Sport
27 March, 2023
Laane atop MDCA tree again for fourth time in a row
Laanecoorie Dunolly survived all of Colts Phelans’ advances to take their fourth consecutive March premiership with a five-wicket victory. Colts won the toss and elected to bat first. Rhys Wagstaff and Wayne Stubbings — in his final game of...
Laanecoorie Dunolly survived all of Colts Phelans’ advances to take their fourth consecutive March premiership with a five-wicket victory.
Colts won the toss and elected to bat first. Rhys Wagstaff and Wayne Stubbings — in his final game of cricket — were determined to ensure they could see through large parts of the day.
However, the going was slow in the early stages, with Laane picking the right spots with the ball at every opportunity. It meant that good shots were few and far between, and Colts were only able to make 30 runs from the first 20 overs, with Brady Williams and Zach Graham each holding down both ends with tight bowling.
Eventually, Laane broke through with the opening wicket when Wagstaff looked to play an aggressive pull shot, which went straight to Graham off the bowling of Daniel Romeo.
That wicket brought the dangerous Ed Foreman to the crease, yet Laane continued to stick to their plan — bowling good lengths at every opportunity, forcing Colts to defend.
Colts gradually got the score up to 62, before Foreman edged a ball to Ben Gunn, who took a dramatic juggling catch to secure Laane’s second wicket.
Tea was taken with Colts sitting on 2/64 off 43 overs.
Rhys Egan was next in, looking for quick runs, alongside Stubbings, who was proving to be a thorn in Laane’s plans to get their wickets quickly. Egan was next to go as he looked to be aggressive — yet his pursuits saw him hit a Samit Gohil delivery straight to Romeo.
Colts were in desperate need of a good partnership as Richard Clark came in. But when Clark departed, with Romeo taking his second catch, the score sat on 4/84 off 56 overs, with Laane restricting Colts to just 1.5 runs an over.
As the overs wound down, Stubbings was able to reach a well-deserved 50, but wickets were still tumbling around him.
Callum Watts fell for four, edging a Gohil delivery to Damith Perera.
Luke Tatchell stuck around for a 19-run partnership with Stubbings — their best since their second-wicket partnership of 32 — but was unable to stay the course for the day, bowled by Joe Lovel.
The key moment for Laane came when Stubbings was run out on 63 by Zach Graham. At that stage, Stubbings had accounted for exactly half of Colts’ runs, but his dismissal left Colts in trouble at 7/126.
Jackson Gordon and Dayne Baker were in looking for quick runs. Gordon scored nine, but he became Gohil’s fifth wicket of the afternoon, leaving Colts on 8/139.
Ben Stubbings was run out by Graham looking for quick runs as the day drew to a close, before Baker ended the innings by holing out to Tom Hannett off the bowling of Gunn, with Colts bowled out for 150 off 77.4 overs.
Gohil starred with the ball, taking 5/34 off 17 overs, while Gunn (1/47 off 21), Lovel (1/12 off five) and Romeo (1/7 off 11 and six maidens) were the wicket takers.
As both teams moved into day two, the equation was simple — Laane needed 151 to win.
Colts were on the hunt for early wickets but Laane weren’t in a giving mood, instead scoring at a brisk rate early on.
They were able to put on 25 in the opening eight overs of the contest, but their pace was also undone for the first time for the day when Graham edged a Baker delivery to Tatchell for 17.
It brought Gohil out to the crease, as he looked to finish a dominant season in fine style.
Colts were bowling well, generating a few chances while Gohil got his eye in, but weren’t quite able to get the key wicket they needed, and were later made to pay for it.
Gohil and Hannett, as has been the case for large parts of the season, soon put in a crucial partnership to ensure Laane were well on their way to victory, putting on 59 for the second wicket.
Colts made a change and they got dividends when they brought Wayne on to bowl, with his spin luring Hannett into playing a shot straight to Baker.
Colts were energised by the wicket, and were rewarded with another one soon after when Perera hit the ball straight to Wagstaff at short leg for Baker’s second wicket.
Gunn came to the crease looking to get the game done quickly, with Laane at 3/97, and was able to put on 11 quick runs alongside Gohil before he was trapped in front for LBW by Clark.
At 4/113, Colts were just a couple of wickets away from turning the grand final into a thrilling finish, but the cool, calm head of Matt Smith came to the crease and settled any nerves Laane might have had.
Smith was able to provide some quick scoring alongside Gohil, who had passed his 50 with ease. At the tea break, Laane needed just 15 more runs for victory.
Shortly after, Colts got the breakthrough they needed to remain any chance, with Baker securing his third wicket when Gohil edged a ball straight to Tatchell.
Smith and Romeo finished the job, however, with the winning runs coming from unfortunate overthrows.
Gohil’s 75 anchored the innings, besting everything Colts threw at them, while Hannett scored a handy 25 and Smith 20. Colts for their part bowled well, with Baker taking 3/32 off 12 overs, while Clark (1/46 off 11.1) and Wayne (1/17 off six) were the other wicket takers.
But it was Laane’s season, going through undefeated to claim their fourth successive premiership.
Gohil was voted as best on ground thanks to his outstanding all-round game, completing a season which saw him finish as the league’s leading run-scorer and wicket taker, one-day and two-day best on ground, Ken Gibbs medallist and two premierships.
