Sport
2 March, 2023
Minor premiership battle on in earnest
Top spot will be on the line over the next fortnight when Laanecoorie Dunolly and Colts Phelans do battle at True Blue Floors Oval. After what’s been a season-long battle with Maryborough for second on the ladder, Colts can now look ahead, having...
Top spot will be on the line over the next fortnight when Laanecoorie Dunolly and Colts Phelans do battle at True Blue Floors Oval.
After what’s been a season-long battle with Maryborough for second on the ladder, Colts can now look ahead, having secured a top two spot, and, crucially, home bragging rights.
However, should they beat Laane this weekend, they will also have the fillip of securing the minor premiership — a crazy scenario given that coming in to this game, Colts have lost twice, yet Laane remain unbeaten.
As we all know, though, defeating Laane is a much easier thought on paper than it is in reality.
This will be the third meeting between these two teams this season, with Laane coming out on top on the previous two occasions.
In round six, Colts Phelans were able to make 9/143 off their 40 overs, with Wayne Stubbings leading the way with 60 runs, while Ed Foreman made 35.
Alex Sutton did all the damage with the ball for Laane, taking 4/17, while BradyWilliams chipped in with 2/33.
In response, Samit Gohil’s 40, alongside Ben Gunn’s 29 and Tom Hannett’s 27 helped guide Laane to the target of 144 with 55 balls remaining.
The two teams reconvened at True Blue Floors Oval for the one-day final in December.
Laane were excellent in the field, restricting Colts to just 120 runs after looking comfortable at 3/83. Stubbings again led the way with 29, while Jackson Gordon’s 25 and Rhys Egan’s 24 also provided support.
Joe Lovel was chief destroyer for Laane, taking 4/39.
In response, Laane got off to a shaky start, losing Daniel Romeo and Hannett with the score on four, and were still sitting on just 20 runs with 10 overs gone.
However, Gohil’s 76 and Zach Graham’s 39 helped guide Laane to victory, reaching their target with 56 balls remaining.
Matt Scott and Nicholas Henderson were inspired, with Scott taking 2/21, while Henderson was unlucky not to take a wicket, finishing on 0/12 off seven overs.
Colts will be looking to avoid losing quick wickets this time around, as well as trying to push the pace.
Only Rhys Wagstaff has managed an average above 30 this season for Colts, with a large majority of his runs coming in his fantastic 103 against Clunes just two weeks ago.
That pales in comparison to Laane, who have four batsmen averaging above 30, including runaway competition-leading run-scorer Gohil, whose 558 runs is more than enough to comfortably take the batting title.
Where Colts could perhaps get Laane is with consistent line and length bowling.
They showed in the one-day final that good line and length can put their batting lineup under pressure, with a withering spell of bowling that probably would have yielded more than two wickets with a bit more luck.
Ben Stubbings and Scott will be asked to lead the line once again, having combined for 28 wickets this season, while Dayne Baker has been a welcome return to the lineup, taking 2/14 last week.
As ever, though, it’s a big ask to contend with Laane’s outstanding bowling line-up.
Although both teams are represented with three bowlers each in the top 10 wicket-takers for the season, where Laane have been able to prosper is using off-spin to slow down the run-rate, as well as take wickets at an economical pace. Competition-leading wicket-taker Gunn will be looking to seal the bowling title over the next two weeks, while Gohil will also be looking to add to his 11 wickets this season.