Weston Creek Molonglo is two games away from living every cricketer's dream and playing on the hallowed turf of the SCG.
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Creek is the last ACT first-grade team remaining in the SCG Country Cup when it takes on Dubbo in the quarter-finals at North Dalton Park at Wollongong on Sunday.
A victory would move Creek to a semi-final showdown at the same ground on Monday, with the winner of that match booking its spot in the final of the knockout tournament at the SCG on January 18.
This weekend, Creek will be without star opening batsman Jono Dean, who is with the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League, all-rounder Adam Heading and fast bowlers Michael Crilly and Djali Bloomfield.
But captain Michael Delaney believes the team has the depth to get the job done to play at one of the most celebrated cricket venues in the world.
"We made it one of our goals at the start of the year, that we wanted to do really well in this competition," Delaney said.
"A lot of the young blokes are really keen to have that opportunity because not many guys get to play at the SCG.
"If you get the chance to play there it's pretty special."
Delaney has inside knowledge of the Dubbo side, having grown up in nearby Orange and played his junior representative cricket there.
"I saw their team list the other day and I know quite a few of them," Delaney said.
"I played with and against probably 90 per cent of their side, so it will be a good little reunion.
"They have always been a really strong batting team, so they're going to be pretty hard to beat."
All-rounder Blake Dean will play a crucial role with both bat and ball, veteran Cade Brown will provide stability in the middle order while Delaney will open the bowling alongside Joe Slater.
Creek has had an excellent start to the 50-over Gallop Cup with five wins from six games to lead the comeptition, while it also made the semi-finals of the Twenty20 Konica Minolta Regional Cup.
However, it is only sixth in the two-day competition, the Douglas Cup.
"It's been really difficult to play all the Twenty20s, one-dayers and the two-dayers all mixed in together," Delaney said.
"We definitely haven't hit panic stations yet.
"We're not doing a lot of things wrong. There's just a few little things we need to tinker with to make sure we're right for the second half of the season."
