Ranked second in South West Cricket's division one competition for runs scored, with 280, and equal first for wickets taken, 16, Lucas has the Pelicans perched within the top four midway through the home-and-away season.

A move higher up the order against Pomborneit on January 8 saw Lucas, who often bats fourth, go for his shots a tad quicker, in large part due to having a wedding to attend.

"He's a real all-rounder and you can bat him anywhere," Bookaar captain Tim Fitzgerald said. "But he likes to get in and face a few balls.

"And he really puts the pressure on with the new ball early. I normally give him five or six overs in his first spell, and that leaves him with four or five at the end.

"He's really able to clean up the tail in a limited amount of runs and that helps us big time."

The return of veteran Simon Baker, who took a month off to focus on a series of golf championships, has also paid dividends. The opening batter has scored 171 runs across his last three innings.

"He sees the new ball out, and when he is in, he's probably the hardest batter to get out," Fitzgerald said. "Hopefully he can continue with that."

As for younger talent, opening bowler Charlie Lucas, 21 has been extremely economical, taking 7-80 from four games, while teenager Louis Darcy continues to take his game to another level.

"(Louis) has been coming on and getting his two or three wickets, he's really taken that next step," Fitzgerald said.

Saturday's clash with Noorat is the first of several must win matches for the Pelicans, with every game to have the feel of finals, according to the coach.

"We're only a game behind third, and then there is about five teams really fighting for that third to seventh spot," Fitzgerald said. "They are like finals now to stay in the final four. You need to win.

"We dropped a couple late last year which hurt us, one was 20 runs and one was by two. These ones coming up are a must win to keep in touch with the finals."

The team's recent win over top three side Pomborneit provided a massive confidence boost heading into round eight.

"That was the first time we beat Pombo in three or four years, they've been the yardstick for the past few years," Fitzgerald said. "It was good to finally get a win over those guys."

Bookaar's next month of games include Noorat, Woorndoo, Camperdown, then a bye, before meeting Noorat for a second time. Fitzgerald believes all are winnable games for Bookaar.

"We've got to go into those with the game plan we took on last round. We played our shots and played with confidence," he said.

"We have enough talent in our side, that if we all play with that talent and let things flow, we can win four of the next five, set ourselves up and get ourselves into the top two or three."

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