Sport
7 December, 2023
Minor premiers’ dress rehearsal for one-day grand final next week
With Laanecoorie Dunolly’s spot in the one-day final assured, it will be interesting to see how the reigning champions prepare for the game as they take on Carisbrook tomorrow. Carisbrook, for their part, have been eliminated, but could still...
With Laanecoorie Dunolly’s spot in the one-day final assured, it will be interesting to see how the reigning champions prepare for the game as they take on Carisbrook tomorrow.
Carisbrook, for their part, have been eliminated, but could still claim third if results go their way, which would be a positive finish to a 2023 which has seen them claim an A reserve premiership, before settling into A grade well, sitting fourth on the overall ladder.
However, defeating the reigning champions is a tall order, and they’ll particularly have to improve on their last outing in the field against Laane.
On that occasion, Laane duo Luke Smith and Tom Hannett were utterly dominant as they took all before them in round five, combining for a 170-run partnership which only ended at the close of their innings.
Smith scored 88 — his highest score of the year so far, while Hannett recorded a score of 71. Both scored at a very brisk pace in their 20 overs, recording the second highest T20 score of the season.
Carisbrook do have the bowling talent, and in their last game against Maryborough, bowled well at different times to help stem the flow of the Owls runs.
Vice-captain Nick Broad and James Adam lead the way for Carisbrook with eight wickets apiece this season. Adam, in particular, has been impressive in recent games, taking five wickets in his last two encounters.
All hands will need to be on deck, and they’ll also be relying on Dean Nalder and Cole Harris to strike at regular intervals.
With the bat, Carisbrook have been extremely solid, scoring over 180 in their last two matches.
A large part of their scoring prowess has come thanks to Nalder’s 228 runs and Martin Mark’s 180 runs, while Harris put together his best innings of the season so far to score 54 against the Owls to move to 119 for the season, and third on the Brookers’ run-scoring charts.
For Laane, while Smith and Hannett were dominant last time these two teams played, there are still some excellent options in the shed if required.
Sam Bartlett is averaging 70 from his time at the crease this season, while captain Matt Smith is likewise going at a good clip, averaging 63 despite relatively limited time in the middle.
In their last game, they were able to give young star Joe Lovel some good batting time, and he delivered on his immense promise with a good score of 28 as he helped Laane get the job done against Colts Phelans.
Lovel, for his part, has also done the job in recent weeks with the ball.
He has vaulted up to second on the wicket-taking charts, and not only has he taken 10 wickets, but he has done so at one of the best economy rates in the competition. Of the 15 players that have bowled 30 overs or more this season, Lovel’s economy rate of 3.9 ranks second, behind Beaufort’s Lachlan Oddie, who concedes three runs an over.
That’s before you also consider Laane’s very experienced quartet, with Daniel Romeo (nine), Sergio Rosier (eight), Luke (seven) and Bartlett (seven) all among the wickets this season.
Whichever way you want to look at this Laane team, there’s so many options across the board with bat and ball, and they’ll look to continue their ruthless streak ahead of their grand final next Saturday.