Sport
15 December, 2022
Laane and Colts ready for one-day glory
The first grand final will be up for grabs tomorrow afternoon when Laanecoorie Dunolly and Colts Phelans meet at True Blue Floors Oval for the one-day competition title. Both teams had to win their way through to get to this game, but with two...
The first grand final will be up for grabs tomorrow afternoon when Laanecoorie Dunolly and Colts Phelans meet at True Blue Floors Oval for the one-day competition title.
Both teams had to win their way through to get to this game, but with two commanding performances on the pitch on Saturday afternoon, it’s hard to deny that both Laane and Colts are deserving of their spots.
A quick look at Laane would suggest that it would have been difficult to get into a groove so far this season, with multiple games called off due to rain (five — the most in the competition) as well as a bye ahead of their must-win game against Clunes last Saturday, but didn’t they deliver a powerful response.
Their score of 3/240 was comfortably the highest that’s been seen so far this season, with Samit Gohil the star of the show with his 104, taking his average to 102 for the season. Tom Hannett’s 70 and Benjamin Gunn’s quick-fire 50 also ensured that Laane were always going to be in front throughout the day, and with their deep bowling strikeforce reducing Clunes to 4/44 and 6/62, it was always going to be their day.
In contrast, Colts Phelans needed to be up for the fight to get to the grand final, but were able to deliver the biggest run chase seen for a few years to help get them to the final.
Aggression has been the key word for Colts this season, particularly in their batting, and all of it was needed on Saturday as they were tasked to chase down 177 from Maryborough at Princes Park.
But with Ed Foreman firing on all cylinders like he has all season long — scoring his first 50 for Colts, as well as good batting performances throughout the middle order, they were able to power through to win with 12 balls to spare after requiring 29 off their final five overs.
Both teams have already met once this year — that was in November, where Laane were able to stop Colts in their tracks from 1/84 to record a six-wicket victory.
It was the combination of Foreman and Wayne Stubbings who were able to give Laane the most trouble they have had so far this season, with Stubbings making 60 and Foreman scoring 35. However, Foreman’s dismissal triggered a collapse, with Colts losing their remaining nine wickets for just 59 runs.
Alex Sutton, who filled in for Laane, was the key for their charge, taking 4/17, while Brady Williams took 2/33.
In response, Colts looked to get off to the perfect start when Matt Scott dismissed James Shorney for three runs, but steady hands from Gohil and Hannett saved the day for Laane, with Gohil reaching 40 and Hannett reaching 27. Late hitting from Gunn and Matt Smith ensured Laane would reach their total with 55 balls to spare.
Stubbings backed up his excellent performance with the bat, taking 2/32 with the ball off his alloted eight overs, while Scott finished with 1/30 off six overs.