East Gambier has booked itself a spot in the Dycer Constructions Big Bash final after a win over North Gambier on Sunday.
North faced East at home knowing this was its final T20 match of the season having not won enough games to qualify for the grand final.
North won the toss and put the pressure straight on East by sending them in to bat, and it did not take long for North to find the first breakthrough.
Dion Stratford was caught by Harry Fisher for Isaac Mulraney’s first wicket of the day, not long after Mathew Robinson dismissed Zach Jones for three reducing East to 2/7.
Losing both the opening batsmen cheaply, East required its batsmen to steady the ship and they tried their best, but North only went a few more overs before it found the next breakthrough.
East’s Alex Hentschke was unable to get himself in with the bat when Mitch Lewis got the better of him, Hentschke departed for seven with his side in a bit of trouble at 3/18.
Emerson Marks was joined by Jake Wright at the crease and the pair put the pressure back on North, getting their side to 3/40.
Just as East seemed to be getting ahead of North they found another wicket, Marks bowled by Robinson.
Marks’ wicket was a big one for North as he just seemed to get settled at 17 and could have done some real damage in the back half of the innings.
Leigh Von Duve and Jake Wright built a solid partnership in the middle order but again North didn’t let East get away from them, dismissing both in quick succession for 15 and 12 respectively.
East was in trouble at 6/68 with a below 100 score a real possibility, which would be a tough task for its bowlers to defend.
The wicket of Ben Hentschke reduced East to 7/78 and then two runouts within quick succession was a disaster for East, with North only needing one wicket to bowl them all out.
Liam Turley teamed up with James Sullivan to add some handy runs for a last wicket partnership, helping East get to 101.
Turley was bowled by McInerney in the 19th over to finish East’s innings. Marks was top scorer with 17 and all North bowlers contributed with a wicket including two each for Mulraney, Robinson and Lewis.
Needing just over five an over, North was in the box seat, while East had a fantastic bowling attack all North needed to do was hold its nerve and find the boundary occasionally.
East started its defence of the batting total brilliantly in what was a disaster for North.
Alex Hentschke opened the bowling and caught Mitch Lewis lbw in the fist over and 1/0 would become 2/0 a couple of balls later when Elliot Fisher was bowled by Hentschke.
Harry Fisher and Nick McInerney then batted in a crucial partnership, as they steadied their team after an incredibly shaky start.
They scored a 39-run partnership as they looked to recover North from the awful start.
Ben Hentschke proved the breakthrough for East taking the wicket of McInerney – and when there’s one there’s two with Fisher following for 24 not long after. East had fought back well with North 4/45.
The wicket of Nick Copping for a duck reduced the side even further to 5/45.
After the initial fight-back from North, East had managed to get itsellf right back in the game.
Ben Hentscke’s second wicket was the crucial wicket of Isaac Mulraney for three, with East’s bowlers not giving North anything and the pressure building on North’s batsmen.
A disastrous collapse from North’s middle order had the side lose 4/8.
Mathew Robinson and Thomas Madigan tried to settle the batting side, but as the wickets had come the scoring had dried up, meaning they were faced with increasingly tough scoreboard pressure.
Their partnership only added 15 to North’s total when Madigan was bowled by Sullivan being replaced by Nicholas Mark at the crease, but he did not last long.
At 9/67 North was in big trouble after a good fight back from McInerney and Fisher, still requiring 34 with only one wicket in hand they needed a big partnership from their 10th wicket.
Alex Hentscke secured the win for East, bowling Robinson for five, with North all out for 72 and falling 30 runs short of the win after a horrible start.
It was a good fighting win from East that will fill them with confidence before next Friday’s grand final where they will face a yet to be decided team which relies on the results of tonight’s two matches.
