Darley has all but qualified for the Ballarat Cricket Association A-grade finals series thanks to a gutsy win against Mt Clear at the weekend.
Chasing Mt Clear’s modest 124, Darley resumed its innings needing 65 more to win with five wickets in hand.
The moment called for calm heads and that’s exactly what middle-order batsman Harry Killoran and tailender Bradley Barnes brought to the task, combining in a match-winning 40-run stand to earn their side a three-wicket win.
Eighteen-year-old Killoran finished with 50 runs from 151 balls, while Barnes scored 31.
Darley coach Heath Pritchard was full of praise for the way the lower order toughed out the match.
“It was really good to win the way we did,” he said. “When you’ve played enough cricket, you know that in finals often you’re eight or nine out and still need to do some work to win.
“To be able to win the way we did is probably going to resemble what will happen for the rest of the year. We’re expecting some really tight games.”
Saturday’s 50 was Killoran’s second half-century of the season, while Barnes’s knock completed a brilliant all-round match with the opening bowler taking 2-29.
The victory has pushed Darley to top spot on the ladder.
Going into the season’s final round, fifth- placed Wendouree would need to score an outright for there to be any chance of the Lions dropping out of the four.
But Pritchard says his team is only concerned with what it can control.
“We’re 90 per cent there, you could say,” he says.
“Technically, we can still miss because we are only nine points clear of Wendouree. Who knows what will happen in cricket?
“The good thing is, if we win this week then we end up on top. I think that’s really our focus now.”
If it does make finals, Darley will go into March knowing its best is good enough against any of its finals opponents.
The Lions beat top-four sides Golden Point and Brown Hill earlier in the season, as well as fourth-placed Mt Clear at the weekend.
“I do think we have played some pretty good cricket against the better sides,” Pritchard says.
“Hopefully, it’s a sign of things to come and shows that we play our best cricket when it matters most.”
