Sport
3 February, 2026
Laane secures six-wicket victory over Clunes
Following several extreme weather disruptions in January, Laanecoorie Dunolly ended the month by kick-starting their pursuit of the A grade premiership with a win against a valiant Clunes.
Chasing the host’s first innings total of 171, a familiar foe threw some early pitfalls Laane’s way as Ritik Yadav delivered two vital wickets.
As the Magpies attempted to capitalise, a quickfire 43 from Alex Cook opened the door for Sam Bartlett to score a classy 50 and lead Laane to a six-wicket victory.
Cook and Tom Hannett resumed the visitor’s innings on Saturday after Cook faced a Yadav maiden to conclude day one.
While Cook looked in great touch early, Hannett wouldn’t stay alongside him for long, as his captain’s castle was bowled by Yadav for one, giving Clunes an early wicket they desperately needed.
That brought Laane’s resident number three and the competition’s leading run-scorer, Nafis Shaikh, to the middle, motivated to produce another game-changing knock after a duck in his first innings back from the holiday break.
Those aspirations were spun around by Yadav, trapping Shaikh into being caught by Brenton Jones after scoring seven.
With Laane now 2/39, Clunes’ game plan of Yadav at one end while rotating their remaining artillery of bowlers at the other was working, hoping it would continue to do the trick against the new pairing of Cook and Bartlett.
After entering the match with a season-high of 16, Cook was itching for runs, aggressive in his search with seven fours before Ahmed Rehman brought about his demise, dismissing Cook for 43 thanks to a catch by Brett Coon.
Cook’s wicket was a double-edged sword for Clunes, as that saw Tom Hart enter the match. In the last meeting between these two teams, Hart recaptured his form after an early-season slump with an unbeaten 105.
A strategic shift down the order didn’t slow Hart’s patented free-flowing style, routinely searching for boundaries while Bartlett grew in confidence with the bat.
Just as the contest was seemingly slipping away from their feathers, Dylan Davies gave the Magpies a glimmer of hope, removing Hart for 32 with the help of a Paul Coon catch.
Laane still needed 62 runs with six wickets remaining after Hart’s dismissal, with the stalwart left-handed combo of Bartlett and Matt Smith looking to navigate an emboldened Magpies flock.
The pair expertly chipped away at the target, navigating the routinely excellent overs by Yadav while flipping the pressure on the bowlers at the other end.
Clunes were powerless to stop Bartlett from bringing up his second half-century of the season, a knock that included five fours and a six.
Smith hit the winning runs with his fifth boundary of the innings shortly thereafter, completing Laane’s runchase with the first ball of the 47th over and ending the match in a Laane victory.
Smith finished unbeaten on 32 as one part of a 65-run partnership with Bartlett, who ended not out on 50.
Yadav showed prolonged persistence in defeat, taking 2/47 and eight maidens in 23 overs as he looks to be a key weapon in the Magpies’ attack down the stretch.