Sport
25 October, 2024
Laane and Colts to do battle
A tasty matchup between Laanecoorie Dunolly and Colts Phelans looms as the match of the round.
Laane will finally get their season underway tomorrow after further frustration last week with their game against Carisbrook canned due to the wild weather around the district the day before.
They will immediately have to be on the front foot, however, as they come up against a Colts Phelans team who seem to be cooking early on.
The dynamic English trio of Max Jackson, Charlie Scorer and Regan Goundry have already shown glimpses of what they are capable of, with Jackson immediately acclimatising with an unbeaten 95 in the absence of an A grade game last week against Talbot.
Combined with Scorer’s 52 in round one, as well as a quickfire 29 from Rhys Egan, and the Colts top order seems to be on song early in the season.
However, they will have to be firing on all cylinders to get the better of Laane’s batting depth.
It is expected that Tom Hart will suit up for the first time for Laane, and he was able to put together the highest score of A grade last season against Colts with his 115.
Alex Cook will also be expected to make his debut, with the all-rounder ready to make a splash from England.
With Zach Graham, arguably the hottest property with the bat in the two-day game last season, expected to also make his return to the team, there will be plenty of firepower in the batting lineup.
How both teams bowl then, will also decide how the game is dictated.
Colts had no issue in getting through Carisbrook’s top order in round one, with only Dean Nalder providing some resistance, and they would have been thrilled by Ben Evans taking three wickets in his return, while Goundry and Scorer also played a critical role with two wickets.
Laane will again be served by a strong bowling lineup, with Sam Bartlett and Joe Lovel leading the lines, along with Cook, who will look to slow the pace down as an off-spinner.
Laane’s incredible winning run yielded two more comfortable wins over Colts last season, restricting them to just 69 runs in the T20 game early in the season, before chasing down a target of 124 runs in the one-day game.
In the final meeting, Laane had set 273 runs for victory, but weather cruelled their chances of sweeping Colts.