After a great weekend of finals cricket the stage is set for top side West Gambier to play third placed North Sportsman’s in the Mount Gambier and Districts Cricket Association Barber Shield grand final at Frew Park this weekend.
West Gambier v Mil Lel
In the first semi final of the Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association Barber Shield West Gambier came away with a big win over Mil Lel on Saturday and Sunday at Malseed Park and punched its ticket into the grand final.
The day started with West winning the toss and electing to bat.
Mil Lel started the day hot, getting both West openers Justin De Jong and Nuwan Gunawardana out before they could cause any damage.
Mil Lel Skipper Jack Miller led by example and claimed the first wicket of the day, dismissing Gunawardana in the second over.
De Jong did not last much longer as he fell for 11 in the fifth over.
After a shaky start West Gambier’s Jayden Prior came in and brought the Roos back into the game, making 40 off 54 before falling to Craig Hicks.
Samuel Coxon could not get anything working during his innings, only making three off 21 before getting out to Toby Grigg.
In the middle of the batting order, West struggled to put up runs as Sam Willis fell on one and Bray Stephenson for two.
West was beginning to fall apart before Sujith Nikethana came in and stepped up, putting the Roos back on track.
Nikethana spanked the ball around the park, making 114 off 123, including hitting 13 fours.
He fell late in the innings, being run out.
Nikethana’s batting partner Jack Geddes put up a great performance in his innings, facing 112 balls and making a patient 49 runs during his time at the crease.
Late in West’s innings Shane De Jong came in and made some quick runs, smashing 19 off 10 balls before getting out and ending the Roos’ batting innings.
West finished all out for 292 with Sujith Nikethana and Jack Geddes making the majority of the runs.
For Mil Lel Nick Walters and Craig Hicks both took three wickets in the innings.
Mil Lel headed in to bat to close out the day, but did not start off well and finished with 4/15.
Ty Dinnison and Toby Grigg started day two at the crease for Mil Lel, but they could not get anything going. Grigg only made eight runs and Dinnison contributed 17 before his wicket fell.
Darcy Williamson made a start for Mil Lel, scoring 13 before being dismissed by Bray Stephenson.
William Rowland struggled at the crease, facing 11 balls before getting caught on five.
The rest of the batting order continued to struggle with skipper Jack Miller falling on seven.
Oliver McCracken could only make one before getting out with Archer Virtanen finishing not out with 0 runs.
Mil Lel could only make 70 runs before being bowled out with Ty Dinnison making the most runs for Mil Lel with 17.
Sam Willis came up big for West, claiming five wickets in the innings.
East Gambier v North Sportsman’s
North Sportsman’s recorded a hard fought win over East Gambier at the Kennel in the Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association Barber Shield semi final on Saturday and Sunday.
North Sportsman’s began the day winning the toss and electing the bat.
North’s openers Alex Hutton and Brad Robinson started the day steady with Hutton making 18 off 44 and Robinson contributing 30 off 100.
After Hutton and Robinson’s dismissal North struggled to make any big runs, with Michael Johnston facing 34 balls before getting caught on 10.
Elliot Fisher had an unlucky day as he faced only five balls before he was caught for a duck.
Nick McInerney lasted 64 balls but struggled to make many runs at the crease, falling on 11.
This brought Mitchell Lewis to the crease next and he set about getting North back on track, hitting six fours and making 52 runs off 115 before being caught.
Besides from Lewis, North struggled to make many runs.
Nicolas Brown faced 17 balls but was out for a duck, while Isaac Mulraney chipped in four and Declan Kenny could only make five.
Thomas Madigan was out for a golden duck and Tim Young finished not out with three runs.
North Sportsman’s finished all out for 139 with Mitchell Lewis making 52 and Brad Robinson making 30.
Ben Hentschke had a big performance with the ball, claiming four wickets in the innings.
The Doggies headed into bat to close out the day, finishing day one at 2/11.
On day two Ben Hentschke and Connor Little started the day at the crease for East.
The two struggled with Hentschke only making one run and Little contributing two.
The next two batters for East lasted a while at the crease but struggled to put many runs on the board.
Emerson Marks made seven off 46 before getting caught and Alex Hill chipped in 17 off 54 balls.
Dion Stratford brought some life back into East as he made 41 runs before being bowled by Isaac Mulraney.
Another big run scorer for East was Alex Hentschke who put in a good effort with the bat making 36 off 69.
No one else for East made any more runs as they finished the innings all out for 126 with Dion Stratford making 41 and Alex Hentschke 36.
Nick McInerney had a great innings, claiming five wickets and Tim Young and Declan Kenny both picking up two.
It was a big win for North as it was only the second team to beat East at Allan Scott Park this season.
