Sport
6 November, 2023
Laane warm up for first grand final with strong win
BEAUFORT 6/100 def by LAANECOORIE DUNOLLY 5/102 Laanecoorie Dunolly weathered an incredibly brave effort by Beaufort’s young guns to take a five-wicket win at True Blue Floors Oval. Beaufort won the toss and elected to bat, hoping they could...
BEAUFORT 6/100 def by LAANECOORIE DUNOLLY 5/102
Laanecoorie Dunolly weathered an incredibly brave effort by Beaufort’s young guns to take a five-wicket win at True Blue Floors Oval.
Beaufort won the toss and elected to bat, hoping they could continue their recent good form with the willow, but they were soon on the back foot when Luke Smith took the first wicket of the day, bowling Kriss Ellis for a duck.
Jack Smith and Blake Jantzen were able to spend some time at the crease, putting on a 25-run partnership to get the score to 26 before Joe Lovel struck, luring Jantzen into edging a ball to James Shorney behind the stumps.
Soon, an incredible combination would play out, with all three Smith’s on the ground playing a part in Beaufort’s third wicket. Luke would force Jack into a mistake, hitting the ball straight to Matt.
Lachlan Oddie and Joe Kingsbury were tasked with getting things back on track.
Oddie, the leading runscorer in the competition, was required to play a pivotal innings, while Kingsbury came in off some good form.
However, Luke soon had his third wicket, bowling Kingsbury for eight.
Not long after, it was a fourth wicket for Luke, as he managed to get Cooper Cahill hitting a ball straight to Sergio Rosier.
Shannon Brown, alongside Oddie, was able to help the Crows put together a reasonable score, with Brown’s 21 solid support to Oddie, who would eventually finish with an unbeaten 37.
Ben Gunn got in on the act late in the innings, bowling Brown as the Crows finished on 6/100.
Luke was the star, finishing with 4/9 off four overs.
Beaufort needed quick wickets to ensure that they were able to have a way out and secure a spot in the T20 grand final, but it was easier said than done.
Rosier and Matt were looking for quick runs to ensure it wouldn’t be the Crows’ day, and they quickly managed to get 41 runs on the board.
However, it was the Crows’ younger brigade which sparked the Crows into life.
Cahill struck first, bowling Matt for 24. Rosier was next to fall later for 14, with Ben Grant taking his first wicket of the season.
Grant, not long afterwards, had a nice moment when he lured Nathan Leist into nicking a shot straight to his father, Craig, behind the stumps, for a duck, and when Cahill had his second wicket, bowling Lovel for a duck, the Crows soon had Laane 4/55.
Luke tried to recreate his heroics with the ball on the other side of the equation, but only made seven before Cahill had his third wicket, with Laane 5/71, still requiring 30 runs.
Sam Bartlett and Shorney had other ideas, and they were able to ensure Laane would go into Sunday’s decider unbeaten, with Bartlett finishing on 29, and Shorney making a run-a-ball 15.
Cahill finished with 3/32 in an impressive display from the youngster, while fellow young gun Ben finished with 2/27.