Sport
21 February, 2025
Laane to seek minor premiership against Colts
Laanecoorie Dunolly can secure the minor premiership this weekend when they attempt to chase down Colts Phelans’ total of 181.
Zach Graham’s season-best figures of 7/49 played an integral role in limiting the Colts to below 200 on home soil, but it was a whole team effort by the visitors to make the Colts earn every single run.
Five out of the six bowlers Laane used on Saturday allowed on average three runs or less an over, reducing the host’s run rate to below two and a half runs.
Limiting their opponent’s ability to make runs has been a staple of Laane’s success, going into this match Laane had only conceded 1098 runs this season, an average of just over 137 runs per inning.
To the Colts’ credit, much of their lineup didn’t immediately succumb to the pressure of Laane’s bowling attack, with seven Colts batters reaching double figures.
Their innings was headlined by Rhys Wagstaff’s 46, who looks to be peaking at the right time for the Colts, scoring 103 of his 140 runs this season in his last three innings.
In a remarkable coincidence, Laane’s also had to reach a target of 182 to defeat Carisbrook in their last fixture.
While Laane did extend their unbeaten run to 58 games, it certainly wasn’t smooth sailing as Carisbrook had Laane in a precarious position at 6/100 before Graham and Matt Smith guided Laane to the target with two wickets in hand.
They will look to cut it not so fine this weekend and showcase how they lead the league in runs scored this season with 1658 while having faced the second-fewest overs.
The likes of Tom Hannett, Alex Cook, Kamaljot Romana, Joe Lovel and Sam Bartlett will look to reach the target against a Colts bowling lineup that has received some major upgrades this season.
The Colts’ bowling depth has been the signature improvement they desperately needed after relying on Dayne Baker and Nick Henderson to take over half of their wickets last season.
Now they boast a plethora of bowling options in their stocks to dissect opposing batting lineups alongside the dependable Baker and Henderson who have 10 and 11 wickets respectively this season.
Much of their newfound depth comes from the introduction of their English triad, as Max Jackson, Regan Goundry and Charlie Scorer have combined to grab 30 wickets.
Ben Evans has also been a key contributor with the ball this season, taking nine wickets in the Colts’ last four matches including five in their previous fixture against Clunes.