The Crabs will head into day two of their round four Grassmere Cricket Association (GCA) clash with Grassmere with maximum points in their sights.

On day one, Cole top scored in the Crabs’ score of 178. The Killarney attack then bowled Grassmere out for 70. The Meerkats were forced to follow on and will resume at 0-0 in their second innings on Saturday.

The Crabs are unbeaten after three rounds but are not on top, with that distinction going to Hawkesdale, thanks to an outright win for the Cats over Panmure.

Killarney and Hawkesdale have played off in the past two GCA grand finals, for one flag each, and Cole said the Cats were again the team to beat.

“We will be pushing hard for an outright on Saturday, we need to keep in touch with Hawkesdale,” Cole said.

“They look really strong again so we have to keep them in sight.”

Cole began the season batting down the order but has moved to the opening position in the past two games. 

“I jumped at the chance to open the batting when the opportunity came up,” he said.

“Hopefully I can keep making runs and stay there.

“It’s been a good start to the season for the team, the bulk of this group has been together for a long time now so we know each other’s games inside out.”

Cole’s career at Killarney stretches back to 2008-09, with the highlight coming in 2016-17 when he was part of the Crabs’ premiership team.

He said the 2018-19 season was proving to be a tight affair.

“The competition is pretty even, there have been some results that have really surprised me,” he said.

“Panmure losing outright was one of the biggest shocks in the association for years.

“Every team is capable of playing really good cricket so you have to be ready to go every time you come to play.”