Sport
23 March, 2023
Laane and Colts ready for final showdown
Cricket can be a funny sport sometimes. The two combatants in this weekend’s grand final have vastly different personalities, yet here we are, seeing both of them fight it out for the exact same goal, which should be decided by late Sunday...
Cricket can be a funny sport sometimes.
The two combatants in this weekend’s grand final have vastly different personalities, yet here we are, seeing both of them fight it out for the exact same goal, which should be decided by late Sunday afternoon.
Take Laanecoorie Dunolly — a brash group which loves to be loud on the field. Their aggressive style of cricket excites, and yet it’s calculated. It generates runs, it gives them targets to defend and it’s yielded a remarkable 32-round unbeaten run in their quest for a fourth consecutive premiership.
Then there’s the combatants, Colts Phelans. They’re workmanlike and honest. They break teams down with a great bowling line up, play the right shots with the bat, and it has given them a chance to take their first premiership since 2015/16.
In a game where momentum is key, expect plenty of swings and roundabouts throughout the weekend, keeping in line with these two teams’ history this season.
The grand final will be played on both Saturday and Sunday, with a starting time of 1 pm at Princes Park.
LAANECOORIE DUNOLLY
Laane leader Matt Smith takes up the story of Laane’s season, and where they can potentially take the win this weekend.
“It’s a great opportunity to create a piece of history for our cricket club and our community. To go four-in-a-row would be special,” he said.
“We’ve had a great season, going undefeated is a reflection of that. We’ve won games in different ways, where sometimes our top order has provided plenty of runs, or our tail has wagged with putting on extra runs. Sometimes, our fast bowlers take early wickets, but we’ve also won games through our spinners turning things in their favour through the middle overs.
“We have a really balanced squad that we’re hoping can just continue to control the different phases of the game on Saturday and Sunday.”
Smith says that while Ken Gibbs medallists Samit Gohil and Ben Gunn are expected to play big parts over the weekend, he also has an eye on role players such as opener Tom Hannett, opening bowler Joe Lovel and wicketkeeper/batsman Damith Perera.
“We have a lot of really good role players who understand what they need to do within the team and what they’re asked to do at different stages of the game. Tom Hannett has come across and has steadied us up top. He bats tying up an end, which has allowed others to play their game, knowing they have Tom’s support,” he said.
“Joe Lovel has opened the bowling for us at different times, as either first or second change. Depending on the times we’re bowling, you know what is expected of you.
“Damith is a quality player, who has made more first-class centuries than Samit Gohil. He’s come across after Christmas and hasn’t probably had the most batting-friendly conditions, as he enjoys being a stroke player. He likes to have bat on ball a lot early on. We had a really good wicket on the weekend just gone, which brought his strengths to the fore.”
Smith is wary of Colts’ exceptional bowling line up, who, despite missing Matt Scott to a hamstring injury, will still be a formidable force over the weekend.
“They bowl well. They’re consistent and always at you and make things difficult for you. The loss of Scott is not ideal for Colts, and not ideal for cricket in general, having come across from England and playing such an important part in helping Colts get to this stage. It’s a shame that he can’t be there, as he certainly deserves to,” he said.
“We need to respect their bowling line up, the key for us is not losing early wickets. If we can get through the first spell without doing so, it goes a long way towards setting up the day for us.”
Smith says a total of at least 200 is going to be needed on the first daywith the bat to give themselves the best chance of winning.
“We are hoping to make over 200, which we think would put pressure on if we bat first, and if we bowl first, likewise, the target is to keep them under 200 if we can,” he said.
COLTS PHELANS
Colts Phelans’ Wayne Stubbings said it will be a special weekend for himself — not only will he be able to play alongside son Ben, who leads the wicket-taking charts for the team this season, but it will also represent his final game in a storied career.
“We’re all playing for the win. For Colts, it would be a big thing. It’s been seven years since they’ve won a premiership. They have plenty of young kids there, and everyone should taste grand final glory throughout their careers,” he said.
“There are lot of players there who are just starting their careers, and then there’s blokes like myself who are playing their last game this weekend. I’d love to finish off with a premiership in my last game. I have the privilege of being able to play this game with my son. I’ve played in A grade premierships with my other two sons, so to do it with my third son is one of the great highlights of my career.
“I’ve played cricket since I was 12, and I’ve played for 41 years straight. The body is done. I’ve played 37 years of A grade cricket, won loads of awards, had an amazing career, and I couldn’t ask for a better finish in a grand final with my third son.”
Stubbings said that the Colts cohort couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of bringing glory to the club.
“I think any grand final always generates excitement. They are hard to make and harder to win. I’m sure everyone at the club is excited about getting the opportunity to play this weekend,” he said.
Stubbings said backing in plans is critical to securing victory over the weekend.
“I think at the end of the day, you can put plans in place, and you just have to be positive and back them in. If you can do that, you can be successful, and I think that’s what we did on the weekend against Maryborough. We believed in them and backed ourselves. The game went deep but I feel that ultimately got us over the line on the weekend,” he said.
“The thing that we’ve spoken about is we have won plenty of sessions against Laane and have found ourselves in front. But we’ve let them slip, and when we have, we let them slip badly. We need to stay positive and support each other. Our bowlers have been our strength and they keep us in the game, but we need to make sure we don’t lose wickets of our own when we bat over the course of the day.
“The main plan is to be consistent with our line and length. We just want to make sure we build pressure up. The game itself, being a grand final, creates pressure. So we want to capitalise with good discipline throughout every ball.
“We need runs on the board if we bat first. We need to make sure we get as much consistency as possible — myself included. We need to make sure we don’t panic at any stage, keep it simple and accumulate runs, hitting the bad balls that need to be hit and keeping out the good balls. We have nothing to lose in the sense of it being a grand final. Getting there means we’ve done the hard work.”