West Torrens, Tea Tree Gully book spots for SACA Premier Cricket big dance

Two of the state’s best batters have led their side to the SACA Premier Cricket grand final, while a dominant bowling display saw a surprise club book its spot.

The 2022 SACA Premier Cricket grand final matchup is set in stone after a thrilling weekend of semi-final action.

West Torrens ousted top team Sturt to give themselves a chance to win both the one-day and two-day premierships, while Tea Tree Gully continued its stunning form to beat Kensington.

Star batters Kelvin Smith and Daniel Drew were the heroes for West Torrens, producing a magnificent partnership to take the Eagles past Sturt’s 361 total.

Smith opened and almost batted all of day two, achieving a total of 159, while captain Drew fell agonisingly short of a century, scoring 98 off 109 deliveries.

Kelvin Smith, pictured batting against Glenelg this season, scored a huge 159 runs to take the Eagles to the two-day grand final. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Coach Mark Harrity was thrilled with the performance, and relieved his side got the win with Sturt – the higher team on the ladder – only needing a draw.

“When you’re batting in a situation where the other team only has to draw it makes it hard and I think we need to change the rules going forward, we want positive cricket and it’s holding SA back,” Harrity said.

“Kelvin (Smith) and Daniel (Drew) were just so good for us again, especially as it was getting harder and harder to score.

“They’re two top quality players and they showed their class.”

West Torrens captain Daniel Drew’s sensational year continued on the weekend, the star batter scoring 98 runs off just 107 balls. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Just a week prior to the semi-finals, West Torrens was unsure of its postseason future, but managed to sneak in after Southern District drew with Adelaide Uni.

Harrity said the team’s surge into the grand final was a testament to the players.

“It’s been a whirlwind season, we played one less game than everyone else because of rain so to make it this far is great,” he said.

“I told the boys six weeks ago we needed to win every remaining game and there’s one more to go so now we need to take care of that.”

Tea Tree Gully’s Adam Somerfield was at his best against Kensington. Picture: Mark Brake

In the weekend’s other semi-final, Tea Tree Gully continued its surprising strong form to rip through the Kensington order and claim a big win.

The Bulls made a total of 208 on Saturday, with Patrick Page scoring a team-best 53 runs, but the hard work came in day two.

The team’s attack produced some brilliant bowling, led by Adam Somerfield with five wickets for only 14 runs, to have the Browns all out for just 93.

The club will now clash with West Torrens for the first time this season in its biggest game, as their previous meeting was rained out.

The grand final will start from 10.30am this Saturday with venue yet to be decided.