LJ Hooker League cricket: Wrap, results, standouts from round seven
Defending just 35 more runs with seven wickets still needed, Terranora Lakes produced what could be the best comeback seen in local cricket this season. READ MORE.
There were stunning bowling spells, wild batting collapses and one of the most dramatic finishes in recent memory during a blockbuster round seven of the LJ Hooker League.
Check out a wrap of the action in what was one of the most thrilling rounds of local cricket in a long time.
TERRANORA IN COMEBACK OF THE SEASON
Terranora Lakes has pulled off the comeback of the season and arguably one of the best victories in recent LJ Hooker League history after fighting back to defeat Tintenbar East Ballina by six runs in a seesawing thriller at Kingsford Smith Oval.
Chasing 174 to win, Tintenbar appeared to be cruising at 3-139 with two set batters at the crease and six overs remaining.
However a stirring fightback with the ball saw Terranora take a remarkable 7-28 in 37 balls to bowl its opponents out for 167 with the final ball of the game and claim an unlikely win.
“I think that’s probably the best win I’ve been a part of, being so dead and buried,” said Terranora Lakes bowler Lachlan Mison.
“It didn’t look good for a while there but we never stop believing in ourselves, even when we are quite down.
“That starts with the captain on the day, Josh (Kinneally) – he’s always just so positive about everything. In my head I always just think we’re going to win no matter what, but I think that just comes from me being a bit naive.”
The fast bowler was instrumental in the victory, picking up match-high figures of 5-41 from eight overs. Crucially, he also started the collapse by picking up the wicket of James Macdonald for 19 with the final ball of the 44th over.
Two balls after the initial breakthrough, teammate Sandeep Chauhan got in on the act by dismissing Steven Leahy for a golden duck before Mison really got his side excited by knocking over danger man Kai Dalli for 62 and Abe Gibson in the same over to leave Tintenbar seven down in the blink of an eye.
Chauhan continued his good work by getting Harry Bull in the penultimate over before Mison was handed the ball for the all-important final over, with Tintenbar needing 14 to win with two wickets in hand.
“The boundaries were quite long, I had four guys back at long on, long off, deep cover and deep mid-wicket, so I knew I just had to bowl full,” he said.
“If I did that I knew they wouldn’t be clearing the rope; they’d hit one six all day and these guys were the tailenders so I didn’t think they could do it.
“So I just needed to bowl full, they could have the ones and twos and if they wanted more they’d get run out, which they did.”
The plan came off to perfection. Mison kept things tight and conceded just two, one, two and one from the first four balls to leave Tintenbar needing eight to win from the last two deliveries.
The pressure paid off as batsman Blake McQueen was run out trying to come back for a second, leaving the side in need of a six from the final ball just to tie the game.
Mison then finished the job by trapping number 11 Jack Evers on the pads LBW to cap off a stunning win.
And despite the high stakes, he felt calm in the final stages with the ball in hand.
“I’m never nervous bowling. I think it’s just because I’m there to bowl, that’s just what I do. I’m way more nervous when I’m batting,” he said.
“I generally bowl the late overs anyway. I had a few similar situations in second grade where they needed a certain amount of runs and we bowled them out with a few overs left, just with having guys on the boundaries and bowling full. I just thought of it quite simply like that.”
Although Mison’s magic spell at the end brought home the dramatic victory, he said that the foundation for the win had been laid in the middle overs of the innings.
“We slowed down their scoring massively after the drinks break, and we actually lost a player because he had to leave early, so we were actually fielding with 10 for the last 20.
“Our two spinners that came on, Josh (Kinneally) and Zahaan (Hussain), just shut things up. They only scored four or five boundaries in the second 20. The scoring stopped and we just needed to continue that.
“We set the field really well, bowled to the field and they just couldn’t score. I didn’t think we were going to bowl them out but I thought we were going to take it really late with them not being able to score.”
In addition to his two wickets in the dying overs, Sandeep Chauhan top scored for Terranora with 40 and was supported by a fighting 28 from skipper Josh Kinneally, 26 from Mitchell Sales and some late hitting from tailender James Taylor (25 not out).
The win was Terranora’s second of the season and moves the side into seventh on the ladder with a record of two wins, three losses and two washouts, with the newly promoted team remarkably in striking distance of the top four.
“As a team we’ve been so good,” said Mison. “Those two washouts we had we could and should have won, we’ve had just one really poor game – last week against Casino – but other than that we’ve been really good. And we’ve had people away every week, so we haven’t even played our best team. I think we’re a strong team.”
Given the dramatic circumstances, spirits were naturally high among the players after the game, even if the emotions were somewhat mixed for English imports James Taylor and Zahaan Hussain.
“I think that’s probably the best win I’ve been a part of,” said Mison.
“I know the two English boys said that’s the best game they’ve been a part of. It wasn’t great for them afterwards watching the Ashes at the pub, so they didn’t really want to talk about that but were more than happy to talk about our game.”
HIGH DRAMA AS LENNOX HEAD PREVAILS
There was a bowling masterclass, batting collapses of epic proportions and some moments when the captain couldn’t even watch his own team, but Lennox Head has recorded its second win in a row – and indeed, of the season – with a nailbiting two-wicket victory over Casino at Queen Elizabeth Park.
In a quickfire game of just 52.1 overs that mirrored the first Ashes test, the clash between the two sides elicited just as many emotions amid the wild swings in momentum.
After bowling the Cavaliers’ out for just 109, the Pirates looked home and hosed in their chase before an almighty loss of wickets put the game in the balance – only for the visitors to limp over the line.
“It was nice to get it finished nice and early,” laughed Lennox Head captain Blake Kernaghan.
“Obviously coming off after fielding we were pretty chuffed. Rob Dorey was back on song with five-fas two weeks in a row, he just doesn’t miss.
“We were looking pretty comfortable there at 2-80 with Scotty (Coster) and Lucas (Pevy) out there. But it started getting a little bit worrying when we lost a couple of quick ones and then they kept on falling. I think at one point we lost 6-6, which is never fun.”
Indeed, after winning the toss Lennox came firing out of the blocks with a truly sensational bowling performance.
Led by quicks Rob Dorey, who took 5-35, his second-straight five-wicket haul, and Todd Fisher (3-25), the visitors ripped through the Cavaliers’ batting line-up to leave the side in absolute all sorts at 8-42 after 12 overs.
After laying the platform for victory with a stunning spell against ladder-leaders Goonellabah last weekend, Dorey picked up exactly where he left off with two wickets in his first over and three inside his first 11 balls.
He took another two in his sixth over while Fisher picked up three of his own in between as Casino was staring down the prospect of being rolled for the lowest score of the season.
“Robbie is just hitting the stumps constantly,” said Kernaghan.
“I don’t even know how to explain it, he’s just on song. He must just have his rhythm and everything lined up perfectly because they couldn’t hit him. Most of the runs that came off his bowling were edges – no one could find the middle of the bat against him.”
With the situation looking grim, a fighting 41 not out from Jayden Vidler, which built on a quickfire 30 from opener Miller Scully, managed to push Casino into triple figures before the side was bowled out for 109 after 29.3 overs.
With a small target to chase, Lennox Head made a bright start as top-order players Adam Fisher (22), Scott Coster (21) and Lucas Pevy (23) all made starts.
In fact, Coster and Pevy had put on 48 for the third wicket and were cruising at 2-86 before the game turned on its head in dramatic fashion.
Just as Dorey and Fisher had done for Lennox, Casino bowlers Jordan Williams and Cooper Mulcahy put on a spell for the ages as they took six wickets for just six runs inside four overs, leaving the Pirates floundering at 8-92.
One of those to fall was the Lennox Head skipper Kernaghan, who said he couldn’t bear to watch as the wickets tumbled.
“I felt alright when I was out there, even just for those couple of balls that I got to face. But once I was off the field I was head down, didn’t even want to watch at that point. I had my head down for a good five minutes,” he said.
“I thought, ‘Oh gosh, not again.’ It was just like Pottsville all over again: chasing a low total, being fairly in control and then a middle-order collapse,” he said, in reference to the round five clash when Lennox, chasing just 115 to win, lost 5-15 at one stage to be bundled out for just 85.
However despite the momentum being against his side, the captain’s brother Ryan Kernaghan produced his second matchwinning performance with the bat in as many weeks as he scored an unbeaten 15 from as many balls to get the Pirates home with two wickets in hand.
“We’ll have to call him a specialist from now on,” said Blake Kernaghan.
“He’s just got that thing in him. It doesn’t matter who’s bowling, who’s out there, he will hang around as long as he can just to finish the game off.
“He’s one of those blokes that’s just desperate to win every week, he’ll do anything and everything he can, so it’s always huge having someone like that in the tail.”
The victory, Lennox Head’s second in a row, moves the side above the Cavaliers into ninth place on the ladder. However the tight nature of the competition means the side is just one win away from fifth place.
The team will host defending premiers Cudgen this Saturday in a round that will see some of the competition’s best players unavailable on account of representing North Coastal at the men’s country championships in Newcastle.
“It’s starting to feel like we’ve got a bit of momentum going,” said Kernaghan.
“Heading into this week I think we’ll come up against a bit of a weakened Cudgen side because a few of their boys are away at the rep comp in Newcastle.
“We’ll miss Ryan, which will be a huge loss, but we’re looking for three in a row. It does feel like things are starting to click a lot better and we’re starting to get that confidence of winning games.”
POTTSVILLE CLAIMS MARIST UPSET
Pottsville has claimed one of the biggest upsets of the season so far by defeating Marist Brothers by 20 runs in a low-scoring clash at Seabreeze Oval.
In a contest between last year’s grand finalists and the team that finished second-last, the Pelicans managed to scratch out 139 in their dig before skittling their opponents for just 119 to secure their second win of the season.
“It’s a funny competition this year because anyone can pretty much beat anyone on their day,” said Pottsville coach Geoff Tucker.
“We’re used to our deck but it’s a little bit slow, so we back ourselves if we can get to 150, which we ended up getting close to and then rolled them.”
Batting first, Pottsville fell to 5-30 early on thanks to a an outstanding spell from Marist quicks Brendan Mitchell and Harrison Gillett before a gutsy 40 from Kagisho Pedi helped settle things.
While still in serious trouble at 6-77 when Pedi was dismissed, skipper Nathan Wilson (43 not out) and Justin Mathewson (29) put on a 49-run stand to help the side bat out its 40 overs and get to 8-139, which on the tricky Seabreeze wicket gave the Pelicans something to bowl at.
“I thought we were probably a 50-50 chance at the change of innings, depending on early wickets,” said Tucker.
And while Marist was well placed in its chase at 4-80 at the halfway mark, it lost three quick wickets in a 14-ball period as the momentum shifted towards Pottsville.
“After drinks we got about 3-5, which turned it right around. They were four down for about 80 and then with those three wickets we put the pressure on them,” said Tucker.
The Pelicans then skittled through the bottom order to bowl Marist out for 119 in the 33rd over, 20 short of the target.
Fresh from scoring crucial lower-order runs, Mathewson was also the star with the ball, picking up 4-23 from eight overs while Menzie Tucker continued his excellent return from a back injury that prevented him from bowling last season, taking 3-24 from 7.3.
The victory is the team’s second this year and moves it into ninth on the ladder, equal on points with Lennox Head and just seven points behind fifth-placed Tintenbar.
“They were really happy with the win. They were disappointed after we batted but we had hope we could get them out. They were ecstatic, they really were,” said Tucker.
“If we get 180 on that deck we’ll win 80 per cent of those games, we know that. But we’ve just got to get those runs earlier. We can’t always leave it to the later guys to get the runs.”
And despite sitting in ninth with a record of two wins, three losses and two washouts, the Pottsville coach said his young side has already come on in leaps and bounds since the start of the campaign.
“I think we let ourselves down with our batting a bit but we’re making progress,” said Tucker.
“The only game where we’ve been comprehensively beaten was Cudgen two weeks ago where we got rolled for 56. Apart from that we’ve been in every game but just lost them right near the end,” he added. “We could have easily won four.”
As for Marist Brothers, the loss added the side’s inconsistent start to the season, which has seen it lose two of its last three matches to be sitting in fourth on the ladder.
G’BAH PIPS CUDGEN IN DRAMA-FILLED CLASH
Goonellabah Workers Sports has extended its lead at the top of the table after defeating Cudgen by two wickets a nailbiting top-of-the-table clash at Oakes Oval.
After restricting the Hornets to 168 from their 40 overs, the home side was flying in its run chase before a dramatic collapse of 6-17 turned the game on its head, with Goonellabah turning to injured player Kaleb Armstrong to go out at number 10 and hit the winning runs.
“It’s always a good clash, us and Cudgen,” said Goonellabah coach Graham Armstrong.
“I was talking to (Cudgen captain) Alec Williams after the game and every time we come together it’s cut-throat. It doesn’t matter if someone gets well ahead in the game. The end result is that it comes down to the wire. It’s just what happens between us.”
Indeed, there were dramatic scenes in the final stages of the game as Cudgen medium-pacer Zeke Mostert 5-33 turned what looked like a comfortable Goonellabah win into a thriller.
“I’ll be honest, I was very worried there for a while because I know how Cudgen operate,” said Armstrong.
“They’re such a professional team and they can jump on you. And once they start to jump on you they just build pressure.
“Alec Williams does an amazing job as a skipper for them, he reads the game really well and he sensed that there was a point where he could jump on us – and he did. And the guys reacted for him and put us under enormous pressure. We were getting concerned.”
The fightback created a situation that saw Goonellabah all-rounder Armstrong, who had earlier been forced to stop bowling after aggravating a back injury, walk out to the middle with his team eight down and still needing seven runs to win.
“The only thing that was probably going to hinder him with his back is if he had to play a hook shot or a pull shot or something like that,” said Armstrong.
“So thankfully they bowled good areas for him and he was able to get us home,” the coach added.
“In the end we were somewhat thankful in one respect that Kaleb had no intention of batting because it meant that he ended up going to the crease at 10 and hit the winning runs. Having a batsman of that calibre going to the crease relieved us a little bit.”
It was a dramatic finish to a game that the home side had otherwise been ahead of for the most part.
After their team won the toss and elected to bowl, Goonellabah’s bowlers – led by Reece Gregor (3-21) and Brady Toniello (2-29) – well and truly backed up their skipper’s call with an excellent display that reduced Cudgen to 7-100.
However a counter attack by Mostert (37 not out), Fletcher Bisgrove (24) and John Ainsworth (12) allowed the Hornets to bat out their overs and finish on 8-168.
“It was a solid bowling performance,” said Armstrong. “We lost Kaleb unfortunately … he could only give us three overs and we lost five overs out of him at the back end of the innings, which left a bit of a hole.
“But all in all, it was a solid bowling performance, but we’ve just got to clean ourselves up around the edges a little bit.”
Then in response the home side got off to a flyer in its chase as Jack Cooper blasted 46 from just 22 balls.
His opening partner Tom Standish batted brilliantly to bring up a half-century. The team was cruising at 2-135 before Mostert bowled the opener for 77 and triggered a collapse that ensured there was a nervy finish.
“Tom did a great job for us. After Jack got out he changed his game a bit and just batted really sensibly and did a massive job for us,” said Armstrong. “We were well ahead of the game but just got a bit complacent and lost some wickets.”
The victory sees Goonellabah bounce back from last weekend’s shock loss to Lennox Head and crucially extend its lead at the top of the ladder to six points.
Meanwhile Cudgen slips to third with a record of three wins, two losses and two washouts.
COLTS TURN ON FIREWORKS IN THRASHING
The Tweed Banora Colts have surged into second place on the ladder after an eight-wicket thumping of Alstonville at Hill Park Oval.
Led by Hamish McFie who took an outstanding 4-20, the Colts bowlers led the charge by dismissing their opponents for just 107 before the batters made light work of the total to cruise to victory inside 25 overs.
After winning the toss and sending Alstonville in, the Tweed side more than justified its decision with an outstanding display with the ball.
In fact, openers Kyle Yager, who continued his outstanding season with 52, and Ashley Thurgate (15) were the only Alstonville players to crack double-digits in the first innings as the side lost 9-57 in an almighty collapse to be bowled out for just 107 in the final over.
Mcfie ripped through the middle order with an excellent four-wicket haul, while Ben Thoms (4-8) and Tom Byrnes (2-13) also got in on the action to condemn Alstonville to its lowest total of the season.
In reply, despite losing opener Sam Powell for one, the Colts never looked in trouble in the chase as Jamie Bennett (50 not out) and Keats Chipps (22) steadily chewed through the requirement before Tom Byrnes (16 not out) came on at the end to finish the job.
The win pushes the Tweed side up into second on the ladder with a record of four wins, two losses and one washout, while after back-to-back defeats Alstonville slips down to sixth in a mid-table logjam.
Originally published as LJ Hooker League cricket: Wrap, results, standouts from round seven
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