As the run to the inaugural Millicent and Naracoorte Cricket Association finals series approaches, each game carries more weight and the bowlers controlled the 11th round of action on Saturday.

The highlight was a low-scoring thriller between Lucindale and Robe where the home side’s tail wagged and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Robe padded up first and found scoring tricky from the get-go.

Michael McGurk was metronomic with the new Kookaburra picking up 3/13 from his six overs. Steady partnerships increased the total beyond 50 as Robe aimed to post a defendable score.

But Robe’s hopes were shattered by Sam Graetz.

Graetz was on fire with the ball tearing through the lower order to finish with the crazy figures if 4/6 from three devastating overs.

His demolition job left Robe with the under-par score of 106 to defend, but gave it everything with the ball and a classic contest was the result.

The early wickets of Nathan James and Graetz gave Robe plenty of, but at the other end youngster Will Graetz threatened to steal the game.

The opener showed no mercy on his way to a critical 38 to push the scoreboard up to a comfortable 3/67.

However, his wicket sparked a mini collapse which derailed Lucindale’s run chase.

Six wickets fell for 27 runs and suddenly Lucindale’s number eight and nine batters were forced to find a way to stop the rot.

Fortunately Brandon Nicolle and Matt Winslow shined under pressure and secured a tense two-wicket win.

Mount Burr’s victory over Beachport/Furner saw a similar amount of runs scored, but the winners controlled the contest from ball one.

A trio of wickets from Nathan Muhovics and Jack Francis meant Beachport/Furner could never break free despite batting the full 40 overs with only 9/98 on the scoreboard, which was no match for Mount Burr.

Jordan and Nathan Muhovics were in fine form to secure the eight-wicket win in style.

Rendelsham went big with the bat on a tough-day for run scoring to setup the win over Millicent.

A number of solid contributions pushed Rendelsham to an imposing 6/194 from 40 overs.

Sam Hunt was expensive, but was the only bowler able to take multiple wickets with 3/41.

In a topsy-turvy run chase Millicent had its moments, but a couple of bursts of wickets brought its hopes undone.

Millicent’s hopes rested on the shoulders of Jacob Todd, who was in fine form with the willow scoring a well-made 60.

At 2/90, Millicent would have been confident of victory, but a mini middle order collapse swung the momentum.

Despite the scoreboard reading 6/120, Kobe Gibson’s 28 provided some hope during a stand which reduced the deficit to 43.

But Rendelsham won the game in dramatic fashion taking the last four wickets for nine runs.