Sport
14 October, 2025
Laane start one-day defence with three wicket win
Clunes gave them an almighty fright, but Laanecoorie Dunolly capitalised on a dominant bow-ling performance to take their opening round encounter by three wickets at Bryants Oval.
2024/25 MDCA Team of the Year member Alex Cook reminded the league of his game-changing talent, picking up four wickets during a critical juncture of the match.
Despite defending 107, Brett Coon and Noah Davies put the hosts under enormous pressure late in their run chase, but it was too little too late for Clunes.
It looked as though the reigning one-day premiers would be given a challenging run chase after Clunes won the toss and elected to bat.
Brendan Ingram was aggressive against Laane’s opening bowling attack of recruit Josh Fitzpatrick and Sam Bartlett, and it was paying off, going at just under a run a ball while allowing his partner, Brad Stevenson, to settle into his innings.
Even after Ingram was dismissed by Bartlett when he was caught by Smith, his 22 put the Magpies in a solid position at 1/32 after 10 overs.
That position became worse when Joe Lovel and Cook were brought into the attack, both scoring breakthroughs in their first over.
First, Lovel removed the dangerous Jude McGuire for three after knocking his stumps. Three balls later, Cook sent Brenton Jones back to the sheds for a duck after he was caught by Thang Nguyen, suddenly putting Clunes at 3/38.
Stevenson and the next man in Coon were able to steady the ship for the visitors with a 22-run partnership. However, Laane continued to smell blood in the water, managing to strike at the worst time for the Magpies.
In the 19th over, Cook ended Stevenson’s innings by bowling the opener for 20, then Fitzpatrick bowled Coon in the next over for eight.
After some resistance from the new partnership of Mitch Coppick and Mark Allen, the floodgates began to open for the hosts, recording the next four wickets in consecutive overs.
It started with Cook bowling Coppick in the 25th over for one off 27 deliveries. Fitzpatrick was at it again the next over, removing Allen for four after Smith recorded his second catch.
Cook added a fourth wicket thanks to some quick thinking from Lachie Condie behind the stumps to remove Ben Handley for two, then Lovel sunk Clunes to 9/76 by bowling Noah Davies for three.
After losing their last six wickets for 16 runs, Fred Penhall and Dylan Davies got the tail to wag for the Magpies, adding some valuable insurance runs.
Lovel ended the partnership at 31 runs when Penhall was caught by Smith for 14, ending Clunes’ innings at 107.
Cook was a constant problem for the Magpies lineup, finishing with figures of 4/13 off eight overs with two maidens, while Lovel ended with 3/21 from 5.3 overs.
The fast-starting 22 of Ingram and contributions from Stevenson (20 runs), Penhall (14) and Dylan Davies (14 not out) gave Clunes a chance at victory, desperately needing an early breakthrough to put some pressure back on their opponents.
That’s easier said than done against Tom Hannett and Tom Hart, who looked to end Laane’s run chase quickly with 27 runs in the first five overs.
Their opening partnership came to an end thanks to a beautiful delivery from Stevenson, which bowled Hannett out for nine.
Nafis Shaikh matched Hart’s aggression when he entered the crease, with the duo pushing Laane’s run rate above a run a ball.
Even after their quickfire chase hit a speedbump when Hart was caught by Noah Davies off the bowling of Handley for 37, Laane looked like they would cruise to victory with Shaikh and fellow recruit Fitzpatrick in the middle.
No one seemed to tell Coon or Noah Davies that, as they began to rip through Laane’s batting lineup to reinject some life into the contest.
In his first over, Coon got rid of Shaikh for 10 thanks to a great catch down the leg side from wicketkeeper Penhall. The youngster followed that up in his next over by dismissing Fitzpatrick for 26 when he was caught by Ingram, putting the hosts at 4/96 after 15 overs with 12 runs required.
After some early struggles with the ball, Noah Davies caught fire, removing Ayaz Sahibi (one), Lovel (one) and Cook (two) in the space of two overs to give the Magpies a finite, chance needing three wickets with four runs in hand.
Bartlett slammed that chance shut by hitting the winning runs in the 19th over to end Laane’s run chase safely.
Hart and Fitzpatrick had the notable scores for Laane with 37 and 26, while Noah Davies led the way for Clunes with 3/28 off five overs, with Coon arguably the Magpies most dangerous bowler with 2/10 from 3.4 overs.