Plenty Valley makes most of second chance in win over Preston
In trouble when rain stopped play on Saturday, Plenty Valley made the most of its second chance to defeat Preston and earn a shot at the VSDCA North-West grand final.
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Lessons learnt in Saturday’s aborted VSDCA qualifying final gave Plenty Valley a critical edge against Preston on Sunday.
The Bats essentially got two bites at the cherry with Saturday’s rain ensuring the North-West group clash started from scratch the following day.
Plenty Valley were 7-113 and under immense pressure when play was called off on Saturday at Yarrambat War Memorial Reserve.
Fortune then smiled on skipper Michael Rogneda when he won the toss on Sunday and put Preston in to bat as the home team went on to claim an eight-wicket win.
“(We learnt) to just be patient, (on Saturday) we took a lot of risks,” Rogneda said.
“We didn’t need to take a lot of risk, we needed to punish the bad balls and score singles and that’s what we did on Sunday.
“That’s been one of my consistent messages, if you’re under pressure get a single, don’t play a bit shot and try to look like a hero because if you get out you’re just putting pressure on your teammate.”
The Bats captain-coach admitted Preston were in the box seat on the Saturday with some impressive bowling.
“Not a great position (7-113), I thought if we could eek out another 25 runs we’d be in the game, but Preston definitely had their noses in front,” he said.
“We might have been 1-60 at drinks and then a bit of rain came down – we played through light rain for about 45 minutes – and the wicket got harder to bat on and the ball started jagging around a bit.”
However, it counted for nothing and the Bullants found themselves under immense pressure on Sunday.
Only Daniel Gregory offered any resistance with the bat, scoring 30 runs, as Preston were dismissed for 114.
Plenty Valley made short work of the chase as Rory Collins top-scored with 33 and Callum Nankervis (32 not out), Daniel Taylor (24) and Nish Perera (19) got the team home in 26 overs.
Plenty Valley retain home ground advantage for this Saturday’s semi-final against Werribee thanks to the Tigers’ upset win over Brunswick.
The two teams faced off in the final round of the home-and-away season with the Bats claiming a nine-run win at Chirnside Park.
Rogneda hopes his team can repeat the weekend’s lesson to earn a place in the VSDCA grand final.
“We played them at Werribee two weeks ago in a low-scoring game and it was the Nish Perera show,” he said.
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“Just getting to see their bowlers – they’ve got a really good off-spinner – and the Dean brothers with the bat.
“They’re our key match-ups and we’ll have some plans around them and how we want to face them.
“We’re really looking forward to another home final, we’re lucky we’ve got it, and we need to make the most of it again.
“The batting and bowling group and really clear on what the expectations are and our blueprint, we’ve tweaked it throughout the year and we’ve got one we’re confident in.”
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Plenty Valley is back on the VSDCA finals stage and is ready to mount a premiership push.
With the Bats’ nine-year finals streak coming to an end last season and the loss of Ryan and Blake Pearson and Lee Brown in the pre-season, 2020-21 was shaping as a rebuild.
However, the club has responded with a nine-win, three-loss season and a third-placed finish to set up a North-West group qualifying final clash against Preston.
“It’s a big advantage having a home final and we knew that was at stake (on Saturday),” captain-coach Michael Rogneda said.
“We spoke about it during the week, having a home final, our game plan suits Yarrambat and we know the conditions really well.
“Finishing third, the way the finals series works, we’ve also got a better chance of getting the double chance if we do slip up.”
The arrival of Nishal Perera from Essendon has been a major catalyst in Plenty Valley’s rise.
The spinner claimed 26 wickets – equal most in the entire VSDCA – as well as scoring 257 runs, including a match-winning 72 on Saturday against Werribee.
Having overcome a serious knee injury at the start of the season, Rogneda also finished top 10 in the group wicket-takers with 18 scalps.
The batting has been led by Callum Nankervis and Rory Collins who both finished top 10 in the North-South conference.
Nankervis knocked in 482 runs, including a maiden century, to finish fifth overall, while wicketkeeper-batsman Collins was eighth with 420 runs.
The Bats have also debuted some exciting youngsters, something which Rogneda was most proud of.
“I am very proud, there’s been 18 or 19 play in the ones this year, could even be 20,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of young guys filter through – in the 15 to 17-year-old age bracket – and they’ve played a role, we haven’t just gifted them games.
“Also getting quality people in like Daniel Taylor, Nish Perera and Daniel Bramich, blokes who don’t care how they go they just want to win.”
Plenty Valley will face Preston in the opening week of finals.
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The Bullants also finished with nine wins on the season, a remarkable rise after finishing second last with three victories in 2019-20.
The Bats claimed a 52-run win in Round 3 thanks to Nankervis’s breakthrough 109.
Rogneda was confident his team was ready to replicate the result.
“Preston have been really, really good this year. They’ve got some really dangerous players,” he said.
“We know them well, we played them in a practice match and we played them during the year, we’ve got a game plan for them and just got to execute.”
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