AFTER a high-quality and exciting 2021/22 season, the finals have arrived at last for the Victorian Men’s Premier Cricket League, set to kick off this weekend. The eight best teams remain in the competition after 16 rounds of action, so this weekend should produce some quality action across the grounds. Some sides will be fighting to keep their seasons alive, while others will be looking to give themselves the best chance at making the big dance over the next few weeks. Either way, expect some high-quality cricket to be played around the grounds.

Carlton vs Melbourne
Saturday, March 19 @10:30am
Princes Park

There are a number of tantalising matchups on the schedule for this weekend, but there are arguably none more exciting than the qualifying final between Carlton and Melbourne at Princes Park on Saturday morning. These two teams have been terrific for the entirety of the season, and finished in second and third spot respectively when the home-and-away season wrapped. This matchup is shaping to be the biggest of the round, and will have a big say in how the finals are shaped moving forward.

Carlton has been terrific throughout the 2021/22 season, conceding just two losses in from their 16 outings (and three draws too thanks to some inconvenient weather). There is plenty to like in their game, but perhaps their biggest strength is how well-rounded their batting order is. They do not rely on just one or two players to carry their score to a winning total as many sides do. Instead, they bat extremely deep and that was on display in their win over Richmond in Round 16. The first six players in their order managed 17 runs or more, which seriously helped their total rise in rapid fashion. If they are to win this matchup against a quality opponent, they will need a similar output on Saturday in front of their home crowd.

Melbourne have been equally impressive this year, holding an identical amount of wins as their opponents in this matchup (although one more loss as they played an extra game). They never looked like slipping out of the top four, proving to be a pillar of consistency for the better part of their campaign. While there were some losses in here, this side’s strength proved to be the ability to learn from their mistakes and improve the following week. Keep an eye on the efforts of Will Pucovski, who produced a season-high knock of 70 last round, which gave his side another dimension of scoring.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

This weekend’s other qualifying final will see St Kilda play host to Casey-South Melbourne at CitiPower Centre on Saturday morning. The home side have been tough to beat throughout the season, as evidenced by their finish at the top of the table. Casey-South Melbourne have had quite the campaign themselves, but will need to bring their best with both bat and ball if they are to produce an upset.

The stakes are slightly higher in the next two matches, as the next four sides gear up for must-win clashes. Elimination final number one will see Footscray welcome Essendon to Mervyn G Hughes Oval when the two sides go head-to-head on Saturday. It will be one of the more intriguing matchups of the weekend, given both sides have enjoyed strong finishes to the round, and pride themselves on performing well with ball in hand.

The final match of the first week of finals will see Geelong head up to Central Reserve North to take on Richmond in an elimination final on Saturday. The visitors snuck into the top-eight on the eve of finals and will be carrying plenty of momentum heading into this clash, but Richmond have been solid all season so this game could really go either way.