Weston Creek Molonglo skipper Jono Dean says his team must find a way to adjust to a hectic schedule next weekend as they prepare to rotate between three different formats in three days.
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But Dean says the intense workload won't be an excuse for lowering standards with the Twenty20 final to be followed by the opening round of the two-day competition and then the Gallop Cup semi-finals.
Queanbeyan sealed their spot in the Gallop Cup top four by beating Ginninderra at Freebody Oval on Saturday, joining Weston Creek Molonglo, Wests-UC and Eastlake in the play-offs next Sunday.
Queanbeyan and Weston Creek Molonglo will also face off in the Twenty20 final under lights at Manuka Oval on Friday night.
To add to the already bulging calendar, Dean and brother Blake will be part of the ACT Comets team to play against Victoria in the four-day Futures League match from Monday.
"It's seven days straight of cricket, but you've just got to deal with it," Jono Dean said. "The guys have played a lot of cricket, they should be mentally fine. It's just about doing the things that keep your body right.
"When you want to play at the highest level, you've got to play all the time, so there's no problem there. It will be interesting switching between the formats. There might be some fine-tuning, but the boys have played enough cricket to know what to do."
Queanbeyan had to win their one-day match against Ginninderra to secure a spot in the finals next weekend.
The Bluebags batted first and scored 274 to cruise to a 70-run triumph, ending ANU's last-ditch attempt to snatch fourth spot on the ladder.
Queanbeyan will play the Twenty20 final before starting the two-day competition against Tuggeranong and finishing the weekend with a one-day semi-final against top-of-the table Eastlake.
ANU had been hoping to force their way into the finals, and threw everything into their battle against Tuggeranong to give themselves the best chance.
They scored 177 and then bowled Tuggeranong out for 86 to secure a double bonus-point win. But it wasn't enough to leapfrog Queanbeyan, falling one agonising point short of a finals berth.
Weston Creek Molonglo failed in their run chase against West-UC on Saturday, falling 11 runs short of the total. In the end the result didn't matter with the teams to clash again in the Gallop Cup semi-final.
Wests-UC captain Joe Cooke took control of the match with a superb 66 off 70 balls to set his team up for victory despite Corey Ryan claiming 6-40.
In reply Blake Dean smashed 55 and Jono Dean finished unbeaten on 39, but they ran out of partners. Wests-UC spearhead Ben Oakley was the chief destroyer, taking 5-29 off his nine overs.
In the last match, North Canberra Gungahlin caused a major upset when they beat ladder-leaders Eastlake with 11 overs to spare.
