Sport
23 December, 2025
Laane wins fifth one-day Grand Final on the trot with powerful six-wicket victory
It’s high fives all round for Laanecoorie Dunolly, knocking off old foes Colts Phelans by six wickets to win their fifth consecutive MDCA A grade one-day premiership.
Thanks to an innings-saving third-wicket partnership between Tarkyn Balzan and Asim Akhtar and a flourishing 50 from Rhys Egan, the Colts were in contention to finally vanquish Laane in the white-ball finale after disappoint-ments in 2022 and 2024.
Yet as the old saying goes, the cream always rises to the top, and Laane’s bats whisked their team to glory, starting with a devastating 99-run opening partnership from their tremendous Tom’s, Hannett and Hart.
Currently revelling in a sen-sational purple patch with an unbeaten 105 the week prior, Hart was named best on ground following an awe-inspiring 82 from just 72 balls, starring in a dominant Laane run chase that surpassed the required 187 with 61 balls in hand.
Looking to make the most of their home wicket early, Laane sent the Colts in to bat after winning the toss, handing Joe Lovel and Sam Bartlett the new ball.
It didn’t take long for fireworks to emerge at Bryants Oval, with Rhys Wagstaff dropped by a diving Alex Cook at gully in the second over and surviving another edge in the next over that went to ground on a Lovel no-ball.
Wagstaff attempted to make the most of his extra life until his off-stump got poleaxed by Bartlett, with Laane drawing first blood as the Colts captain was gone for five.
Four balls later, Bartlett had his second, sending his teammates into a frenzy when the esteemed Josh Collinson edged a ball that fell into the awaiting gloves of wicketkeeper Lachie Condie, dismissing Collinson without troubling the scorers.
With an electrified Laane circling the Colts at 2/13, Balzan and Akhtar maintained their composure and weathered the remainder of Lovel and Bartlett’s opening spells.
Balzan and Akhtar’s confidence continued to grow as the innings progressed, leading Laane’s ecstasy to slowly turn into frustration, unable to fully capitalise on their dream start.
Laane’s frustration persisted when uncharacteristic fielding mistakes were coupled with the Colts pair finding the rope down the ground and through the leg side, recovering to 2/83 at the drinks break.
Following on from his solid spell before the interval, Alex Cook was placing some pressure back on the Colts’ stable partnership alongside fellow spinner Nafis Shaikh after drinks as chances began to emerge.
Then, in the 25th over, Laane finally got the breakthrough, with Cook getting Balzan to edge a ball to Condie behind the stumps, ending the opener’s innings at 47.
Despite the setback, Balzan and Akhtar’s 88-run partnership did precisely what the Colts needed, placing the visitors in a stable position at 3/101 and allowing the powerful Egan to enter the innings in a more advantageous situation.
After navigating some Laane shouts while routinely rotating the strike, the Colts’ hard-hitting duo accelerated in the 29th over, scoring 25 runs in the preceding three overs.
Just as the Colts looked to be on top, Shaikh castled Akhtar for 46, providing another turn in the tale with the Colts now at 4/137.
Ben Evans attempted to keep the run-rate flowing when he came to the middle, but he joined Akhtar in the pavilion at the end of the next over, gone for six when he edged a Josh Fitzpatrick ball to Condie.
From there, Laane’s bowling attack was masterful at the death, not allowing a boundary in the last five overs.
Egan and the new man in, Jack Mensforth, added 20 to the total from just 18 balls with some aggressive running before Mens-forth was caught at long-on by Shaikh for six, giving Bartlett his third wicket.
Wayne Stubbings batted well alongside Egan for the remainder of the Colts’ innings, scoring 10 before being run out on the final ball attempting to add an extra run.
Egan earned his unbeaten 50 from just 46 balls as the Colts ended up posting 7/186.
Bartlett bowled exceptionally well opening and closing the innings, finishing with 3/24 from seven overs. Cook and Shaikh allowed the hosts to regroup during a critical juncture, ending with 1/25 and 1/30 respectively.
While the Colts would’ve been hopeful for a total past 200, they would be content to bat their way to an almost identical situation to their round five defeat to Laane, where they nearly defended 185.
With Nick Henderson and Akhtar tasked with grabbing a vital wicket early, Hannett set the tone for Laane’s run chase immediately, hitting the first ball for four through the leg side.
After a slightly nervy start, Hart quickly refound his groove alongside Hannett, with the pair smashing 28 runs in the first four overs.
The introduction of Dayne Baker slowed the stampeding Laane slightly, but the breakthrough Colts desperately wanted wasn’t forthcoming, with the hosts 57 without loss after 10 overs.
Even when Evans and Mensforth were handed the ball, Hart and Hannett continued to cruise at a torrid pace for Laane with some marvelous strokes as the Colts looked as though they needed a moment of magic to open their path to victory.
Up stepped Wagstaff.
After Hart survived another caught and bowled scare with the ball flying past the outstretched Stubbings, Laane’s openers turned back for what was seemingly a routine two.
As Hannett raced to the non-striker’s end, Wagstaff delivered an absolute missile from long-off that directly hit the stumps, running out the reigning Ken Gibbs medallist for 29 and restoring some belief in the Colts.
After his Sharp Shield clinching 62 not out for the MDCA the week before, Shaikh looked poised to do the same for Laane when he joined Hart in the middle, scoring early boundaries off Evans to help Laane steam into the drinks break at 1/130.
With only 57 runs separating his team from retaining the one-day crown, Hart looked to remain aggressive after the interval.
However, facing his first ball after the drinks break, Hart misjudged an Evans delivery that picked out Balzan at long-off, ending his stunning knock at 82 and giving the Colts’ comeback signs of life.
Those dreams quickly went back on life support as the new partnership of Shaikh and Fitzpatrick scored 18 runs in the next two overs.
After a Shaikh edge fell just short of Evans at first slip the over before, Egan had a tough chance to remove Shaikh with a diving catch near the leg side boundary. Unfortunately for the Colts, the opportunity went to ground, extinguishing the Colts’ last fleeting chance.
Mensforth produced a late highlight for the Colts, removing Fitzpatrick in the 26th over for 11 after he tickled a ball down the leg side through to Luke Tatchell behind the stumps.
Shaikh brought up his half-century shortly thereafter alongside Bartlett, but as he attempted to hit the winning runs, he skied a Henderson ball to the leg side, with Evans making a composed catch to remove Shaikh for 50.
That didn’t stop Bartlett from hitting the title-clinching runs the following over, sparking Laane celebrations with a boundary off Balzan.
