Easts are back from the bye and are set to take on an Ex-Services side brimming with confidence after knocking off Hillgrove.
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Early on in the season, Servies struggled for numbers but have found their feet and Easts’ skipper Todd Francis won’t be taking them lightly.
“I didn't have a look [at the game] but they must have played okay because Hillgrove have a pretty good batting side, I think they had a few out but it was a good win for Servies,” he said.
“We will have to make sure that we are at our best to try and beat them.”
Easts have claimed the most wins this season but it hasn’t been all smooth sailing.
Their round two game saw them falter in the first innings before surging home to claim the win.
Francis said it is turning out to be a “pretty evenly-poised” competition.
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“City beat us in the first innings in our two-day game, so it is still a very open comp,” he said.
“We are just trying to play the best cricket our team can and our club can produce.
“We are going okay at the moment but that's not to say things can happen.
“I still think that on any given day any side can beat any side so I am not by any stretch saying we are the team to beat.”
It will be Easts’ first one-day game of the season and Francis said the shorter format may suit his side.
“It should probably suit us to a fair extent, we have a fair few batsmen that like to play their shots so hopefully it suits them and we get on the right side of the ledger,” he said.
They will be missing strike bowler Jackson Gwynne and batsman Aaron Whackett.
Ex-Services are also missing two with Matt Foote on the sidelines with injury and Nathan Lane unavailable but welcome Ben Spence back.
Servies captain John Elliot said they are looking forward to the match up with the competition heavyweights.
“We understand they are a formidable opponent, across the board with both bat and ball,” he said.
“They have been the number one team for a number of years now and we are going to have to be on our game if we are going to challenge them.”
While they have gained confidence from two strong performances in the last two weeks, Elliot said his team have to keep building.
“We are confident to a point but not going to get ahead of ourselves either,” he said.
“I am expecting them to be strong.
“We are just building on our bowling performance against Hillgrove and just enjoying our cricket.”
