Tea Tree Gully one win away from SACA Premier Cricket finals after remarkable 7/30 Tim Oakley performance

A Premier Cricket club bowled its opponent out for just 57 runs thanks to an incredible individual performance and now sits on the cusp of its first finals campaign since 2019.

A SACA Premier Cricket club is now just one victory away from finals after a remarkable outright win in the second last round of the season.

Star Tea Tree Gully paceman Tim Oakley took a huge 7/30 with the ball in only 10 overs to give his team a huge outright win over Adelaide.

The Bulls made 58 runs in their second innings before declaring for a chance at an outright win worth 30 points, and incredibly dismissed the Buffalos for a total of 57 to catapult themselves into the top three.

The win saw the club leapfrog Adelaide University, West Torrens and Glenelg and puts the three rivals in a must-win position during this weekend’s final round.

Tea Tree Gully bowler Tim Oakley produced a top-class 7/30 performance against Adelaide to give the Bulls a big finals shot. Picture: Keryn Stevens

“It was a pretty massive performance for me and for the club and it puts us in a really good position to play finals which is something we haven’t done since 2019,” Oakley said of his 10-over spell.

“Personally it’s a nice thing to have done not only for the Bulls but it also puts my name back in the discussion for Sheffield Shield with SA.”

Oakley had been in and out of the South Australia reserves side this season and after starting red hot for TTG had cooled off after Christmas.

He said his play against Adelaide was reward for effort.

“My season has been an interesting one, I think I’ve bowled pretty well especially in the first half of the season,” Oakley said.

“I’d been bowling consistently after Christmas and sticking with it but just not getting the wickets so it’s good to see my name back up among the top of the bowlers after the weekend.”

Oakley and the Bulls have not played finals since 2019 but will end their mini-drought with a win over East Torrens this weekend. Picture: Mark Brake

Tea Tree Gully has had a strong season in SACA Premier Cricket’s first grade competition, with players like Oakley, Patrick Parnell, Darren Ironside, and captain Joe Gatting all performing consistently.

Oakley said the team was hungry to prove it belonged at the top.

“We’d be lying if we said we weren’t thinking about finals” he said.

“We’ve come from a bit of a golden era at Tea Tree Gully and we want to show we’re still good enough.

“We’ve got some great guys and I think we’ve got what it takes to go far.

“East Torrens is a strong team with some great young players so we need to focus this weekend and work our hardest. If we can do that and get the win, who knows what can happen in finals.”

The Bulls will host East Torrens on Saturday and Sunday, with Saturday’s play set to begin at 10.30am.