After starting the Bellarine Peninsula Cricket Association A1 Grade season with three consecutive losses, Queenscliff enters its semi-final this weekend as one of the in-form teams of the competition.
The Coutas prefer the 75-over game, having lost just once in that format all season – to undefeated Barwon Heads.
“Aside from Barwon Heads, which is obviously the benchmark, I think we were the best two-day team in the comp after them,” Queenscliff captain Hayden Illingworth said.
“So red-ball wise, we’ve been brilliant. We haven’t conceded over 200 runs with the ball all year.
“And batting wise, we’ve been consistently making targets over 160, 180 as a minimum. So I think that the difference from this year as opposed to the last couple of years, the gap between our best and worst is a lot smaller now.”
Queenscliff finished second on the ladder to earn a home semi against Barrabool on 14 and 15 March.
Barrabool is in some good form of its own, winning its past three matches.
“Since we played each other in the two-dayer (in round 7) when it was a draw, we’ve both played really good cricket,” Illingworth said.
“They’re just a good all-round team, but they’re not too reliant on particular guys. They just share a load and they’re able to execute a good day’s cricket.”
Queenscliff defeated Drysdale in the final home and away game, making 9/227 declared and bowling out the Hawks for 135.
Illingworth (46 not out), Tom Bakker (34), Jordan Monahan (32), Frank Mileto (31) and Lachie Kidd (28) all contributed.
“I always put the emphasis on if you get a start, then you go on and get a big 80 or 100,” Illingworth said.
“But it was just one of those unusual games where we had lots of contributions and it doesn’t matter how you do it. How you get to 230 doesn’t actually matter.
“The most important thing to come out of it was a few guys got themselves back in form. Even myself, I’ve been struggling in the back half of the year and you want runs prior to finals. For guys to be able to get a few runs, even if it is only 30 or 40, it just helps going into a semi and you feel a bit more confident.”
Illingworth used just three bowlers on Saturday – Monahan (3/39 from 24 overs), Luke Adam (5/38 from 16.5) and Tom Kidd (1/44 from nine).
“We’ve got the three frontliners and then Frank (Mileto) and Philpy (Lochie Philip) and Max Minney have been the ones that back the top three up,” Illingworth said.
“The beauty of the top three is that they’re fit and they’re young and they have a repeatable bowling action that can go and go to 20 overs plus.
“They just want to keep bowling. They don’t really like the ball being taken off them so that’s what you want as a captain.”
ARMSTRONG Creek did what it had to do by beating Anglesea, but needed other results to go its way and missed a finals spot.
Anglesea lost, but still made the top four although it slipped from second to fourth.
Jack Maclean (41) and Matt Kennedy (40) batted well with the Titans, who reached 156 all out, needing 146 for victory.
Dylan Taylor continued his fine form with 5/36, but the Titans got the runs in a thriller.
The loss means Anglesea will now face unbeaten Barwon Heads in a semi-final.
BARRABOOL clinched third place with a 61-run win against Jan Juc.
Defending last week’s score of 237, Lachie Snaith took 3/18 to have the Sharks 9/176 at the close of play. Peter Buszard (55 not out) and Tom Kearney (50) batted well, but the total proved too much.
INVERLEIGH will be relegated to A2 Grade next season after finishing bottom of the ladder, but it fought the season out bravely.
The Kookaburras set out in chase of Barwon Heads’ total of 190, but fell for 142 with Lachie Platt (35) and Daniel Midolo (31) providing resistance.
The Heads go into this week’s semi-final unbeaten and it was off-spinner Jason Borg (3/14) and leggies Daniel Donaldson (2/11) and Angus Mackie (2/34) who steered the victory.
