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Sport

22 February, 2024

Clunes looking to secure home final by defending 307

With a strong first innings score of 307 behind them, Clunes will look to rubber-stamp a top-two finish and a home final with it when they take to Bull Millgate Oval against Colts Phelans for day two tomorrow. Perhaps most importantly for the...

By Michael Thompson

Clunes looking to secure home final by defending 307 - feature photo

With a strong first innings score of 307 behind them, Clunes will look to rubber-stamp a top-two finish and a home final with it when they take to Bull Millgate Oval against Colts Phelans for day two tomorrow.

Perhaps most importantly for the Magpies, however, is the fact many of their stars are hitting their best form at the right time of the season.

Mitch Coppick had been threatening a century in a large majority of his two-day games this year, scoring 88 against Carisbrook and 64 against Maryborough.

But Saturday was his big breakthrough, scoring his first century for Clunes and remaining unbeaten on 109 in the process — the second-best score of the season, behind Maryborough’s Tom Hart’s 115 against Colts.

Mark Allen and Lachlan Morganti have also been in recent good form with both bat and ball, with Allen scoring his highest score in six years on Saturday with 76, and Morganti breaking through for his first 50 of the season.

It will be Morganti’s work with the ball which will be crucial to getting early wickets for the Magpies tomorrow, as he’ll look to continue his excellent all-around form.

Clunes strike-bowlers Morganti and Jaxon Smyth currently sit comfortably in the top five for wickets this season, with 21 and 19 respectively, and will need to be on their game to eliminate any threat Colts’ top order might pose.

Allen, too, will look to back up his good performance with the ball after taking four wickets against Laanecoorie Dunolly, while Ash Gunn will undoubtedly be called upon as well.

There will be an emphasis on Rhys Wagstaff to score big at the top of the order for Colts, and will get his opportunity to feast on the Magpies again, having scored a century of his own the last time these two met in the two-day arena last year, while also getting an opportunity to perhaps move back into the top five leading runscorers in the competition.

Alongside him, Dave Robinson will look to back up his 72 in his last innings against Maryborough, while the likes of Rhys Egan and Dayne Baker will also be looking for good middle-order runs.

Chasing down 308 will be a tall order, but one that isn’t impossible — the last time they managed to score above 300 was five years ago, in round 10, 2019 against Laane, when they managed 7/351.

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