By Lachlan Onions
RENDELSHAM 5/101 d KINGSTON 10/100
Rendelsham kept its premiership defence alive with a comprehensive five-wicket win over Kingston in the first semi-final of the Millicent/Naracoorte Cricket Association on Saturday.
The minor premiers had the home ground advantage and looked to put the pressure on Rendelsham as they won the toss and batted first.
However, the visitors had other ideas and their bowlers went to work from the outset.
Mark Collins was the first to go as he was dismissed for 12 after he was caught off Tyson Smith to make it 1/19.
Shortly after, fellow opener and Kingston captain Mathew Cridland departed after he was caught by Dwayne Gray off Jacob Carger’s bowling to make it 2/31.
Harrison Stenner was next in and struggled to find any rhythm before he was dismissed by Carger and the hosts were in a spot of bother at 3/42.
Things went from bad to worse as Jack Tapfield was bowled for a duck three balls later to end Carger’s over, before Dylan Clough sent Ethan Murdock on his way for a duck five balls later.
At 5/43, the pressure was on Craig and Luke Watson to stop the constant flow of wickets and help manufacture a defendable total for Kingston.
However, Craig Watson lasted only 17 balls and was the next to fall victim to Carger.
Zac Hatch came in and put up a fight as he looked to rebuild with Luke Watson.
The pair combined for 19 runs before the latter was dismissed for 31 runs by Ayden Reid to make it 7/76.
From then on it was all smooth sailing for Rendelsham and Reid cleaned up the tail to end with four wickets and set his side a target of 101 runs for victory off 40 overs.
Carger also impressed with the ball and ended with figures of 4/14 from his eight-over spell.
With a low total to defend, Kingston started strongly as Murdock dismissed opener Zach Jones for a duck in the first over.
However, Dylan Clough came in at number three and quickly thwarted any possibly momentum for the hosts.
With 21 runs off his first 11 balls, including two 4’s and a six, Clough single-handedly put the Kingston bowlers to the sword.
A glimmer of hope came for the hosts at the end of the ninth over as Murdock dismissed Reid to make it 2/40.
However, Clough combined with Jake Wight to put Rendelsham within touching distance of a grand final berth.
After a 32-run partnership, Clough departed for an impressive 49 at a strike-rate of 148.48.
The next over, Wight looked to go nuclear as he hit Gabriel Cox for back-to-back sixes.
However, Cox hit back and dismissed Wight the following ball to bring his innings to an end at 25.
Kingston claimed another late wicket but it was all in vain as Rendelsham cruised to a five-wicket win with more than 21 overs to spare.
The second semi-final was scheduled at Naracoorte between the Townies and Footballers Furner Beachport.
However, the contest was washed out due to the rain and as a result, the Townies will progress through to the final as they finished higher on the ladder.
Looking ahead to the grand final, Rendelsham will travel to Wortley Oval for the decider this Saturday, with play to begin at 1pm.
When these sides met in Round 14, the Townies fought back from the brinks of defeat to claim a nine-run win off the back of an impressive captain’s knock from Bredon Smart.
Smart has dominated with the bat and ball this season and will be a player to watch in the grand final.
For Rendelsham, Dylan Clough will be a key figure with the bat, while Max Telfer and Jacob Carger will be the players to watch with the ball for the visitors.
