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Sport

18 December, 2023

A word from the captain — Matt Smith talks about Laanecoorie Dunolly's premiership success

Laanecoorie Dunolly captain Matt Smith never tires of the thought of celebrating premierships. “To win the one-day final is a fantastic outcome for the playing group, our committee and our community,” he said. “We certainly value winning these...

By Michael Thompson

Matt Smith with the one-day trophy after Laane’s seven-wicket win over Beaufort. Photo: 191223 05
Matt Smith with the one-day trophy after Laane’s seven-wicket win over Beaufort. Photo: 191223 05

Laanecoorie Dunolly captain Matt Smith never tires of the thought of celebrating premierships.

“To win the one-day final is a fantastic outcome for the playing group, our committee and our community,” he said.

“We certainly value winning these finals, and had our sight set on it. It’s a reward for all the effort we’ve put in so far.”

The stats will say that Smith didn’t bowl, nor did he bat. But he still played an important part in their success on Saturday, nailing his bowling choices and fielding selections which helped restrict Beaufort to just 104 runs from 34 overs.

Smith says it vindicated his decision to bowl first after winning the toss.

“When you win the toss and bowl, you back the bowling unit in to get the job done, whether that’s taking early wickets or slowing the run-rate down and building pressure that way,” he said.

“So we used six bowlers who all contributed, and to bowl them out for 104 in 34 overs, a run-rate of just over three an over on a wicket with a quick outfield is a real testament to our bowling unit, and their ability to bowl in good areas and build that pressure.”

Daniel Romeo was the key bowler for Laane, taking 4/25 and cashing in on the pressure their fielding, as a whole, was able to generate throughout the Crows’ innings.

With a strong record against Beaufort, Smith backed Romeo in to get the job done.

“He is a genuine wicket-taker,” he said.

“He has a different slinging action which means the ball will do some different things as a result.

“We know what we’ll get from our bowlers and he knows what is expected of him. He knows where he wants his fielders, and to get four wickets in a final is a fantastic achievement.

“Daniel had a strong record against Beaufort, so he comes in with confidence every time he plays them.”

Smith was also quick to pay tribute to the performances of Sam Bartlett and Joe Lovel. While both bowlers took just one wicket between them, more importantly, it was their ability to keep the run-rate at a minimum which helped keep the game in Laane’s favour.

“Barty bowled five overs for five runs at the top, and took an early wicket, which gave us so much momentum. He was really strong from his end, and it allowed us to build pressure from the other end, which can bring about wickets,” he said.

“Joe Lovel bowled five overs for about five runs at one stage as well, and to have two from their end bowl 10 overs and concede 10 runs is fantastic.

“On the back of that pressure, others cashed in, and Romeo got the big wickets which helped turn the game, especially with the big wicket of Lachlan Oddie.”

When it came time to bat, it was Luke Smith who set the stage alight with his unbeaten 72, and Matt was all too happy to talk about what Luke has brought to the club.

“When you get international players across, you want them to set the standard of course, with their professionalism first of all, and then their performance to back it up,” he said.

“His performances pre-Christmas has been exceptional, averaging nearly 100. His last four knocks have been incredible.”

Now it’s on to the red-ball season after the holiday season — and while there will be plenty of changes, Matt expects Laane to continue performing at their best.

“We enjoy the two-day format. It’s something we look forward to and it allows us to get our batsmen a lot more opportunity to have a bit of a hit, as it’s been a bit lean for some of us,” he said.

“But we’re looking forward to playing good, hard cricket and batting for a whole day, posting some big scores, and building momentum towards hopefully getting into that final.”

There will be a number of changes Matt has to navigate.

Firstly, Luke will be heading back to South Africa for the short term, while James Shorney will be departing the club to move interstate.

Matt was quick to pay tribute to the “dependable” Shorney, who did his job behind the stumps, not conceding a single bye on Saturday.

“Jimmy is a great team man, and always has been since he came to the club,” he said.

“He’s very reliable and dependable, and he really wanted to finish on a positive before he finished off and headed up north. All he wanted was team success and to play his part, and he’s done that for us every game that he’s played for us.

“We’re sad to see him go, but he has some exciting opportunities coming up.”

Matt says that despite the changes which are set to be made, they’ll maintain a strong batting lineup.

“We have made sure we have had a strong batting lineup, and we had Ben Gunn planned to bat at number eight, and we think he would bat at top three at every other club, which is a testament to the talent we have at our club,” he said.

Matt offered up a word for Beaufort’s part in the final, and said he was looking forward to playing against them again.

“We have a lot of respect for the Beaufort Cricket Club,” he said.

“They are on the right path, there’s no doubt about that, and they have a fantastic people and a great culture who’ll make sure the club continues to head in that direction.

“There’s no doubt there is success coming to them, and we are fully aware we may come up against them again. They play in the right spirit, and it was a great game to be a part of.”

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