Bullant captain Tony Caccaviello said his team always enjoyed testing itself against the Warriors.
“We always seem to have cracking games of cricket. I’d love to know the ledger but it feels pretty even in terms of wins and losses over the past few years,” he said.
“I think the team that is the most consistent for the longest in the three components of cricket – batting, bowling and fielding – this weekend will be the victor.
“If we can hit somewhere near our best I think we’ll be a real chance, and that’s all you can really ask for.”
The Bullants are battle tested after a tough semi-final against Laharum at Central Park, Stawell.
Caccaviello top scored with 54 after winning the toss and batting, with 31 runs from opener Matt Combe helping the Bullants reach 10-183 after batting for nearly the entirety of day one on Saturday.
Laharum made a positive start to its run chase on Sunday, but was brought undone by runs of wickets, with Caccaviello claiming 5-46 and Phoenix Hopper taking 4-40 to have the Demons all out for 150.
Opening batsman Daniel Griffiths, 38, and skipper Josh Mahoney, 34, were Laharum’s top scorers.
West Wimmera, meanwhile, was clinical in the other semi-final against Swifts-Great Western.
The Warriors sent the Lions in after winning the toss and proved to have made the right decision despite 56 runs from opener Ethan Marrow.
Outside of Marrow the Lions’ bats were largely silent, with four ducks on the Swifts-Great Western scoresheet as Nathan Alexander, 4-28, Austin Merrett and Jeremy Weeks, three wickets each, did damage.
Set a first-innings target of 115, the Warriors surpassed it before batting out the entirety of their 75 overs, finishing 7-181 and leaving no time for a second innings.
Josh Lees was unbeaten on 34 in the middle order, with Weeks making 32.
With West Wimmera brothers Brad and Nathan Alexander owning the two highest batting averages in the competition – 66.3 and 48.9 respectively – Caccaviello said the Bullant bowling and fielding would need to be sharp this weekend.
“Both the Alexanders are obviously very good cricketers. They’ve both had sensational years. They represent big danger for us, for sure,” he said.
“But West Wimmera is a very deep team full of contributors.
“We’re super conscious that there’s nine other players besides them who are all dangerous in their own right, both batting and fielding. We’ll try to focus on all the players, not just the Alexanders.
“We just have to stick to what we can control and try to execute our plan. We just need to be consistent, and if we can do that hopefully a bit of luck goes our way.”
Other grades
B and C Grade grand finals are also set for this weekend, with top two sides Rup-Minyip and Swifts-Great Western to do battle in B Grade, while the Lions will meet Laharum in the C Grade decider.
The strength of the Blue Panthers’ bowling attack won out against Horsham Tigers at the weekend, with Scott McCurdy taking 4-22 and Jake McKenzie 3-25 to bowl the Tigers out for 93-63 runs short of the Blue Panthers’ 9-156.
In the other semi-final Swifts-Great Western’s batting did the talking, with Tom Fitzgerald, 50, Ryder Sullivan, 40, and Craig Marrow, 34, helping the Lions to 7-239, with the Horsham Saints bowled out for 176 in reply thanks to Sullivan’s 4-28.
Saints Mark Crafter, 50, and Brock Hamerston, 46, were gallant in defeat for their side.
The first C Grade semi-final between minor premier Swifts-Great Western and Rhymney-Moyston went down to the wire, with the Lions winning by two wickets.
Set a target of 161, the Lions were led by opener Reece Kettle, who retired not out on 53 – giving his side just enough momentum to get across the line despite being down to its final two batters. It took Laharum until the final over to hit the winning runs in the other semi, after Charlie Mcintosh’s 54 runs helped Halls Gap set a target of 5-162.
Opener Lewis Hofmaier got the Demons on track with 56 runs and Sean Wouters had 33, but it was Dayan Wilfred who brought up the winning runs on the first ball of the final over with a six.
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