Sport
12 February, 2024
Laane too good for Clunes
PHIL HOOPER INSURANCE A GRADE LAANECOORIE DUNOLLY 184 and 0/50 def CLUNES 99 Laanecoorie Dunolly were too good for Clunes, taking first innings points to secure the minor premiership. Starting the day needing another 160 runs, Clunes needed to get...
PHIL HOOPER INSURANCE A GRADE LAANECOORIE DUNOLLY 184 and 0/50 def CLUNES 99
Laanecoorie Dunolly were too good for Clunes, taking first innings points to secure the minor premiership.
Starting the day needing another 160 runs, Clunes needed to get off on the right foot to make sure they were in the game.
But that wasn’t forthcoming, with Zach Graham striking almost immediately to remove Brenton Jones for five.
Graham was a man on a mission as he sought quick wickets to get the job done, and he was successful in claiming the next wicket of the day, removing Corey Garth for 25, with the returning Luke Smith taking a catch.
Soon, Laane put the foot down, and the masters of turning one wicket into multiples were at it again.
The dangerous Jude McGuire was next out, with Sam Bartlett and Sergio Rosier combining for his wicket.
Graham struck twice more, with Clunes’ leading run-scorer Mitch Coppick out for two, and Brendan Ingram out for four, both with similar dismissals, caught by Rosier — his second and third catch of the innings.
Clunes soon had their best patch of the day. Mark Allen and Lachlan Morganti would at least give the Magpies a bit of a foothold into the game after they were 6/40, and it loomed as the key partnership.
Daniel Romeo was the man for the job, however, and Morganti was gone for 13 to leave Clunes 7/77.
A steady stream of wickets then fell, with Josh Dunn bowled by Rosier for seven, Jaxon Smyth caught by Smith off Romeo’s bowling was for five, and Daniel Burnett bowled by Graham to give him a five-wicket haul, and Clunes were bowled out for 99, giving Laane first innings points.
Graham’s tally of 5/22, perhaps surprisingly, was the first five-wicket haul achieved by the ladder-leaders this season, although that also shows a measure of just how consistent they are across the board.
Laane batted on for 10 overs, and were able to make 50 runs without loss, with Rosier unbeaten on 28 and Smith unbeaten on 17 before the game was called.