By Colin MacGillivray

Homers will attempt to defend its Horsham Cricket Association A Grade crown against Noradjuha-Toolondo in this weekend’s grand final after a thrilling pair of weather-affected semi-finals finished on Sunday.

Homers advanced to the grand final by default after rain saw its match against Brim-Kellalac-Sheep Hills called off, although the Pigeons were in a commanding position with a lead of 72 runs and had the Eagles down to their final wicket.

Meanwhile at Horsham City Oval, the Bullants waited nervously for the rain to pass as they attempted to convert a strong lead against minor premier West Wimmera.

Noradjuha-Toolondo batted first, reaching the end of its 75 overs at 9-194, thanks largely to an unbeaten 68 from Austin Smith, who teamed with Jason Harris, 35, for a game-changing, middle-order partnership.

The Bullants then had the Warriors’ run chase in trouble when Smith and Matt Combe struck with early wickets, leaving the Warriors eight wickets down with more than 100 still required for victory.

Just when Noradjuha-Toolondo seemed assured of victory, the heavens opened and play was suspended.

With the association’s bylaws assigning victory in an abandoned final to the team that finished higher on the ladder, Bullant batsman Justtin Combe admitted his team waited anxiously for play to resume.

“You can’t really control it, but there was a good period there where it didn’t look like we were going to get back on the ground,” he said.

“I think we were in the box-seat when we went off for the rain delay. We were on top by a little bit, so we were glad we were able to get back on the oval and just barely get the result.”

Play resumed with less than an hour remaining, and the Bullants once again leaned on their two key bowlers, with Smith breaking through to claim the wicket of Liam Preston and Matt Combe ending the match with the scalp of Liam Albrecht. Smith ended the day with figures of 4-23, while Combe had 5-41.

“We felt good with 194 on the board. I knew if we could bowl well that was going to be a pretty hard total to chase,” Justtin Combe said.

“They would have had to bat well to get it, and by all means they could have done it too.

“But it wasn’t your traditional City Oval lightning-fast outfield, so a total of 190 was probably as good as 230 or 240 in other weeks when the outfield is quicker.”

Homers skipper Adam Atwood was also relieved to earn another grand final berth despite its semi-final being abandoned late on Sunday.

“We’re excited to be back. It’s always hard to back up previous results, so it’s good that we’re there again,” he said.

“It was good to have a win, minus the weather interrupting, but I feel like we were in a pretty good position.

“Getting the outright against (Horsham) Tigers (in the final week of the season) was massively important in the end, because a couple of points here and there and we wouldn’t be playing this weekend.”

Chaminda Gamage and Gibson Perry led the way for the Pigeons, with Gamage making 37 runs and taking 4-29, while Perry scored 43 and took 2-28.

Brim-Kellalac-Sheep Hills skipper Isaac McPherson was the main reason his side survived until the rain delay, making an unbeaten 86, but the rest of his team failed to fire as ducks littered the score sheet and no other Eagle made more than 12 runs.

“Our keys (in the grand final) will be posting a score that we can defend, or being able to chase a total. It’s going to be our batting, because our bowlers have done a great job all year,” Atwood said.

“Once (the Bullants are) on top they put a lot of pressure on you in the field – vocally, and they’re close to the bat.

“It’s about taking that pressure early and then trying to cash in later on in the day when everyone is hot and tired and batting is hopefully a bit easier.”

Justtin Combe said the previous encounters between the sides this season – a one-wicket win for Homers in round three and a 68-run win for the Bullants in round 12 – would count for little when play begins on Saturday.

“You see teams that haven’t lost a game all season and then lose in finals, so you just never know. It’s just a matter of focusing on playing your best cricket on the day and hoping things fall your way,” he said.

“There are no great set plans. We’ll just stick to what we’ve done since Christmas. We’ve had a pretty good run since then and been on a bit of a roll, so I don’t think we need to change much to be honest.”

Other grades

Noradjuha-Toolondo is preparing for another grand final this weekend after its B Grade team defeated Rupanyup-Minyip by 50 runs in a semi-final at Coughlin Park.

The Bullants will square off against Horsham Tigers after the Tigers defeated Colts by five wickets in the other semi-final.

Homers and West Wimmera will contest the C Grade grand final after seven-wicket and 73-run victories in their respective semi-finals over Lubeck-Murtoa and Laharum.

In the Wimmera-Mallee Cricket Association, Donald Jeffcott successfully defended its A Grade premiership with a comfortable five-wicket win over Birchip Swans at Warracknabeal’s Anzac Park on Saturday.

Daniel Atkins, 4-18, and Eddie Landwehr, 4-15, demolished the Swans’ bats to have them all out for 56, while Lachlan Jones led the chase with 29 unbeaten runs.

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