By Hayley Wildes
WGCA SUB-DISTRICT DIVISION
REVIEW – SEMI-FINALS
Lang Lang, after pinching top spot in the final round of the season, was unable to defend its total against Pakenham Upper/Toomuc.
The Tigers, playing at home, won the toss and elected to bat. After opener Hayden Laidlaw (13) fell – trapped in front by Ryan De Reus (2/20) – Lang Lang found themselves at 1/13.
Solid contributions from Jess Grima (42) and Nathan Phillips (27) steadied the innings, but the middle order failed to fire as Brian Kulasena (2/26) and Nicholas Kyval (3/38) took key wickets.
Chris Brew (42) came in down the order and played a stirring knock to help Lang Lang post a defendable total of 9/175 (declared) in 72 overs.
In reply, the Yabbies were in strife early as opener Justin Harris (0) fell for a duck and Nicholas Kyval (2) didn’t do much better. At 2/13, Pakenham Upper/Toomuc needed a partnership to release some pressure and that’s exactly what they got.
Sahan Wijeratne (55) combined with skipper John Nooy (32) for a match-defining 70-run partnership. When Nooy was dismissed, the Yabbies stood at 3/83 and it was Brian Kulasena’s (46) middle order masterclass that got the team home.
The Yabbies reached the required runs in 77 overs, for the loss of eight wickets.
Meanwhile, Kooweerup travelled to Catani and can thank their bowlers for a performance that earned them a grand final berth.
The Demons won the toss, elected to bat and got off to a truly disastrous start. Daniel Glover (2/12) delivered a brutal opening spell to dismiss Paul Bright (0) and Andrew Martin (0) before Kooweerup had even got on the board.
Things got even worse for the Demons when Daniel Tannahill (4) headed back to the sheds with the scorecard reading 3/6.
Slowly but surely Kooweerup went about rebuilding the innings and courtesy of middle order contributions from skipper and club president Matt Davey (40), and Shaun Donnelly (36), the Demons reached triple figures.
Dustin Peebles (3/40) was in fine form for the Cats as they restricted the Demons to just 139.
In reply, Catani also struggled mightily with the bat. At 3/30, things weren’t looking good and as Paul Bright (3/13) took over, the Cats continued to fall cheaply. Liam Adams (36) tried to steady the ship for Catani, but Kooweerup kept claiming wickets to stunningly have the Cats all out for just 123 – 17 runs short of victory.
