TWO teams that never really liked each other, then tried to merge, then liked each other even less will contest the Manning B cricket final.
Forster and Taree Leagues started the season in merger talks when the association wanted another A Grade team. Negotiations collapsed with Leagues insisting its players weren’t ready.
Fast forward to Saturday, when Leagues swept aside Wingham for 76 after spluttering to 155. Now they face Forster, who beat them by 36 runs after a stunning collapse a fortnight ago.
So, at the end of this endless season, which started in farce and plateaued in the middle, we have a showdown between the top two teams.
Match previews written by players tend to be diplomatic for the sake of giving as little ammunition to opponents as possible but, along with washing the editor’s car, part of this job is analysing these things honestly. So, lucky reader, let’s get straight to what this final is about - how much did that loss two weeks ago hurt Taree Leagues?
It’s not a question that implies some weakness of character. The thing is, at 1 for 76 chasing 144, they had it won. Then Forster’s Allan May took 6 for 33, they panicked and they blew it. Ouch.
The good news for them: they bounced back first chance they got. If we take it as a given that teams get jittery in big games and post about 150 (these are 40-over-innings one-dayers), then their performance is almost a blueprint for how to win.
Leagues have gritty, calm players at the top of the order. With William Donovan and Ethan Sheather coaxing that run-chase along, they looked unstoppable. They looked fine ‘til a few wickets fell, and that’s the worry. That afternoon, with the shadows lengthening and breathing shortening, they lost 9 for 32.
Forster’s kind of the opposite. It’s hard to remember the last time we made a good start, which is weird considering our best player – Sam Hull – opens. The flip side of all those stumbles is the lower order has plenty of practice rebuilding. It would be a bad idea to rely on it every time, but someone usually comes to the rescue. More than once it’s been Justin Malzard, whose hitting can turn a game in a few overs, but it’s often someone unexpected.
Ben Kessey’s silky 32 last game came from nowhere, and helped Hull claw us to a defendable target. Hayden Rogers’ gleeful hoicks deliver a flood of runs. Even I got in on the act at Mt George, getting us home in a tight one.
It’s a funny thing to say after what happened last game, but our bowling is a concern. Even though May and Mitch Clark picked up 10 between them last time, the collapse was triggered by loose shots at misdirected balls. Before that, an ugly succession of short stuff had been sent to the fence as though ushered through turnstiles. That can’t happen on Saturday.
Leagues, on the other hand, look like they’ve got nothing to worry about in the bowling. Their rout of Wingham was no fluke; Donovan and Brad Thompson have claimed 29 and 22 scalps this season at under 10 each. But the bowlers played their part in the turnaround a fortnight ago by just getting their length wrong and letting us recover from 6 for 60.
It’ll be a good game, and it’s a fitting final. Actually, with the two top teams and plenty of tension, it’s a better final than this clunky season deserves.
Now, did I leave too much ammunition for Taree Leagues in those few paragraphs? Excuse me…yeah, is it too late to stop the press? That only happens on TV? Oh.
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