As the juniors prepare to get stuck into the first round of finals in the Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association, some of the best in the region are in strong form after the Burdon and Kerr Shields wrapped up on Sunday.

The Limestone Coast was littered with representative cricket with four games being played throughout the region and some put their names up in lights and sent warning messages ahead of finals.

Playing on home turf at Malseed Park, the Mount Gambier Burdon Shield side showed no mercy against Naracoorte.

A wicket on the third ball of Robert Case’s spell set the tone of the day as the hosts swarmed over the visitors with tight lines and lengths.

Naracoorte was once travelling at the solid score of 2/53 before the wickets tumbled.

Only one batter could score with freedom as Mount Gambier cut through the visitors taking 8/26.

Tyler Rothall and Zach Shanks were the chief destroyers taking three wickets each.

Chasing the meagre total of 80 was never going to be an issue for the home team, but Naracoorte made some small impacts in the second innings.

Case was run out after scratching out none runs from his 29-ball stay, while Jayden Prior fell almost instantly.

Despite the scare, a strong 37-run stand between Angus Clarke (44) and Elwood Geary (25) sealed the eight-wicket win.

Millicent and Tatiara faced off in a far more intriguing battle at McCorqiundale Park.

In a low-scoring encounter Millicent batted first, but struggled to capitalise on the scoreboard.

Ashton Lindner was in a league of his own in the top order standing firm as his partners all fell for single-figure scores.

But once Lindner fell for 34, Millicent was at major risk of crumbling for a low score after losing five for 10 and slumping to 8/65.

But Cambell Hateley rallied with the tail and scored 25 runs off 30 balls.

The last two wickets put on 42 runs for the final two wickets to push the total up to a defendable 107.

The wagging tail ended up being the difference as Tatiara crept slowly towards the target and created a nail-biting finish.

The run chase started poorly after Eli Hunter and Sam Hunt took combined figures of 7/14 from 14 overs.

At 6/45 Tatiara was on the ropes until William Harvey resurrected the innings with his 39.

But the return of Hunter saved the day for Millicent and sealed the 14-run win.

Tatiara’s Kerr Shield team also fell agonizingly short of victory in a competitive fixture with Naracoorte at Willalooka Oval.

Batting first Tatiara found itself in early trouble at 4/61 after Naracoorte got the new ball talking.

The batting side managed to find a response through Archie Nutt (49*) who with support of Cooper Jolly pushed the team to a more respectable score of 4/134.

Despite not holding the momentum at the innings break, Naracoorte’s top order got stuck into the chase and found itself at the stronghold of 2/64.

Max Johnston was metronomic with the ball taking 1/9 from seven overs as Tatiara started to eat into Naracoorte’s middle order to make the game interesting.

However, Naracoorte escaped jail to win by seven wickets after their last two stands put on 40 valuable runs.

Rivals Millicent and Mount Gambier Blue locked horns at McLaughlin Park.

The game promised so much, but the home side eventually crumbled under the visitor’s pressure.

Despite Cruz Gibson and Ryder Lindner getting starts, the likes of Jaggar Geary, Preston Lydeamore and Kade Mulraney kept pegging them back.

Millicent managed to get rolled for 110 in an innings which included four ducks.

It proved to be an under-par score as the Blue Lake team cruised home by nine wickets led by Geary’s 35.

Many of the stars who competed in the Burdon and Kerr Shields will be looking to chase more glory in this weekend’s semi-finals.

Millicent appears to be the team to beat in the O’Donohue Shield and will meet East/North Gambier in the semi-final which only just scraped into the final four.

The other contest between South Gambier and Penola/Millicent shapes up to be a tight battle after both sides finished with near identical win-loss records.

Millicent also topped the Under 14’s and 12’s ladders and has high hopes of taking some silverware.

In the Hall Trophy the minor premiers will be expected to overcome West Gambier, while little separates Mil Lel and Penola/Naracoorte.

What was once a fight between 12 teams for the Sims Shield is now down to four and its hard to pick an overwhelming favoruite.

Only one win split the top four on the ladder and Millicent hopes its more consistent approach makes a difference against North Sportsman’s.

The economical South Gambier Maroon fell just short of the minor premiership and hopes to secure a Grand Final berth against Mount Burr.