Sport
18 March, 2024
Laane through to grand final with ease with big win over Beaufort
The message is clear from the reigning champions — catch us if you can. Laanecoorie Dunolly had their game wrapped up midway through Saturday’s play, with their semi-final against Beaufort needing just 49 overs to determine a result. Incredibly...
The message is clear from the reigning champions — catch us if you can.
Laanecoorie Dunolly had their game wrapped up midway through Saturday’s play, with their semi-final against Beaufort needing just 49 overs to determine a result.
Incredibly, there was realistically 33 overs of carnage as Laane made their mark after claiming their first wicket of the day after toiling away for 16 overs, before making the required runs in just 13 overs.
Beaufort elected to bat first, and it was Kriss Ellis and Tom Grant who batted first, looking to put pressure on Laane’s bowling lineup.
Ellis and Grant did a good job early on of blunting any impact opening bowlers Zach Graham and Sam Bartlett had, while there were a number of uncharacteristic fielding mishaps for Laane thrown in for good measure.
However, it took just one wicket for things to change for Laane, and that was achieved when Grant tickled a Graham delivery straight to Tom Hannett behind the stumps for eight.
After that, the floodgates opened.
Jack Smith was looking to play as aggressive as ever, but he came unstuck for five, with Joe Lovel claiming his wicket when he hit a ball straight to Ben Gunn.
Ellis was next to go for a fighting 21, with Lovel claiming a second wicket, and Hannett a second catch.
Lachlan Oddie was the big wicket Laane were after, however, and after he scored 10 runs, it was Lovel who made the big breakthrough in ensuring Laane were well and truly on top, with Bartlett catching him.
Runs were hard to come by all of a sudden for Beaufort.
Charlie Dyer and Nick Stabbins survived eight and 10 balls respectively, but were unable to put any score on the board, and Sergio Rosier had his first of the game when he lured Dyer into playing a shot to Thang Nguyen.
Lovel had his fourth wicket when Jarred Russell caught Stabbins shortly after, leaving the Crows teetering on 6/46.
That left Joe Kingsbury and Zachery Dally at the crease. Last time they batted together against Laane, they had made a 51-run partnership, and were needed again if the Crows were to be any chance.
But Laane were playing excellent cricket, and Dally was run out by Rosier for four.
Rosier was responsible for cleaning out the tail, with Joel Pymer making six, Kingsbury making 12 and Ben Grant bowled first ball.
All that meant Beaufort were out for 71 with 36.2 overs played.
Rosier was a star, finishing with 4/8 off 6.2 overs, while Lovel finished with 4/16 off seven overs.
The Crows needed quick wickets to get themselves off on the right foot to have some chance of staying in the game, but Laane’s opening duo of Hannett and Luke Smith weren’t prepared to give an inch.
Instead, both of them played an incredibly aggressive brand of cricket which saw them go at over a run a ball.
Smith needed just 31 deliveries to make 44, while Hannett made 29 off 25 as Laane zoomed past Beaufort’s total.
Pymer did get a wicket for the Crows, bowling Smith, but it was Laane’s day.
Lovel made 12 off 22 before both teams agreed to end the match, with Laane taking comfortable first innings points.
It now means that Laane will be gunning for a fifth premiership in succession across this Saturday and Sunday coming up, which would be the perfect tonic for the club’s impending 50th anniversary next season.
