BPCA Round 7 wrap: Ocean Grove upsets Anglesea in final-over thriller as Collendina hangs on

There were several grandstand finishes in the Bellarine Peninsula Cricket Association. And in one an undefeated powerhouse was handed their first loss of the season. See the full wrap here.

Ocean Grove captain Fletcher Long helped his side to an upset win. Picture: Mark Wilson

Ocean Grove has pulled off one of the upsets of the BPCA season, handing powerhouse Anglesea its first loss of the season in a final-over thriller.

Grubbers opener Shaun Fankhauser and captain Fletcher Long set the platform in their pursuit of 166 but a flurry of wickets put their chase in jeopardy.

The game was right down to the wire when Fankhauser was dismissed for 69 by Dylan Taylor with the Grubbers needing seven off 10 deliveries for victory against the ladder-leaders.

A fortuitous edge through the slips from No. 10 Alex Mann — who also snared 3-17 — trickled to the boundary and left the Grubbers needing three off the last over.

After seeing out three dots, Ned Thorley seized his moment and hit the winning runs, securing their second win of the season with just two balls to spare.

Long said it was one of the best games he has experienced, praising Fankhauser for setting up the result.

“He knew that he had to be there at the end and he went out in the second last over which wasn’t ideal, but he set us up for the win from what he had done at the start.

“He wasn’t trying to smash boundaries the whole time, they were trying to get him off strike so he was happy to take ones and twos and that’s one of the better innings I’ve seen him bat.

“When Shaun went out it was a struggle, Dylan Taylor is obviously a class bowler

“Then Neddy just stayed calm and stayed composed, had three dots and didn’t look too flustered and then got one in his zone and whacked it.

“It was just good, really good reward for effort, especially against the top side. You don’t get too many games that come down to the wire like that so to be on the winning side was unreal.

“I know I haven’t played in a lot like that, so it is one of the best wins I’ve been a part of.”

Shaun Fankhauser in 2024. He was the matchwinner for Ocean Grove on Saturday. Picture: Mark Wilson

Long wants to ensure the surprise result isn’t just a one-off.

“We are kind of just setting ourselves, that’s our new standard now,” Long said.

“I think we are just trying to be a bit more consistent and take out those 10-15 over patches which have been costing us games.

“If we can limit them to five overs then hopefully putting a full game together, hopefully after Christmas we should string a few wins together.”

Anglesea is now equal on points with Barwon Heads after their abandoned game against Barrabool, where the Seagulls where in trouble at 3-39 after 23 overs before the match was called off.

Like Ocean Grove, Jan Juc also snuck over the line by two-wickets against Queenscliff with opener Peter Buszard hitting 76, as a stunning haul of 6-8 from Jack Maclean led Armstrong Creek to a 38-run victory over Drysdale.

BPCA2: COBRAS MADE TO SWEAT IN TIGHT WIN

Collendina opener Corey Walter has led the Cobras to a narrow three-wicket win in a low scoring affair against Inverleigh.

Inverleigh was bowled out for 87 in the first innings of their one-day clash with Stan Grazotis and Jacob Gasior both taking 3-9.

What looked to be a simple chase for the Cobras proved to be a struggled as they slumped to 5-39 and then 7-63.

But Walter, who took the blame for running out Grazotis for a duck, managed to hold firm, making an unbeaten 44 as the Cobras hit the winning runs in the 35th over.

Walter said Thomson was also an important contributor in their important eighth wicket stand.

Collendina celebrate a wicket. Picture: Mike Dugdale

Collendina bowler Angus Peters. Picture: Mike Dugdale

“I ran Stan out so that wasn’t the greatest start. Once I run him out I just tried to knuckle down and set myself to try and be there at the end,” Walter said.

“We had a couple of important little partnerships there and young Jack Thompson is only 16, came in at nine and hit a couple of boundaries at the end and got us over the line which is really pleasing.

“We just seemed to keep losing wickets regularly and made it pretty difficult. But they are a good bowling side and they kept the pressure on all day and it was pretty tough to score.

“It was really tight from the first ball to the last ball, it was a good game in the end.”

The win saw Collendina move inside the top four ahead of another crunch clash against Portarlington before the Christmas break.

“If we dropped that game it probably puts us a little bit behind the Eight ball,” Walter said.

“It was a really important game for us, I think we have got Portarlington next week another quality side.

“I think our bowling over the last couple of weeks has been better and hopefully we can click with the bat a little bit more in the next few games.”

St Leonards held off Winchelsea by 21 runs to bring up their first win of the season, while Wallington and Portarlington both notched comfortable victories over Surf Coast and Newcomb respectively.

Originally published as BPCA Round 7 wrap: Ocean Grove upsets Anglesea in final-over thriller as Collendina hangs on