Premier Cricket 2020-21: Lions finish eighth setting up finals clash with minor premier

The Lions will mark their finals return with a date with Premier Cricket’s benchmark, but the skipper says they’re up for the fight.

Lions skipper Ejaaz Alavi. Picture: Steve Tanner

Fitzroy Doncaster will mark its return to the finals with a date with Premier Cricket’s benchmark next Saturday, but captain Ejaaz Alavi says his side’s up for the fight.

The Lions (9-97) fell to Richmond (3-98) on Saturday by seven wickets to land in eighth position, setting up a clash with minor premier Carlton next weekend.

They missed the eight last season following their recent premiership era, and the margin for error yesterday was slim according to Alavi as his side slid from fourth to eighth in its loss.

“It was a very even season – we knew there was a chance we could finish fourth yesterday and a chance we could finish eighth. Things didn’t go quite to plan and we’ll be backing up ready to go next week,” Alavi said.

“We just got outplayed by Richmond who came out and played freely and took the game on.”

Lions batsman Jack Rudd heads the runs for his side this season. Picture: Steve Tanner

The Lions qualify for the finals having recovered from a 0-3 start to the season but a stoic Alavi said his group aren’t there to simply make up the numbers, with expectations high at the business end of the season.

“I’m really proud of the group the way we’ve come together this season and to finish in the top eight is a fantastic achievement but we’re not happy to just be there,” he said.

“We want to be competing all the way to the last week and try to take home the premiership.

“That’s our goal … but there’s a lot of work to be done and we’re really looking forward to the month ahead.”

A Carlton side awaits having lost just three matches this season to go with a 12-win record, led by stellar campaigns with the bat from Evan Gulbis (683 runs), Brayden Stepien (613) and Nicholas Ross (530).

Meanwhile, five Blues have taken 20 or more wickets this season, headed by Eddy O’Sullivan with 27, Xavier Crone and Gulbis with 22 apiece.

The Lions last took on Carlton in Round 14, with the Blues chasing down 8-148, putting on 6-149 to edge a win by four wickets.

The Lions boast the scoring power of Jack Rudd whose campaign has yielded 668 runs to date, followed by Lakshmn Shivakumar with 359 and Liam Banthorpe with 330. Alavi leads the wicket-taking with 22, alongside Sam Elliott (19) and Nick Fletcher (18).

But they’ll be without Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell who’s headed off for Indian Premier League duties, following two matches across the previous fortnight, including a stellar return with the ball to go with 49 runs the week after.

While Alavi is under no illusions about the Blues challenge ahead, he said his side would take in confidence from the pair’s last meeting.

“We took it up to Carlton a couple of weeks ago so we’re really confident going in,” he said.

“We’ll give it our best crack and we believe we can knock them off.

“We’re really excited about the opportunity … we’ve got nothing to lose. We’ve done a lot of hard work and we deserve to be there.”