THREE centuries in round five marked the end of the home and away season of the Gippsland Cricket League.
Traralgon all-rounder Lee Stockdale’s century was not enough to get his team into the final, but tons from Brett Lanigan and Josh Rurawhe from Sale Maffra booked them a berth with Bairnsdale on Sunday, 2 February.
Sale Maffra v Central Gippsland
Sale Maffra won the toss at Yallourn North and decided to bat.
It lost an early wicket and with the score at 2 for 45, Lanigan (129 not out) and Rurawhe (106) preceded to dominate the innings.
The talented pair plundered the bowling to all parts with a partnership of 207.
After 50 overs Sale Maffra reached 314 for the loss of six wickets, giving Central Gippsland little chance of victory. Andrew Petrou (2/38), Jackson Noonan (2/36) and Patrick Farrant (2/23) were the most successful bowlers for the home team.
In reply, Riyaz Pathan (43), Rob Phoenix (34) and Daniel Siddle (32) made the Sale Maffra bowlers work hard as they batted out their 50 overs to finish on 9/225.
Matt Dowsett claimed 3/41 for the visitors and he was supported by Michael Cafferkey (2/37) and Joshua Davis (2/36).
The convincing win enabled Sale Maffra to take a place in the GCL final.
Traralgon v Warragul
Warragul batted first at Andrew’s Park, Churchill with a win booking it a place in the final.
Warragul achieved a 31-run opening stand, but then lost four wickets for 17 runs.
A number of players were able to get starts but did not go on with the job.
Wilson Pollock (44), Malcolm Dow (36) and Daniel Hamilton (31) were the main contributors for the visitors.
After Warragul’s 50 overs it had reached a competitive total of 9/198, but there was concern it was not enough.
Michael Warne (3/32) picked up valuable wickets and he was well backed up by Corey Pollard and Ryan Delaney with two wickets each.
Traralgon lost two wickets early for 12 runs, but Greg Munro (35) and Lee Stockdale restored some order with a 70-run partnership.
Stockdale went on to make a brilliant undefeated 101 to follow up the century he made for Ex Students in the Traralgon and District Cricket Association the day before.
Ben Julin (34) chipped in with some valuable runs and Traralgon came out on top with 7/220 off its 50 overs.
Jason Croft claimed 3/34 for Warragul, but its chances of playing in the final had disappeared.
Leongatha v Bairnsdale
Leongatha won the toss on its home turf and elected to bat, but after a reasonable start of 42 it lost four quick wickets for an additional 16 runs.
However, a fine partnership of 87 between Amil Ratnayake (60) and Dylan Clark (51) set up a competitive total of 174 off 49.2 overs.
Marcus Latham (4/33) led the Bairnsdale attack with assistance from Lynton Toms (2/32) and Aaron Lynch (2/33).
In reply, Bairnsdale was travelling well at 1/74 with Alex Hulme (30) and Luke Schumann (30) making sound contributions.
However it lost three quick wickets and never recovered to get on top of the bowling.
Hayden Erfurth top scored with 43, but it was not enough to get his team over the line as they finished on 8/169 off 50 overs – six runs short of their target.
Leongatha’s bowling was tight with Gavin Britt (3/37), Tim Wightman ( 2/31) and Dylan Clark (2/40) the main wicket takers.
This was Bairnsdale’s first GCL loss this season but they retained top position on the ladder and will meet Sale Maffra in the final.
