Penola 118 d/w West Gambier 118
A FIVE wicket haul from West Gambier’s Lachlan Brown, which resulted in a nail-biting tie against Penola on Saturday, handed the Roos a Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association Barber Shield home semi-final.
The tight bowling from the youngster allowed West to bounce back into a game that was swinging in the Eagles’ favour.
Penola bowled out the Roos for a meagre 118 runs last weekend and needed to reach just 119 from 80 overs to take second position on the ladder and a home semi-final.
However, a dismal effort with the bat and tight bowling from West, denied Penola the home-ground advantage.
The Roos’ skipper Niall Easterbrook led by example when he caught and bowled Jack Schulz for four runs in the opening over of the day.
Just three overs later Brown took his first of five when he sent Jack Mullan back to the sidelines for five runs.
Penola captain Jase Bateman and David Somerfield entered the contest in hope to steady the ship.
The duo batted out 10 overs, but tight bowling from West made runs hard to come by.
Somerfield reached 10 runs before his time at the crease was shortened by Brown, while the skipper reached six runs before he was caught by Ben Hentschke off the bowling of youngster Josh Cornolo.
Penola was 4/27 after 23 overs and the likelihood of a home final was slipping through its fingers.
George Kidman gave the Eagles hope of some quick runs with a big six, but Hentschke soon cut his time short.
Kidman contributed just eight and his wicket opened up an opportunity for Mark Smith to save the day.
March and Smith played a patient game and put the momentum back into Penola’s camp.
But West still had a glimmer of hope and another wicket to Brown put the game in harm’s way for the Eagles.
Smith was caught behind by Blackwell for 28 runs.
Penola was 6/77 and still needed more than 40 runs to claim the victory.
Lewis continued to bat patiently, but struggled to find a partner who could face West’s bowling attack.
Curt Evans (9), Michael Waters (0) and Sam Klemm (1) were all sent walking in the matter of two overs.
The Eagles had just one wicket to spare and sat 29 runs short of the winning total.
Conrad Slabber joined March at the crease and the duo managed to reach West’s score.
However, the pressure began to rise and an Easterbrook delivery was hit by March into the hands of youngster Connor Prior and West had every reason to celebrate.
March made 28 runs, while Slabber finished with an unbeaten 11.
West’s Brown was best with the ball, claiming 5/22 off 17, while Hentschke and Easterbrook managed two wickets each.
The Roos sat above Penola on the ladder prior to the final round of competition and due to the tie, will claim second position on the Barber Shield ladder and the home-ground semi-final this weekend.
