Scorchers To Tackle Vikings

Weekend Wrap – Semi Finals

Men’s Grand Finalists Confirmed After Big Weekend of Semi Finals

The men’s two day semi finals promised great matches, and they didn’t disappoint! After two terrific days of cricket, the Sunshine Coast and Norths came out victors and will play off in a grand final across the two coming weekends at Allan Border Field.

At Ken Emery Oval, the Scorchers won the toss and sent Ipswich into bat. Needing a win to progress to the final, the lower ranked Hornets set out with an aggressive approach. Despite a fast start from Bryn Llewellyn (18 off 23), Scorchers opener Nick Fletcher (1/57) was able to break through in the 8th over. 

From there, it was all about the competitions leading wicket taker Chad Soper. Soper (6/70) seamed his way through the Ipswich middle order in what was a masterclass of medium pace. Soper combined with Zac Murray (3/23) who was also relentless in line and length.

To highlight the Scorchers dominance with the ball, only Harry Wood (67 off 71) faced more than 30 balls for the Hornets. Soper then caught the edge of Wood to have the Hornets 6/173 and start a collapse of 5/21. Ipswich all out 194. 

The Hornets came out full of energy and saw early reward to have the Scorchers 2/18. Another two wickets left the Scorchers 4/96 and gave the Hornets a real burst of energy. However, Zak Willox (62 off 117) and Tom Engelbrecht (52 off 113) dug in and slowly turned momentum. As the ball softened and wicket flattened, the Scorchers kept chipping away and were soon all but at the score. Willox fell within 9 runs of the score, but Engelbrecht was able to still see them win on first innings comfortably.   

Then, just as it did for Ipswich, the Sunshine Coast’s tail collapsed to go from 6/201 to all out 219. After looking out of the game entirely, the Hornets were all of sudden in the game for a reverse outright. 

Needing quick runs to set a score and then attempt to bowl the Scorchers out, the Hornets batted very aggressively. Despite some lusty blows, the Scorchers knew they had the first innings sealed and were able to keep composure. Medium pace duo Zac Murray (7/46) and Chad Soper (3/63) again dominated to leave the Hornets all out 136. Not one over of spin was bowled by the Scorchers all weekend.

Chasing 111 to win, the Scorchers were coasting at 0/44 before losing 4/6 and the game being back in contention. Despite the wobble, Engelbrecht (38 off 38), Willox (33 off 37) and Nick Fletcher (25* off 31) were able to see their side home 5/112 and officially book a spot in the grand final.

At Ken Mackay Oval, Norths won the toss and sent the minor premiers Toombul into bat. The start of the match couldn’t have gone much better for Norths, collecting the competitions leading run scorer across all formats, Addy Grewal, for nought. Toby Snell then fell to have Toombul 2/5. 

After Joe Cotgreave (24 off 62) started to build an innings for Toombul, Norths threw the ball to Connor Carroll for a few mystery medium pacers before lunch. The move turned out a masterstroke, Carroll trapping Cotgreave in front to leave Toombul 4/50. With the matches momentum, Norths bowlers Sam Neale (2/34), Marcus Bean (2/41), Blake Maher (2/45) and Alex Procopis (2/8) each rotated through and saw reward, Toombul reeling at 8/104.

The home side needed a player to stand up, and that’s what Tom Balkin (44* off 120) did. Known for his fast bowling, Balkin came in at 7 and was unphased in the face of huge pressure from the reigning premiers. He settled into a 40 run partnership with Ronan McDonald (15 off 44) as they build a score that was becoming defendable. Former Norths player Connor Sully (23 off 16) then came to the crease and hit his former team mates for two massive sixes, pushing the Toombul score to 174 before he was bested by Neale. While it wasn’t the score Toombul would have been after, it was going to have to be enough.

Norths saw through to stumps without losing a wicket and resumed on Sunday morning 0/47. The next day, Toombul soon found their rhythm and very quickly had Norths 3/58 as Tom Balkin (3/60) transferred his form with the bat to the ball. Skipper Daniel Cranitch (1/32) brought himself into the attack and took the big scalp of Blake Maher (20 off 24), who looked in a mood to take the game away quickly. 

Connorr Carroll and Scott Palombo were then both dismissed by Connor Sully (2/35), the contest well and truly alive. On their home deck, Toombul looked poised to take the game away as they had Norths in huge trouble at 6/97. Norths seasoned campaigner Kendel Fleming (22 off 36) looked set to steer his side home before Toombul were again able to strike, Norths 7/130. With 3 wickets to win for Toombul and 45 runs to win for Norths, it was game on. 

Flashback to two seasons ago, Norths were in a similar position in a semi final against eventual premiers Redlands. Chasing Redlands 221, Norths fell 10 runs short as the pressure of the chase proved too much for the lower order. In that game, Rav Srivastava top scored and Sam Neale (pictured above) almost dragged his side to victory, but both were unable to convert as they fell short. 

Two years later, both players were presented the opportunity again. Rav Srivastava (45* off 96) absorbed the immense pressure from Toombul. Hitting only 3 boundaries, Srivastava was happy to knock the ball around and play the percentages. Sam Neale (21* off 37) played much the same and happily supported the approach. 

Together, they worked the ball around and prevented giving any opportunities to Toombul. With only three runs to win, Neale decided to clear the front leg and launch a six off Preston White to win. Norths 7/177 def Toombul 174. 

A terrific game of cricket fitting of a semi final, well played to both sides. 

Norths will now play in their second consecutive two day grand final.