The two leading Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association Twenty20 sides of recent times were surprisingly knocked out of the 2020-21 season during the final round last Thursday.
South and West Gambier have contested the previous two South Aussie Big Bash T20 Cup finals, but could not make it past the minor-round season this summer.
The Demons travelled to McCorquindale Park and could not overcome Penola in a winner-takes-all Pool 1 clash. The Eagles enjoyed the early advantage after winning the toss and openers Jake Schulz and Jack Mullan pushed the total to 37.
Led by captain James Dunn, South hit back to put Penola in a tricky position at 5/80 with eight overs to go. But Joshua Doyle found his touch and struck 36 important runs in partnerships with Michael Waters and Bradley Merrett.
Although Robert Drenthen claimed three late wickets to draw level with Dunn, the Eagles flew into the change of innings with the momentum after scoring 8/149. Waters then struck with the new ball in the second over before Mullan’s leg-spin flipped the game around.
The chinaman bowler claimed two wickets in as many balls and South failed to recover. Daniel Loupos, Jakob Opie and Nick Seager were the only Demons to reach double figures as the visitors fell 46 runs short of victory.
Mullan (4/16) and Waters (3/25) did the damage to bring South’s quest for three-straight T20 titles to an end. The other Pool 1 game was another must-win battle and East Gambier overcame Millicent with just one ball to spare at Scott Park. Missing both Hentschke brothers, the Bulldogs’ new-look opening combination Kev Thomson and Travis Younghusband both picked up an early wicket each.
Liam Turley also fired up with two scalps and the home side sat pretty with Millicent at 5/56. But thanks to a 52-run stand between Jack Francis (29) and Jake Wight (27), Millicent progressed to a fighting position.
However, the hosts brought the innings to a crashing end. Millicent entered the final over with hope at 7/123, but Thomson’s off-spin plus Emerson Marks’ fielding prowess combined to create a team hat-trick.
East entered its pursuit of 129 with a mountain of confidence and opener Leigh Von Duve dominated the 37-run opening partnership with a series of flowing drives through cover.
But he tried one drive too many and was caught by Wight for 32. After the dangerous Dion Stratford and Tom O’Connor both fell in quick succession, Millicent sensed an opportunity, but Marks and Thomson stood firm.
The pair hit the Bulldogs out of danger and closed in on the win with a 47-run union. However, two late wickets brought the game to life and left East with the uncomfortable equation of 11 runs to win from the last six balls.
In the end, Thomson rose to the occasion, striking eight runs from the first three deliveries before Connor Little hit the winning runs with five wickets in hand.
Thomson finished his fine display in style with an unbeaten 30 to sit proudly alongside his personal-best figures of 4/14. The final Pool 2 games were not as closely contested.
The Roos had to overcome an undefeated North Sportsman’s outfit at Marist Park to keep their finals hopes alive. But Tigers’ opener Jake Schutz smashed all of West’s dreams away during a destructive 71.
In his most convincing innings of the season, Schutz struck almost every ball with disdain. His opening partner Nick McInerney was also in an aggressive frame of mind and flew to 40 with three sixes.
But the North captain was forced to depart after he was caught by Kyal Chapman on the deep-cover boundary, which was correctly predicted by an optimistic Niall Easterbrook.
The breakthrough did little to slow down the ‘Tiger Train’ which steamrolled to 4/158 after Elliott Fisher chipped in with 20 not out.
After Declan Kenny and Tim Young both claimed wickets with the new ball, the Roos’ run chase was destined for disaster. A three-wicket spell from Isaac Mulraney left the visitors reeling at 5/47, while West captain Sam Willis fought valiantly for his team with 39.
Fisher completed his all-round effort with three wickets as North knocked over the Roos for 99 to complete a perfect pool campaign.
Mil Lel had little trouble sealing a finals berth with a six-wicket win over the MGDCA side. The young team won the toss and elected to bat, but did not anticipate a delightful spell by Carey Megaw with the new ball.
After sneaking through the defences of Ethan Bowman and extracting the leading edge of Harry Fisher, Megaw had his tail up. The right-arm swing bowler was convinced he was going to score a maiden hat-trick, only for the yorker to snake past the narrow gap between Jacob Todd’s pads and the leg stump.
Despite the near miss, Megaw finished with 4/8 as MGDCA slipped to 6/28. Some leg-side swipes by Ryan Kuhl and Curt Evans gave the young team something to cheer about during a challenging innings of 72.
Three early wickets gave MGDCA a glimmer of hope, but the slim target was never enough as Darcy Williamson’s 26 not out guided Mil Lel home.
Both semi-finals – Penola v Mil Lel and North Sportsman’s v East Gambier – will take place at Frew Park on Sunday, February 14 before the decider later on the same evening.
