A one-run win against Rupertswood has given St Anthonys the perfect opportunity to lay permanent claim to top spot in Gisborne and District Cricket Association B-grade.
With five rounds remaining, St Anthonys is undefeated and 14 points clear of second-placed Rupertswood.
For coach Jamie Bolger, the aim for the rest of the season is simple.
“It was important to get the points against Rupertswood,” he said. “After beating Wallan before Christmas and now this win, we’re in a good spot.
“We set ourselves for a home final and we’ve set the platform for that to be achievable. We think we’ll see Wallan and Rupertswood in the finals.”
Saturday’s thriller between the top two sides went down to the final ball. St Anthonys, batting first, made 166 with skipper Lucas Alaimo hitting 79 despite a back injury. Paul Scott chipped in with 52.
In reply, Rupertswood was in the game until the last ball when a direct hit on the stumps from Rod Oosterhoff accounted for the final wicket with the tally on 165.
“It was a good close game and a good contest,” Bolger said. “After the break both sides were a little rusty.
“We dropped a couple of catches that we’d normally take and it sort of kept them in the game.
“We brought the field up [on the last ball] as the match deserved a result either way; it didn’t deserve to be a tie.”
Scott backed up his batting by taking three wickets.
Bolger said that despite its winning record, there were areas where his team needed to improve.
“A key focus, and something we want to pride ourselves on, is bowling and fielding,” he said.
“We’re a better bowling team than what we’ve shown in the past three rounds. We’ll work on that at training. Our batting has been good.”
In McIntyre Cup, Diggers Rest Bulla has suffered its second loss of the season.
Batting first against Gisborne, the Burras would have been disappointed with their meagre 113.
None of their batsmen got going, and playing coach Kevin Barker top-scored with 23.
Gisborne shared the wickets around, the five bowlers used taking two apiece.
The Dragons knocked off the runs with three wickets in hand.
Eamon McKenna top-scored with 43 in the Dragons’ 7-114.
Bacchus Marsh is bottom of the ladder after losing to Riddell.
Bacchus Marsh made 9-143, which Riddell chased down with five wickets in hand.
