Haisman Shield two-day cricket is upon the Cricket Shepparton competition early this season, with red leather set to be dusted off across region.
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Although the weather gods do not seem too keen to run the iron over the white shirt and pants - with a 90 per cent chance of rain and 20mm to 35mm of it predicted for tomorrow - cricketers across the top tier are excited to see the red ball hooping and the gaps in the field widen.
“I think it's pretty good to get to two-day cricket already,” Tatura captain Michael Archer said.
“There's a few boys in our side who probably prefer to spend some time in the middle and build a score, so it will probably suit us.”
Tatura hosts Old Students at Howley Oval in the round five fixture, with Archer's squad looking for its first win of the campaign.
The skipper's own form has been impressive, averaging 50.5 with the bat from 101 runs and snaring six wickets at 24 across the four limited overs games to start the season.
Archer's batting has flourished since a move to the middle order late last summer - with his average ballooning to 60.33 in the Haisman Shield when including the final two rounds of last season - and is likely to remain at number five or six for now.
“I'll probably stay in the middle order,” he said.
“It helps a bit with the balance of the team, it lets Jayden (Armstrong) and Connor (Davies) push up the order a bit and Raj (Singh) open.”
The young Tatura line-up went down comfortably to Katandra last round, but will keep battling hard for its first victory.
“Obviously they (Katandra) are one of the best sides in the comp, but I still thought our boys went alright,” Archer said.
“There's plenty of positives for us and it will help the boys learn when they play sides like that with more mature bodies.”
The Students have one win on the board, but will be keen to double that tally tomorrow after a tight defeat last week.
Liam Callegari (4-35) and Callan McCabe (40 and 1-15) starred in a close loss to Kyabram, while captain Felix Odell has 162 runs at 54 and will be keen to bat long against Tatura if he receives that opportunity.
Callegari's eight wickets at 13.75 ranks him fifth on the competition's bowling table, with an elite strike rate of 16.50 showcasing his ability to always be in the contest.
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