Undefeated teams West Warrnambool and Russells Creek to lock horns in Warrnambool and District blockbuster on Saturday

The Warrnambool and District Cricket Association division one rivals lock horns at A.H. Davidson Oval as the only two undefeated sides in the competition.

The Panthers mentor said it was paramount his group put the reigning premiers under pressure with ball in hand and upset their strengths.

"They've won three or four flags in five years or so, so they know how to win," he said.

"The biggest thing for us is to get early wickets to put the pressure on their blokes in the middle order.

"They've got some great bats up top and if you let them get away they get a hold of you and then on the flip side we've got to make sure we don't lose early wickets.

"Restricting their top batters and bowlers is key but like most sides, if you take early wickets you put yourself in a good spot to win the game."

He said it was a welcome challenge for the group after an excellent start to the 2022-23 season with wins against Port Fairy, Wesley Yambuk and Mortlake.

"They were obviously the benchmark side last year and the last couple of years and have a good side again this year," he said.

"We've got a few lads playing some really, really good cricket at the moment so I reckon we're in for a really good contest."

MORE SPORT:

One of those cricketers in golden touch is club great and former coach Alastair Templeton, who carried his bat to score 61 not out in a tough, low-scoring affair against Mortlake last week which yielded 179 runs for the loss of 20 wickets.

The classy opener also has scores of 70 and 102 not out to start the season and is averaging 233.

Fowler, who snared 4-10 against the Cats and is equal first in the competition for wickets, said his gun batsman was leading the way and a major part of the early team success.

"You've got to give Al full credit for the way he's started the year and how he's batting," he said.

"He's got us off to some really good starts with the bat and we've been then able to back him up with the ball.

"Saturday's wicket (against Mortlake) was probably one of the toughest I've played on to be honest. It was one of the gutsiest innings going around, it was a really tough track.

"He was able to bat through and only gave maybe one or two sharp chances. When you look at the score, there wasn't many that got double-figures.

"It was low and slow, so Al was incredible."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.