Sport
18 March, 2025
Carisbrook defeat Laane in one of the biggest upsets in MDCA history
For the first time since 2020, new champions will be crowned in A grade as Carisbrook has ended Laanecoorie Dunolly’s astonishing 60-game unbeaten streak with a convincing 112-run victory to book a place in the grand final in their second season back in A grade.
It had been 1211 days since Laane tasted defeat and 3424 days since Carisbrook defeated Laane in A grade.
The Brookers picked a wonderful time to reset the clocks, producing one of the biggest shocks in MDCA history to earn a grand final berth.
Similarly to when these two teams met in round 11, Carisbrook decided to bat after winning the toss, hoping to set a strong total for Laane to chase while making the most of the predicted overcast conditions on day two.
Their ambitions couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start, as Laane captain Matt Smith ran-out opener Martin Mark for a golden duck on the first ball of the second over.
Despite the efforts of Brayden Wright and the new man in Jordan Hooper, Laane was unrelenting with their pressure.
The pressure became too much for Wright, who was removed by Sam Bartlett for 10 after he was caught by Joe Lovel.
William Coutts joined Hooper in the middle, looking to replicate his round 11 performance against Laane, in which he scored a season-high 38.
The Laane bowling attack ensured the duo earned their runs, with Carisbrook sitting at 2/30 after 20 overs.
Bartlett would strike again shortly after the drinks break, removing Hooper for 11 with Carisbrook in a precarious position at 3/33.
Coutts was accompanied by Liam Hurse at the crease and while Laane made them earn every run they made, the duo managed to survive for an extended period.
The pair would add 35 runs to the total before Kamaljot Romana got the wicket of Coutts for 28 when he was caught by Smith.
With the score at 4/68 after 41 overs, Carisbrook needed their two best batters this season, Hurse and new man Dean Nalder, to step up and apply some pressure back on Laane.
The duo did just that, combining for a vital 65 run stand while slowly increasing the run rate as the partnership continued.
The partnership ended at the hands of Zach Graham, dismissing Hurse for a hard-fought 44 when Smith held on to his second catch.
With Hurse sent back to the pavilion, Nalder was given a license to play more aggressive in the search for valuable runs.
With Chris Lee playing the role of anchor superbly, Nalder was putting on a clinic, hitting 10 boundaries while visibly exhausted due to the scorching heat.
Graham would claim the big wicket of Nalder by a caught and bowled, after an excellent innings of 74 off 64 deliveries, with Carisbrook in a strong position at 6/185.
As Laane looked to clean up the tail, Lee and Cole Harris frustrated the hosts with a 33-run partnership before Romana knocked the castle of Harris for 21 off just 25 balls.
Romana would grab his third and fourth wicket of the innings in the final over, first bowling Lee for a well-made 25, then bowling Cooper Mark for two as Carisbrook ended their innings on 9/233.
Ritik Yadav and Atticus Cullinan finished unbeaten on six and two respectively, while Romana grabbed top figures of 4/56 off 15 overs.
Laane was now tasked with chasing down 234 runs to keep their aspirations of a six-peat alive.
While it was the highest target a team had set for them all season, the hosts had surpassed 234 on four occasions when batting first, including scoring 5/325 against Carisbrook in round six.
The visitors were keen to take advantage of the better bowling conditions on Sunday and replicate their strong start with the ball in round 11.
Cullinan and Hurse delivered that start in spades.
First, Cullinan removed league-leading run scorer Tom Hannett for two in the first over, then Hurse struck five balls later, removing Romana for a golden duck and Carisbrook was in dreamland with Laane at 2/5.
Despite the early setbacks, opener Tom Hart and Alex Cook were scoring at a rapid rate, causing some concern for Carisbrook.
However, Cullinan would ease those concerns with a double breakthrough, removing Hart for a quickfire 25 after he was caught by Coutts, then dismissing Cook for 10 after he was given out LBW.
Carisbrook had their tails up with the score sitting at 4/41, but Laane still boasted some talented batters which helped steer them to victory in round 11.
Lovel and Bartlett were able to steady the ship for Laane, combining for a 55-run partnership as they looked to once again recover from a top-order collapse against Carisbrook.
Going 25 overs without a wicket, Carisbrook needed someone to break up Laane’s momentum and give control back to the visitors.
That someone was Ritik Yadav.
In the 34th over, he removed Lovel for a well-made 30 when he was caught by Cullinan, then grabbed the wicket of the new man in Smith three balls later for a duck after he was caught by Lee.
Suddenly, Laane was 6/99 and desperately needed Bartlett and Graham to build a mammoth partnership to rescue the game.
However, Carisbrook was going in for the kill, and they were determined not to be denied another victory against Laane.
Lee got the key wicket of Graham for three after he was caught by Hurse, and then Yadav claimed his third victim two balls later, bowling Steven Dellavedova for one.
Lee would strike again three overs later, when Coutts caught Bartlett for 30, landing a killing blow to Laane’s chances.
Yadav put the finishing touches on a memorable victory when Thang Nguyen was caught by Lee for four, officially punching Carisbrook’s ticket to the grand final.
Lovel and Bartlett both top-scored for Laane with 30 while Yadav claimed best figures of 4/18 from 15.2 overs.
