This is the first time they’ve met since the grand final last year, which saw Maitland claim victory over the home side.

There’s a lot at stake too, with the winner claiming rights to host the 2018/19 grand final which will be held on February 10.

UHDCA will travel to Maitland Park on Sunday for the match, which is sure to be an intriguing contest given the clashing styles of the two sides.

The Wombats have built their game on strangling the opposition with their bowling, conceding just 241 runs across their three matches so far, whereas Maitland have been devastating with the bat, piling on 419 runs in round two alone against Singleton.

Bowler Gavin Newton-Smith said the team has come a long way in recent times and a number of factors have lead to them being in this situation.

“Over the last couple of years the rep side have been building and giving experience to some of the younger guys and this year sees that starting to pay off,” he said.

“The addition of the two Muswellbrook sides has added considerable depth with a number of players pushing for selection and giving the selectors a headache trying to find the best 12 for each game. 

“It’s a great indication of how strong our competition is at the moment.”

The injection of youth has been obvious with the raw but energetic pace quartet of Lachy Cheshire, Josh Cooper, Tim Carter and JD McClymont reeking havoc on opposition sides so far this season.

But the old heads are still proving to be worth their weight in gold, with Newton-Smith himself taking 7 wickets to this point in the competition.

With a good balance and exceptional talent, the Wombats will be pushing Maitland to the edge and hopefully claiming an all important victory ahead of the final decider next month.