Lucindale 7/121 def. Rendelsham 10/117


The Lucindale Cricket Club are the first-time winners of the Dale Bateman Memorial Premiership Shield as they won the Millicent Naracoorte Cricket Association grand final at home against Rendelsham on Saturday.


The trophy honours the memory of the Furner sportsman, farmer and community worker who died last year.


It was presented post-match to winning skipper Nathan James by his children Jase Bateman and Tara Hetherington.


The minor premiers chased down the target of 117 with 6.1 overs remaining and three wickets in hand.


Although the final margin looked comfortable, the fortunes of the competing teams ebbed and flowed in the 38 degree heat.


Rendelsham has been the dominant club in the expanded competition in recent seasons having won the 2021/22 title and were runners-up in the past two seasons.


HOW THE GAME UNFOLDED


After five losses, visiting skipper Ayden Reid finally won the toss and had no hesitation in opting to bat.


The move appeared to backfire as he lost his vice-captain Jacob Carger on the third ball of the grand final for a duck.


Brandon Nicolle drew an edge from Carger’s bat and it was taken by Tom Fisher.


Fellow opener Ethan Bowman (15) and Reid (13) then steadied the ship with a partnership of 31 for the second wicket.


After this pair were dismissed, the rest of the top and middle order contributed little.


Daniel Lane snared the prize wickets of Jake Wight (10) and Tyson Smith (six) and the visitors crumbled to be 8/76.


It looked likely that Lucindale would be chasing a double-digit target.


However, Sam Thorn (top score of 27) and Sam Bell (14) were largely responsible for Rendelsham reaching 117 and giving their team a defendable tally.


James was the pick of the bowlers with 3/16 including the chief scorers of Reid, Bell and Thorn.


Nicolle and Lane also claimed three wickets apiece.


The notorious grand final wobbles also struck the Lucindale batsmen as their top order crumbled as well.


Wight dismissed openers Henry Tregoweth and Shane McGurk for ducks and Reid then claimed three scalps with the home team crashing to 5/38.


Drinks were taken after 20 overs with a near symmetrical equation in the score book.


Lucindale had lost half their wickets at the half-way point of the innings and had almost exactly reached the half-way mark of their target.


The decisive innings of the grand final was played by number four batsman Fisher.


While wickets fell around him, Fisher put his head down and wore down the Rendelsham attack by facing 78 deliveries.


He was there at the close on 45 (including three fours) and received great support from Daniel McCarthy (22), Smith (22) and Lane (12 not out).


The biggest partnership of the season decider was 37 for the seventh wicket between Fisher and Smith which took Lucindale from a precarious 6/65 to the relative safety of 7/102.


The final overs were tense with a difficult chance spilled in the outfield and Fisher surviving a confident appeal for a stumping by Dwayne Gray off Smith’s bowling.


In an unusual result for a Millicent Naracoorte Association match, no shots cleared the fence.


The large crowd in attendance were also told of the winners of the 2024/25 association trophies.