Sport
4 March, 2025
Laane in control, bowling Clunes for 106
Laanecoorie Dunolly put themselves into a dominant position at the end of day one, trailing by 26 runs after bowling Clunes out for 106.
After winning the toss, the Magpies elected to bat first, sending openers Anthony Ellis and Brad Stevenson to the crease with the task of giving Clunes a good start.
Sam Bartlett threw a hefty wrench into the Magpies’ plans in the fifth over, removing Stevenson for three after he was caught by Daniel Romeo.
Fellow opening bowler Zach Graham also made an early impact five overs later, grabbing his first wicket when Lachlan Condie caught Ellis for 11.
With Clunes under duress at 2/19, the new duo of Brenton Jones and Mark Allen were asked to answer the SOS call for innings stability.
The pair would answer the call with a disciplined partnership, taking advantage of the limited opportunities Laane was affording them.
With Clunes starting to build momentum, the hosts turned to Romeo to produce some cracks into the Magpies’ new foundations.
He delivered in his second over, catching Allen out LBW for 16, ending the 35-run partnership.
Romeo wasn’t done there, next grabbing the wicket of Jones for a well-made 22, caught by wicket-keeper Tom Hannett to put Clunes back on the ropes at 4/65.
The floodgates started to open for Laane after that breakthrough, as Kamaljot Romana joined in the action, bowling a fill-in player for two.
Sitting at 5/73, the Magpies were desperate for a partnership to take on the Laane bowling attack and stay in the middle for an extended period.
While Brendan Ingram provided some needed run-scoring at one end, his partners were unable to support his efforts under Laane’s pressure.
Timothy Nicholson was the next batter sent back to the pavilion, removed by Romana for four after he was caught by Graham.
Troy Thomson tried his best to aid Ingram’s endeavours, surviving 28 balls before Romeo collected his third wicket of the day after Thomson was caught by Graham for one.
Slowly running out of partners, Ingram attempted to get the tail to wag, but his ambitions would fall victim to Alex Cook, who claimed the big wicket of Ingram when he was caught by Bartlett for 38.
Romeo grabbed the final wicket of the innings, bowling Denis Bacon for four to leave Clunes all out for 106 with Eric Downs not out for naught.
Romeo led the charge with the ball, finishing with top figures of 4/26 from 10.2 overs while Romana also grabbed multiple wickets with 2/14 from eight overs.
Ingram put up a strong fight against the ladder-leaders, top-scoring with 38 with three boundaries.
With 14 overs left to play on day one, Tom’s Hannett and Hart came to the crease to begin Laane’s innings.
They did so with some serious urgency, scoring 28 runs in the first five overs before Hart was bowled for 21 off just 13 deliveries.
After the new partnership of Hannett and Romana settled into their innings, the pair once again upped the tempo late as Laane finished the day’s play on 1/80.
Hannett and Romana will resume the innings on 32 and 25 respectively.