Premier Cricket: Blues clinch two-run win ahead of hunt for fourth straight grand final appearance

Carlton skipper Evan Gulbis concedes his side hasn’t played its best cricket this season, but it’s exactly why the competition should be worried heading into finals.

Carlton’s Evan Gulbis at the crease. Picture: Andy Brownbil.

We’ve seen this story before.

A Carlton outfit that isn’t firing on all cylinders still finds a way to sew up a top four spot in Victorian Premier Cricket, before rising to the occasion that finals presents.

The Blues will host Richmond at Princes Park this weekend after securing a nail-biting two run win over Casey South Melbourne in round 20.

“We probably haven’t played our best cricket this season yet, but we’ve done enough to earn the right to have another go,” said Carlton skipper Evan Gulbis as the Blues gun for a fourth successive grand final appearance.

“It’s pretty similar to last year, we were probably in that same position where we were looking around that second spot but not quite hitting our straps.

“We seem to find something at the business end, as a defending champion you’re the hunted so we’ve just got to make sure we’re that little bit better.”

The Blues, as they did last season, have secured the coveted double chance after finishing the home-and-away season in second. They are out to make it three premierships in the past four years.

Evan Gulbis bowling for Carlton. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Gulbis said that nothing “overly dramatic” had been holding his squad back this season.

“Just finding those little things, the difference between turning a 40 into a big score, the difference between starting your innings and getting that next partnership going or even with the ball just finding that extra ball in the right area,” Gulbis said.

“It’s just that five per cent off, but once finals comes and the intensity lifts that brings the best out of you.”

Victorian rookie contracted gloveman Jai Lemire has been a revelation with bat in hand of late, following up his double ton against Melbourne with a knock of 134 against Casey South Melbourne in the final round.

“Part of a good batting line-up is someone going big and everyone else contributing around that,” Gulbis said.

“That is part of the plan, it’d be nice if the person going big changes every week but that’s not been the case the past couple of weeks. We’ll hopefully rectify that in finals but if (Jai) keeps making runs and we make runs around him we’ll go pretty well.

“Jai’s been fantastic, pretty similar to last year he started slow then got some big scores through the middle.

“He’s hitting the ball really well and keeping well as well. Hopefully he creates an opportunity for himself to go higher but if he doesn’t I’m glad we’ve got him in our side.”

Jai Lemire with the gloves. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Carlton’s past two grand final wins have come over Casey South Melbourne - including last season’s famous reverse outright triumph - and the Blues matched up against the Swans in the last round of the season.

It was another classic, with Xavier Crone and Cam Stevenson producing two wickets in the final six balls to deliver a nail-biting two-run win.

It was a decision to take the new ball late which had paid dividends for Carlton as Crone found Harry Hoekstra’s edge before Stevenson skittled Devin Pollock to earn himself the match ball and finish with a haul of 5-70 from 19.2 overs.

“Cam’s been bowling really well, he just didn’t have the numbers that he probably wanted over the past few weeks but he bowled exactly the same and this week was his turn to get the wickets,” Gulbis said.

“That’s how we operate as a bowling group, we’ve all got our roles and some days it goes one way and some days it goes another.

“It was his turn to take the early poles, he came back through the middle and got another when and then finished it off.”

Off the back of the narrow triumph, Gulbis believed his side was ready to tackle finals.

“That feeling of being able to turn it on and get the job done when the game’s not going your way, we’ve had to do that a lot this year,” he said.

“We’re ready for finals cricket, it’d be nice to play our best version of us with the bat and our best version of us with the ball but at the end of the day we’re ready.

“There’s some teams in some pretty good form going into it, I think they’re the teams to beat but I wouldn’t want to come up against a team that’s gotten it done on the big day before.

“I sit there and go: ‘well if I was an opposition team, I’d probably want to avoid us’.

“We’re sitting second having not played very well and we’ve been in the same position as we were last year.”