BARHAM-Koondrook have taken another big step towards locking away their first SHDCA finals appearance with a dominant seven-wicket win over Woorinen on Saturday afternoon.
With just 12 points separating second and seventh on the ladder, the fight for a spot in the top four appears set to go right down to the wire, with the Raiders win over the Tigers seeing them climb from fifth to third.
As good as the result was for Barham-Koondrook and their finals aspirations, it was in equal parts disappointing for Woorinen, who could have locked away a finals berth with a win on the weekend.
Instead, the Tigers will now face an anxious wait as they sit on the sidelines this weekend with the bye, before taking RSL at Gurnett Oval in the final home and away round of the season.
Saturday’s performance was one that had been building for the Raiders, who have shown patches of brilliance mixed in with average batting since the Christmas break, with co-captain Jayden Hall full of praise for his teams endeavour on the weekend.
“It was probably our best performance of the year when you take into account all three facets of the game,” Hall said post-match.
“I thought we fielded well, I thought we batted really well and bowled exceptionally.
“It was big win in the context of our season and one we had to have just to get onto level pegging with them (Woorinen) and get ourselves up to equal second.
“It keeps our future in our own hands and that’s all we can ask for.”
After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Tigers found themselves in early trouble, with tight bowling from Garry Lolicato (3-32 off 16 overs) and Chameera Akurugoda (0-19 off nine overs) not only keeping Woorinen’s usually attacking brand of cricket at bay, but also creating early wickets.
The key wicket of Dean Morpeth (17) was the first to fall with the score on 20, before Jackson Hughes (5) and Frank Violi (9) both departed to leave Woorinen at 3-32 in the 18th over.
Regular wickets continued to fall for the Tigers, with Guri Singh (29) the only batter to offer any resistance, as Warren Lolicato (4-11 off eight overs), Hall (2-21 off 11.4 overs) and Garry Lolicato continued to keep the runs from flowing, with Woorinen eventually dismissed for 110 in the 49th over.
“I think we only had one bowler go for more than two runs an over, which is pretty good considering the quality and depth of Woorinen’s batting,” Hall said.
“‘Waz’ (Warren Lolicato) was exceptional and really tore through them, but everyone that bowled all bowled really well and stuck to our plan.
“When we bowl as we did that’s when we play our best cricket and we’ll be trying to replicate that for the rest of the season now.
“They (Woorinen) have their brand of cricket, but we knew how we wanted to play and and we executed it really well.”
While the Raiders bowlers did their job, the challenge was always going to be chasing down Woorinen’s total, especially following on from the Raiders capitulation with the bat seven days earlier against St. Mary’s-Tyntynder.
There would be no repeat this weekend however as Warren Lolicato ensured he walked away as the games most dominant player for the day, blasting an unbeaten 66 from just 71 deliveries.
Although Lolicato would prove to be the hero, he was ably supported by youngster Kynan Laursen (11 from 62 balls), as well as openers Lance Davidson (17) and brother Garry Lolicato (14).
“We made a big change and pushed ‘Gaz’ (Garry Lolicato) up to open the batting this week,” Hall said.
“I guess if you look at the breakdown of our opening partnerships throughout the season, we thought it was an area we needed to strengthen, so we put one of our better batters up there and he and Lance got us away to a flyer.
“Warren (Lolicato) batted really well also and scored with freedom, which allowed Kynan (Laursen) to play that anchor role, which was really important.
“It (Laursen’s innings) might not look great in the scorebook in terms of strike rate and runs scored, but his innings was super important to making sure we continued to build partnerships, because we have lost wickets in clumps in previous games and that’s what has cost us a few wins.”
While there were very highlights from a Woorinen perspective, the one shining light was the A grade debut of Aarav Brar, the son of veteran Guri Singh, who despite his young age didn’t look out of place and appears to be a player of the future for the Tigers.
