By Jonty Ralphsmith
The sequel was better than the original.
It was 357 days prior when Triyan De Silva led Heinz Southern Districts to an upset win over Cranbourne in the corresponding fixture between the teams last season.
That was Cranbourne’s second consecutive semi final exit after the return of the Sweeney brothers, but lightning didn’t strike thrice.
A four-run final over win over HSD, which was 7/87, did as much to affirm, rather than dispel the narrative.
Debutant Ketan Bakshi was handed the ball for the final set of six rather than the experienced Tim Fathers or Marty Kelly.
A deceptive and loopy bowler who continued to hit his mark, he bowled two dots to start an over HSD needed only five off to reach the grand final.
That’s when panic set in, number nine Jett Kearney finding a gap at point, sprinting the first and trying to snatch a second on a slight miss-field.
The old adage rang true as he was run out clearly short of his ground.
HSD’s strong supporter base at KM Reedy Reserve, which mutually engaged in spirited banter with travelling Cranbourne supporters all day, was stunned still.
Cranbourne’s XII, which has seen much change in the last month, united, hugged, laughed, banged walls and screamed the team song.
The match was as much theatrically dramatic as it was a high-quality game of finals cricket.
The Cobras will reflect on certain moments feeling they lost their nerve yet knowing they were only in the game through several strokes of luck.
Cranbourne will know it should’ve been wrapped up much earlier as much as they’ll feel it a come-from-behind victory.
Just before Liam Jansen’s vital cameo came to an end as he ran past a Pete Sweeney spinner, HSD had two strong batters at the crease needing 10 off 18 with two wickets in hand.
Earlier, it was 24 off 31 with two set batters and three wickets in the shed.
Young teams have lapses.
Unfortunately for HSD, theirs came right when an experienced lineup provided a rare opening.
LATE FIGHTBACK
When Pete Sweeney took a low catch off his own bowling to dismiss Cobras skipper Craig Hookey, he tossed the ball in the air and celebrations echoed around the venue for Cranbourne as HSD knew it had seemingly lost control of the game.
Moments earlier, Kevin Seth had been run out as his partner took off for a suicidal single, the pressure biting a batting team behind the required run-rate.
Ryan Patterson, who hadn’t passed 20 in his previous 12 hits, was at the crease with Liam Jansen who has had limited opportunity with the bat this season.
In the last 10 overs, HSD needed to go at a run-rate of 6.8 to reach the grand final.
A stunning 33 runs off the next three overs made the equation manageable again.
Patterson started the onslaught against the undaunted Pete Sweeney, hitting him for four, straight over his head, and going square over the rope later in the over.
Facing debutant slow bowler Ketan Akshay, Patterson moved across his stumps to go into the vegetation over the square leg fence, and when Pete Sweeney returned he too was again dispatched – by Jansen.
In that three over period alone, two opportunities were grassed by Tim Fathers in the outfield off Akshay who was creating opportunities.
When Dean McDonell put down a chance in the deep not long later, the script seemed destined for a HSD win from nowhere.
“Nothing silly, boys,” screamed the Cobra players and support staff in the background, who all surrounded Eagles scorer Michael Hookey, head in hands.
Surely the curse wasn’t striking again?
“You’re out there and as a cricketer, you feel it in the crowd, when you’re watching games you know when it’s likely and unlikely and it’s the same on the ground,” Sweeney said.
“When Patterson got a hold of a few and Ketan was bowling, I knew the chances were going to come, and they did, and catches win matches and we dropped three catches which should have put the game away.
“You feel like you’ve lost the game and it’s déjà vu and now it’s over, I’m exhausted.”
Finally, with the run-rate required back at five, Jakeb Thomas was able to trap Ryan Patterson plumb in front.
By the time that happened, the partnership had been worth 52 and HSD was right back in it
Liam Jansen’s drive for four, the following over, was a sign of his fearless intent and the team’s fight.
When he was the ninth batter dismissed for a-run-a-ball 27, Cranbourne finally appeared on top again.
Pete Sweeney’s final over was a crucial wicket-maiden, heaping the pressure on Jett Kearney to make a decision about how to search for the 10 needed runs.
Take ownership or back Jordan Margenberg to survive and score?
Mick Sweeney had his own decisions to make, ultimately giving the ball to Pardeep Boyal for the penultimate over before Akshay repaid his faith in the final over, bowling two dots, inducing Kearney into fatally aggressive running on a slight miss-field.
“He’s a pretty confident cricketer, he’s really experienced, down from Sydney, knows what he’s doing,” Sweeney said.
“He knows what field he wanted.
“I was almost setting him a Pete-like field but he bowls them really differently, he told me what he wanted, he told me what he was going to bowl and when you get somebody with that amount of clarity you almost give it over to them and he executed.
“Didn’t miss. Fair play to him.
“Ketan had just created a few opportunities and bowled seven straight and I stood with Matt (Collett) and Pete (Sweeney) behind the stumps for a couple of minutes trying to make the call.
“Do we bring back Tim against batters who had already started going, and the decision was that Ketan was probably more likely to create the chance.
“We still thought at that point that we needed to bowl them out.
“They’re a confident enough side that they’re going to create something like they did in the end and Ketan could create the wicket for us.”
CRANBOURNE SET HSD 162
Both teams would’ve gone into the innings break satisfied but uncertain.
The HSD bowling attack was built around Triyan De Silva’s 6/22 as he bowled his best spell of the season.
Right-arm medium bowler Liam Jansen was the Sweeney killer, trapping Mick in front and getting Peter with one that bobbled up to the keeper.
Kevin Seth and spinner Jordan Margenberg were also solid as the visitors were unable to pigeon hole and go after a bowler.
Mick’s 39 was Cranbourne’s top score, as Peter (16), opener Dean McDonell (30) and finisher Matt Collett (17) all made contributions without playing the match-winning knock.
The frequent loss of wickets prohibited the Eagles from getting away, keeping the match in the balance.
“He’s the one that took the pace off the ball the most today, which invites you into scoring more than you can…he doesn’t really miss and the pitch was doing a bit, it was a bit up-and-down so he wasn’t easy to face,” Mick Sweeney said of Jansen, who got both Sweeney brothers.
Not too dissimilar a summation to the Cranbourne debutant.
He and 10 teammates may be lifting some silverware on Saturday.
BEACONSFIELD v LYNDALE
All season the question mark hanging over Beaconsfield has been whether the middle-order has enough spine to stand up to the pressure of finals.
In reaching 231 against Lyndale at Perc Allison Reserve on Saturday, with just 33 runs coming from the openers, the Tigers sent a message.
Not only that there’s reason to believe that a blemish at the top would prohibit a premiership, but also that they’ve got the batting talent to sustain competitiveness.
Riley Clark was the star of the innings with 75, but it was short of a match-winner, particularly playing a club containing arguably the biggest hitter in the competition.
Clark’s boundaries flowed while Ashan Madushanka rotated the strike nicely as they formed an important 98-run partnership, of which Madushanka contributed 42.
That allowed more expansive players Jesse Busacca, who has batted higher in recent weeks, and Michael Dunstan to capitalise on the foundation and catapult the score well north of 200 against a bowling attack that had no answers.
Facing a team accustomed to their home deck, Lyndale found scoring much harder than the Tigers and were on the back foot immediately after an inspired opening spell from Mitch Tielen reduced the visitors to 3/5.
Crucially, the performance has those middle-order batters primed against an Eagles bowling attack that will surely pose more questions next week.
TURF 3
Standouts Dandenong West and Coomoora proved their class on Saturday in out-muscling Fountain Gate and Springvale respectively.
Fountain Gate was sent in to bat first and was never able to insert itself into the contest thanks to a deep and cohesive bowling lineup.
Having seen off his first four overs, Nuwan Kulasekara claimed two wickets in his fifth over and it was only some gallant digging in from Raveen Kadirahettiarachchi and Mustaffa Waseem which got Fountain Gate to 104.
Dandy West reached the total three down with Nathan Power putting 48 on the board.
At Coomoora, the Roos bowlers put Springvale on the back foot by dismissing batting protagonists Nuwan Mendis and Pasindu Madushan for 20 and 0 respectively.
That had the visitors at 4/46 and the middle order was unable to rebound as Malan Madusanka and Michael Klonaridis sustained the pressure after the early strikes.
At 2/109, chasing 139, with Lance Baptist punishing Springvale’s attack, the Roos looked to be cruising, but his dismissal for 60 started a collapse.
Andy O’Meara’s men lost 5-17 before a 13-run partnership between Liam Hard and Nick Lloyd guided a nervy Coomoora to a three-wicket win.
