Brenton McDonald spins Geelong into Premier Cricket preliminary final as Essendon bats fail to deliver

Essendon’s powerful batting line-up was left in a spin on Sunday as Brenton McDonald’s match-winning five-wicket haul guided Geelong into a Premier Cricket preliminary final.

Justin Galeotti in action for Essendon Cricket Club.

Essendon’s powerful batting line-up was left in a spin on Sunday as Brenton McDonald’s match-winning five-wicket haul guided Geelong into a Premier Cricket preliminary final.

The Bombers won the toss and sent the Cats in at Windy Hill on Saturday but the decision backfired as Hayden Butterworth (73) and Josh McDonald (57) steered Geelong to 273.

Essendon started strongly on Sunday with James Seymour making a quick-fire 50 but the home team lost wickets regularly to fall 62 runs short as it was bowled out for 211.

CRICKET: LEADER’S PREMIER TEAM OF THE YEAR

FINALS: LIONS KNOCK MAGPIES OUT OF FLAG RACE

Aaron Shellie (46) and Justin Galeotti (35) put up some resistance but Essendon captain Clint McKay was disappointed his batsmen couldn’t get the job done.

“The batting group has been exceptional all season … any time we started to get a bit of momentum we lost wickets at crucial times,” McKay said.

“The wicket was very nice and (bowling first) has been successful for us all year, chasing down targets.

Brenton McDonald in action for Geelong. Picture: Stephen Harman

James Seymour in action for Essendon. Picture: Valeriu Campan

“Take nothing away from Geelong, they’ve got a strong bowling attack and Brenton is a strong bowler who’s playing state level cricket before.”

McDonald ripped the heart out of the Bombers’ middle order with 5-76, his second straight five-wicket haul, which lifted him to 40 scalps for the season.

Matt Doric continued his fine form with the ball for Essendon, claiming 4-40 on Saturday, which took him to 44 wickets for the campaign.

“He’s been fantastic all year and I think he’s the best fast bowler outside the state squad,” McKay said.

“We’re very fortunate to have Matt in the squad and I think higher honours could be coming for him.”

More great pics from @ArjGiese today. Here's Tom O'Donnell from @EssendonCC #sonofscuba pic.twitter.com/mfVTcmM7Ta

— Vic Premier Cricket (@vicpremcricket) March 16, 2019

In his maiden First XI match of the season, Tom O’Donnell took 1-64, with McKay just happy to have the former Victorian rookie paceman back in the team.

“He was a bit nervous to start, the first three overs didn’t go to plan but after that you saw what he brings to the team and with a game under his belt I’m sure he’ll be even better next week,” he said.

Essendon will return to Windy Hill this weekend to take on Monash Tigers in a sudden-death semi-final with McKay confident of another positive result after a 148-run win when the pair met in Round 15.

“They’re a good match-up for us. I’m very confident if we bring our best we can not only match it with Monash but anyone in the competition,” he said.