DDCA: Buckley Ridges records its seventh successful run chase for season 2023-24 to book another grand final berth
On its way to a fifth DDCA Turf 1 grand final in six years, Buckley Ridges coach Manjula Munasinghe believes there’s a difference to his side this time around.
Outer East
Don't miss out on the headlines from Outer East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Buckley Ridges’ coach Manjula Munasinghe declares his side is a “big challenge” when chasing opposition totals.
The Bucks booked their ticket to their fifth Turf 1 grand final appearance in six seasons by reeling in Narre South’s monster total on Sunday.
Narre South posted 302 courtesy of 100 from 137 balls from Harsha de Silva.
Led by 97 from opener Jake Cronin and 73 from ex-Test man Roshane Silva, the Bucks chased down the Lions’ total with eight balls and two wickets to spare.
The successful chase is the Bucks’ seventh win when batting second this summer.
Munasinghe praised his team’s mentality to chase down yet another big score under preliminary final pressure.
“It’s not easy on any ground to chase 300,” he said.
“Mentally it’s not easy in a cricket game, so I think our guys are amazing, we have an amazing group of people.
“We are very good at taking things nicely in the chase, mental preparation is the key to that.
“Everyone did their part really well, (we had them) 110-6 at one stage and then they took us to 300 but Ben Wright kept the heads still.”
Springvale South won the toss and sent Buckley Ridges in during the qualifying final last week after the Bucks chased 361 in the previous encounter.
Munasinghe is confident there’s a difference to his group this time around, particularly when chasing.
“I think this year as a group we have been playing really good, tough cricket,” he said.
“With that confidence, it will be a different game, different people this time.
“We are a big challenge when it comes to chasing, they might have a different opinion on that one too.
“I think as a group we are very, very focused on chasing and are mentally prepared and resilient, when we are down we can come back.”
Revealed: Local footy’s best players of 2024
The 2024 local footy season is dawning to a close and to celebrate, we’ve named our best players from the 2024 season. Here’s who made the list.
‘The timing was right’: Superstar returns to Southern league home
Local footy superstar Jackson Sketcher has returned to where his career started. He talks us through his decision and what he hopes to achieve in his new threads.