Simply no doubt

By David Nagel
KOOWEERUP skipper Travis Canavan is an interesting man to talk to about cricket. He is a deep thinker about the game but has very clear and simple ideas on what it’s going to take for his Demons to go all the way over the coming weeks.
As Canavan prepares to lock horns with Mick Torney and his talented Lions in this weekend’s semi-final he answers a question about whether he is happy with his team’s preparation heading into the most important stage of the season.
“Absolutely, we’re hitting our straps, we proved that last week by bowling out a side that had made over 900 runs in its last two games for 170,” Canavan said of his side’s rehearsal against the Lions last week.
“We didn’t bowl well at the start to Ben Maroney, we bowled to his strengths, but once we started bowling to our field and making every fieldsman count for every ball, we turned things around.”
Canavan faces a difficult week at the selection table with Adam McMaster returning from the National Under-15 Schoolboys Championships in Tasmania. It’s a subject he has broached with his team but it won’t make the decision any easier come Thursday night.
“Look, it’s difficult for the guys but based on performances Adam has to come back in and someone’s going to miss out,” he said.
Is Canavan worried about how the youngster will handle the finals pressure?
“Everyone’s nervous in finals, it’s plain and simple, with experience you tell yourself you’re good enough to be there and good enough to make an impact in these big games,” he said.
“Some young blokes doubt themselves but we keep things pretty simple, it won’t be a problem.”
So why does Canavan think it’ll be his team that march into next week’s grand final?
“I just think we have the team to do it and the players to do it,”
“We’re flexible, whoever bats from six to 10 in our team would probably bat in the top five of any other team.
“That’s our strength, keep wickets in hand and bat out time.”