Broadford could not have asked for a better finish to its debut Gisborne and District Cricket Association season, winning all but one Johnstone Shield match since the Christmas break.
Facing Wallan at Greenhill Reserve for the final round of the regular season on Saturday, Broadford played some impressive cricket to come home with a 7/185 to 7/181 victory and end on top of the ladder.
The result means Broadford will benefit from a home ground advantage in the coming weeks as the finals matches get underway.
Coach and co-captain Gareth Sharp said Broadford had entered the match aware of the finals implications, as the two sides sat first and second on the ladder.
“We knew it was a big game being the last game against Wallan, as it was going to show us where we were at come the end of the season,” he said.
“We’ve been in good touch, so we went there pretty confident in our own abilities to get the job done.”
Wallan won the toss and elected to bat first for the one-day match, with openers Jack Mifsud and Spencer Whittingham getting the ball rolling on 51 and 57 runs respectively.
It wasn’t until a stellar unassisted run out on Whittingham by young gun Riley Nolan that Broadford truly entered the game, after which wickets began to fall as Wallan’s heavy hitters were eliminated before they could get a foot in.
Bryan Vance and Matthew Clayton were eliminated for 14 and 28 respectively, with none of the remaining batsmen able to score more than eight runs apiece before the end of 40 overs.
“It’s something we’ve been trying to work on all year in training, just how one brilliant bit from one person can change the flow of the game,” Sharp said.
“Wallan probably thought they were going to make 200-plus, and they would have deserved it after how they started, but we were able to tie them down and take crucial wickets.”
At the end of the day Riley had taken three wickets and made 53 runs, while Joshua Nolan also impressed with a respectable 41 – the pair Broadford’s top two run scorers on Saturday.
Braden Hickey also took two wickets, while Wallan’s bowling effort was headed by Campbell Fowler with three wickets and Scott O’Donnell on two.
Semi-finals will kick off this weekend, where Kilmore – who managed to sneak into finals because of East Sunbury’s loss to Aintree on Saturday – will travel to play Broadford.
Meanwhile, Wallan will host third-place finisher Aintree. Wallan has played Aintree twice this season and won on both occasions.
McIntyre Cup
In the only two-day match of the season’s final round, Romsey once again got off to a flying start against last-placed Diggers Rest Bulla Village at home.
Bowling first, Romsey eliminated the visitors for 222 in 68 overs thanks to two wickets apiece from Aaron Paterson, Daniel Paterson, and Jamie Taylor.
Openers Matthew Milne and Jed Richardson then took to the bat for the Redbacks and finished the day on 26 not out and 42 not out respectively.
Jensen Shield
Two Lancefield teams made a charge for the finals in the Jensen Shield competition; however, both came up short in Saturday’s semi-finals.
The firsts endured a hard-fought match against Aintree but ultimately lost 7/252 to 8/270, despite good batting from Joel Regan, 76, Mark Caton 53, and Harvey Lehner, 42 not out. Regan also took three wickets on the day.
Lancefield’s thirds shared a similar fate, instead going down against Melton South 5/278 to 10/142.
The Tigers struggled for big run counts against the division’s top-placed side, however their bowlers still put up a fight with three wickets from Dylan Mallia-Hogan and two from Lancefield football coach Tim Bannan.
Lancefield did, however, have a strong season and finished fourth on both the firsts and thirds ladders.
