Premier Cricket 2018-19: St Kilda edges to tense victory over Fitzroy-Doncaster

St Kilda kept its place in the Premier Cricket top eight with a fighting two-wicket victory over Fitzroy-Doncaster in the final round.

Michael Beer has served St Kilda with distinction with the ball.

On Saturday he did it with the bat, digging in and dragging his team over the line against Fitzroy-Doncaster in a tense final-round match at Schramms Reserve.

Beer was 16 not out and he’ll never make a more valuable 16 runs. If the Saints had lost the match they ran the risk of falling out of the top eight and missing the finals.

They won by two wickets, reaching 8-181 in reply to the Lions’ 180.

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St Kilda was 7-155 when Jon Merlo was dismissed for 31, still 26 shy.

Beer joined Todd Murphy and the pair determinedly carried the score to 180 before young quickie Sam Elliott bowled Murphy for eight. He had faced 36 balls.

It was left to Shea Gribbin to hit the winning run, Beer finishing unbeaten after a 47-ball stay.

“He’s fought all the way through his cricket to get the most out of himself … he’s a pure fighter,’’ Saints coach Glenn Lalor said of Beer.

“He loves the challenge. He’s a ripper.’’

Jon Merlo takes the ball on day one of St Kilda’s win over Fitzroy Doncaster. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Lalor said the Saints achieved a “really good, solid, important win and a team effort on a tough wicket’’.

The Saints had resumed at 0-25, but lost wickets regularly enough to leave the result up for the taking.

They were 4-83 when opener Josh Manning departed for 39, but Merlo and Patrick Rowe added 50 for the fifth wicket.

Then the Lions had a flourish with the scalps of Rowe for 33, Josh Bartlett for 11 and, most crucial of all, rising star Merlo.

As the hosts pushed, St Kilda resisted through Murphy and the captain — and amid great tension the visitors edged past their target.

It was a blow for the Lions’ premiership hopes; the loss bumped them to fifth, denying them a double-chance for the finals.

St Kilda will take on Monash Tigers in a knockout semi-final. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Lalor said Merlo and Rowe “headbutted them for a couple of hours’’ as Elliott and Trent Lawford made a shouldercharge for St Kilda.

“That was an important partnership. They got us close. They couldn’t quite take us there, but they gave us really important runs,’’ he said.

The Saints will now play Monash Tigers in a loser-out semi-final at a venue to be confirmed (with the Grand Prix being staged next weekend, it will not be at the Junction Oval or the Harry Trott Oval).

Melbourne ended the season with a victory over Prahran, but was unable to get the outright points it needed to make an unlikely leap into the top eight.

The True Blues, skittled for 144 in their first innings, hit 9-292 in their second, rallying from 9-211 with an 82-run partnership from Jacob Serry (74no) and Sam Grimwade (16no).

Their declaration left the Demons to get 293 off 28 overs.

After slipping to 4-64 they came in at 5-145.

Melbourne finished 11th on the ladder, missing the finals for the second successive season.