Sport
25 March, 2024
Clunes win A reserve thriller
An astonishing A reserve final of twists and turns saw Clunes claim their first premiership since the 2008/09 season thanks to a thrilling one-wicket victory over Talbot. Played at Carisbrook, the Yabbies elected to bat first, having sensed a good...
An astonishing A reserve final of twists and turns saw Clunes claim their first premiership since the 2008/09 season thanks to a thrilling one-wicket victory over Talbot.
Played at Carisbrook, the Yabbies elected to bat first, having sensed a good batting deck, yet it was Clunes who had the upper hand early on.
The Yabbies were struggling to score early in the innings, putting on just 15 runs in the first 10 overs, including maidens in the first three overs of the game as the nerves were on show early.
Clunes struck twice in a brilliant over from Daniel Burnett, who firstly lured Ryan Kenden into tickling a shot to Fred Penhall behind the stumps, before the key wicket of Jack Kenden soon followed, trapped in front for LBW.
The Yabbies weren’t given an inch to score runs quickly, with Clunes’ tight bowling forcing them to bide their time.
It was Scott Cameron and Karl Gunther at the crease at the halfway point, with the score on 40.
Soon after, Cameron would go, bowled by Dylan Davies for 20.
Gunther and Jorde Bux would start to pick up the run rate somewhat, with both batsmen making 20.
Gunther was dismissed, bowled by Josh Dunn, and not long afterwards, Muzakkir Mohiuddin Mohammed was bowled by Mohammed Shehzad for four to leave the Yabbies 5/74 in the 31st over.
A big over saw Bux and Luke Kemp take the score to 85 before Bux was dismissed for 20, with brothers Paul and Brett Coon enjoying a nice family moment by combining for his dismissal.
Lachlan Griffiths were out next, bowled by Dunn for one, while Jag Searle and Kemp got the score above 100 before the former was caught by Shehzad off Brett’s bowling for eight.
Anton Roche quickly made 11 before Brett and Penhall combined for his wicket, with Kemp’s unbeaten 17 and Lachlan Roche’s three taking the Yabbies to 9/125.
Talbot needed quick wickets to turn the game back in their favour, but it wasn’t to be in the early stages.
Instead, Mark Jenkin and Brad Stevenson got to work in ensuring the Magpies were in front of the game by putting on 47 for the first wicket.
Talbot got the breakthrough they were after, however, and it was Bux that did the damage, luring Jenkin into a shot straight to Kemp for 31.
Soon, Talbot would take wickets on the regular.
Penhall was next to go, with Bux claiming a second wicket, Gunther catching him out for four.
Dylan Davies had a brief partnership with Stevenson, getting the score up to 71 before Anton struck, with Griffiths catching him for eight.
The Magpies were having a middle-order collapse, and Gunther was in charge of doing the damage.
First, he bowled Rajitha Perera for one, before Todd Featherston went out for one shortly afterwards.
When Stevenson was trapped in front for 27, Gunther suddenly had three wickets and the Magpies were in trouble at 6/81.
But Daniel Fordham was not to be denied, putting together some good bottom-order hitting to ensure he would put on 12 quick runs for the seventh wicket.
Dunn was unable to help, and was dismissed for a duck thanks to a good catch from Nate Wonson off Gunther’s bowling.
Then came a critical moment, with Fordham seemingly dismissed thanks to a stunning catch, but it was ruled a no-ball for height.
That would have left the Magpies 8/103, instead, they added seven more runs before Fordham was dismissed, bowled by Lachlan.
Shehzad and Brett were tasked with getting the Magpies home, but within sight of the finish line, Gunther had his fifth wicket, trapping Brett in front for LBW.
Paul and Shehzad got the scores level, and with everything on the line, Gunther, who had bowled brilliantly, just missed his mark and bowled a wide, sparking scenes of jubilation which marked the Magpies winning by one wicket.
Gunther’s heroics, otherwise, didn’t go unnoticed by the umpires, awarded best on ground for his 5/30 and equal top score of 20.
Clunes captain Paul said it was brilliant to bring a flag back to the town.
“It will sink in, but I’m speechless. It means a lot to everyone who has played for the club. It’s good for the town,” he said.
Paul said he had faith in his lineup from top to bottom, which included a late batting swap.
“I set out, as most teams do, to come out and put runs on the board, but when you lose the toss, you just have to play it as it is. We back ourselves with the ball, and the two opening bowlers, Daniel Burnett and Brad Stevenson, have been tight all season, and we had our best day with the ball and in the field, which is a good day to bring it out,” he said.
“Coming here and seeing the wicket, we could see the ball racing away in the first few overs, so it was all about picking the gaps and playing straight. It was a big call to swap Daniel Fordham and Brad Stevenson in the batting order. To try it out in a grand final was risky, but it paid off.”
The premiership win for Paul doubled as an epic birthday celebration — not that Paul wanted to think about it during the week.
“I was trying not to think about it. I was pretty restless and I’ve been tossing and turning all week. I was pretty nervous, but I was trying to concentrate and keep it on the down low, which didn’t really happen,” he said.
“We had to chase at Talbot during the year, and we didn’t get the job done. We didn’t bowl that well or field that well, and they made 170 and we got bowled out for 90.”
Paul says Clunes’ overall depth has helped them this season, making them a more-rounded side with both bat and ball.
“With all the blokes coming in to A grade, the depth has been unbelievable, and it’s been tough when everyone has been available to pick sides,” he said.
“I was having nightmares on who to pick, and with one-day cricket, you couldn’t really bowl everyone. The bowling is a strength of the club. Josh Dunn last played about 20 years ago, and had a tremendous year and a great day with the ball.”
That included brother Brett, who Paul waited until the end to present his medal. Paul paid tribute to his brother, who he says added so much to the team in the second half of the season.
“Brett started the year in the A grade, and was away from me. He’s a great young cricketer, and 10 times better than I’ll ever be. Mitch Coppick let him come down with me for the second half of the year and he did the job with the ball every week when I threw it to him. It didn’t matter what the situation was, he would take two or three wickets,” he said.
Facing the defining delivery of the game, Paul wasn’t sure how to react when the winning run came through.
“The last ball where I swiped for the wide, I felt that I had missed out on getting it through to gully and thought there were runs there. Everyone started cheering and the wide was called, and there was a bit of shock and I was stunned. It was a bit of an anti-climax, you don’t really want to win a game like that, but it is how it is I suppose,” he said.
“I’m not good out there batting as it is. I had only batted about twice for the year, so I was a bit nervous coming out to bat. I was hoping not to, and the boys would get the job done. It was all about the basics though, keeping the good balls out and, with five to 10 runs to get, pick off the singles.”
