They could hit it to hand or to boundary,” he said.

“I’ve handed the ball to Jack a couple of times through the toughest time in the innings and he is the sort of bowler that wants to have the ball in his hand.”

West Warrnambool bowler Adam Bishop, who earned division one selection in October after a string of performances in the Panthers’ division two side, will enter the clash in form following a five-wicket haul last week.

Bishop, along with Hoy, Mills and Will Templeton, will be tasked with tearing through a dangerous Woodford top order which features Nick Butters and Kory Howlett.

Templeton said the key to stopping Woodford from taking charge of the match would be to prevent their consistency at the crease.

“I think they’re a very even team and they have a lot of contributors,” he told The Standard. 

“If they get in trouble, they’ve got guys who are able to get them out. But they’ve got a team of contributors. To beat them, you’ve got to be good for 160 overs – not just an hour or two here and there.

“As the young team that we are, we regularly look at them as what we are looking to get to be in the next couple of years.”

Elsewhere, the Murphy brothers, Nathan and Mark, will lock horns when East Warrnambool battles Brierly-Christ Church at Jones Oval.

Players of both sides will wear green laces in an effort to raise funds for Muscular Dystrophy.  Port Fairy and Nirranda will play off in the Robert Haberfield Memorial. It will be the first time in three years the two have played.