Barring an absolute miracle – Pakenham (8/135) will host Cardinia (115) in a cut-throat semi-final on March 12 after the Lions ground out a pressure-packed victory over the Bulls at Gunton Oval on Saturday.
The Lions would need to lose heavily – we’re talking massively – against Merinda Park this week, and the Bulls would need to inflict the same sort of damage on Cranbourne Meadows for the two teams to reverse their ladder positions.
But if this battle was anything to go by – no matter where the final is played – we’ve got an epic contest in the making.
Finals pressure, and tight bowling, can do amazing things during a game of cricket as the Lions and Bulls rediscovered on the weekend.
The sight of a finals scoreboard, the feeling of tension, the inability to take a deep breath…they’re all symptoms of a well-known pandemic…Pressure-22.
Saturday’s contest was the perfect pre-cursor to finals, with both teams struggling to break free against an equally-talented and equally committed opponent.
The Bulls, after winning the toss and sending the Lions into bat, struck early when Lions’ opener Rob Elston (0) tried to pull a shortish delivery from Dwayne Doig (1/18) – playing his first Premier Division game of the season – and the Lions were 1/0.
The Lions two best batters, skipper Dale Tormey (46) and Chris Smith (38), then rectified the early damage with a clearly best-of-the-day 85-run partnership.
Smith knocked one ball over the fence, but it was mainly hard work and finesse, and hitting the occasional bad ball to the fence that propelled the match-winning partnership.
But as quickly as the Lions were on top, they were behind the eight-ball again as the reigning premiers made their charge.
Lachlan (3/28) and Nathan Volpe (2/7) turned the game on its head with the Lions losing their grip – and 6/26 along the way – to bring the Bulls right back into the contest.
Tormey, Smith, Zac Chaplin (1), Sean Gramc (0), Jack Anning (1) and Jason Williams (17) were all back in the sheds in the equivalent of a blink of the eye.
It was only some late runs from Paddy Lawson (14) and Tom Brennan (9 not out) that saw the Lions post anything like a competitive score in the end.
But cricket is a funny game, and the Bulls copped a dose of their own medicine as the Lions bowled, fielded and defended on Gunton Oval as if their lives depended on it.
Lawson (1/27) struck early, removing the dangerous Alex Nooy (6), before Travis Wheller’s (8) horror run continued when he was run out by Elston.
The Lions had a sniff, and when Brennan (3/23) had Bulls’ skipper Jake Prosser (21) caught by Gramc, we were in for one hell of a contest.
The Lions just kept taking wickets at regular intervals, with Gramc (2/27 off 8) super-effective in the absence of Troy McDermott, while Jason Williams (2/13) bowled superbly during his six-over spell.
The Bulls were soon 7/82, with a 25-run stand – the highest of the innings – between Leigh Paterson (19) and Lachlan Volpe (12) giving them a glimmer of hope in the final overs.
But when Tormey (1/5) bowled Jack Bacon (1/5), the Lions had won a classic and basically locked away a home final.
It’s a great achievement from Pakenham, who never lost its confidence and belief after a 0-3 start to the season.
Just one more game to play…and then the fun stuff begins!
