Tewantin rises to top of SCCDA table

The venue and contestants for the SCCA Division 1 one-day final will be formalised on Saturday, but few punters will opt for anything but a Tewantin-Noosa/Caboolture meeting at Read Park.

Gympie Gold’s Lewis Waugh.

The venue and contestants for the Sunshine Coast Cricket Association Division 1 one-day final will be formalised on Saturday after the final limited-overs round, though few punters will opt for anything but a Tewantin-Noosa/Caboolture meeting at Read Park.

Before last weekend there were three undefeated sides, separated only by bonus points.

But by Sunday evening Tewantin stood alone, having beaten Caboolture on Saturday.

When the Snakes came out the winner over Maroochydore on Sunday, Tewantin was guaranteed a final place.

Topping the OD ladder with 52 points, pushed by only Caboolture, 43, and Maroochydore on 41, the Thunder’s undefeated run in limited-overs games could be complete with victory over Maroochydore in the last round.

The Swans need to topple the leader plus a Caboolture loss to Glasshouse to advance.

The weekend also revealed the batsmen coming into their own as the season progresses, and Sunday produced five centuries from four games.

The Caboolture top order recovered from an embarrassing 109 against the Thunder on Saturday as three figures from Preston White and Glen Batticciotto in a 222 partnership took the match from Maroochydore.

At the showgrounds, Lewis Waugh became the first player to score two centuries this season as he and Andy Kratzmann put the Cutters bowlers to the sword to complete the perfect weekend for the competition leaders.

The fifth ton was at Glasshouse, where Jeremy Schultz passed into the rarefied air of 8000 one-day and two-day runs with his 10th century, the last eight undefeated.

After 321 appearances he tops the runs table, one honour that the three-time Best Allrounder and top wicket -taker has yet to achieve at season’s end.

Now the overall table becomes the focus after this weekend, and Glasshouse made a good rise with two wins to reach fourth position, a stepping stone for advancement on the back of the skipper’s runs.

Gympie and Caloundra, fourth and fifth overall, meet lower-placed opponents in Nambour and Coolum respectively, and will be keen to increase the margin as they eye off promotion. Coolum’s batsmen showed the week before that the runs are there, but the consistency is yet to arrive, and then be spread around.

A notable feature, and an unwelcome one at that, is the lack of depth in batting all around. Most sides are aiming to dismiss two, maybe three prime opponents, knowing that tails are easily removed. In the half-dozen one-day rounds, of teams that were all out, the last five wickets fell for an average of 26 runs per team.

This gives an average value of a lower-order wicket at just over 5 runs, and allowing for the urgency of a run-chase with overs decreasing, should prompt coaches to emphasise the value of late runs, especially in two-day games with their added time.

But the excitement of white ball cricket is still available, and the thrill of the run chase with few deliveries left will have one more adrenaline shot before it is rested for another season.

Originally published as Tewantin rises to top of SCCDA table