Harwood cruise into grand final berth

By Tim Howard

Harwood has snared the first grand final spot in the Clarence Valley first grade cricket competition with an imperious 214-run hammering of its closest rival, Lawrence at Harwood Oval over the weekend.

Harwood dominated the game from the outset amassing 9/314 from 96 overs and rumbling Lawrence for 110.

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It was a team effort from Harwood, built around a patient top score of 65 from Hayden McMahon.

But he had plenty of helpers.

First drop Coby Tabor chipped in with 43 and Troy Turner, lower down the order, capitalised on the team’s good position to hit a brisk 42 from 45 balls.

Skipper Ben McMahon, 37, opener Maison Simmons, 33 and Duncan Fisher, 31 all helped contribute to the massive total.

In the face of this batting wall, Lawrence toiled hard in the field.

Ben Shaw, 3/69 had the pick of the figures, Doug Harris, 2/74 whirled down 24 overs of his off spinners, but couldn’t make the sort of breakthroughs needed to halt the Harwood juggernaut.

Tucabia’s left arm fast bowler Rohan Hackett has resumed bowling after recovering from a nasty arm injury which kept him from bowling for many months.

Nathan Anderson, 2/60 and Chris Townson, 2/54 bowled consistently, but failed to ask enough questions of the Harwood batting.

Chasing the mammoth total Lawrence were never in it.

Consistent opener Ben Hill fell for a second-ball duck and from there, things only got worse for Lawrence.

Normally a punishing batter, Mark Ensbey, 18 was forced to drop anchor as wickets tumbled around him.

He had weathered the storm of the opening attack, but found Ben McMahon 4/41 a different prospect, hitting a catch to Corey Lewis after 81 balls of stubborn resistance.

Doug Harris, 19, was the only other batter to offer much resistance as Ben McMahon’s seam bowling and his brother Jacob’s spin worked their way through the Lawrence lower order.

The match was a blueprint for the grand final, with Harwood showing the value of batting first, compiling partnerships and exerting that scoreboard pressure with the ball.

At Ellem Oval, Grafton, the elimination final between last season’s premiers GDSC Easts and Tucabia Copmanhurst was a low-scoring affair that showcased the all round talents of Tucabia’s Rohan Hackett.

Hackett’s 30 was one of the few highlights of Tucabia’s modest total of 139 all out.

For Easts it was their all-rounder, Shannon Connor who starred with the ball, taking 5/42 from 26 overs.

For Tucabia, a lower order 30no from Dylan Lucas proved vital for his team’s chances.

Easts’ batters could not follow through on the fine bowling effort, collapsing to be all out for 109 in the 35th over.

Hackett, was in irresistible form with the ball, taking 7/41 from 17.1 overs.

Harwood’s Ben McMahon proved he is a threat with bat and ball with 37 runs and four wickets in Harwood’s huge win over Lawrence in the qualifying final at the weekend.

Connor, with a relatively sedate 29, was the best of the Easts batting in a disappointing overall effort.

Matt Lobsey, 22 and Aiden Tredinnick, 24, made a late-order rally but when Tredinnick was run out with the score at 98, the innings folded quickly.

Tucabia’s second innings was a totally different affair.

Thomas Cootes, 71no and veteran Matt Pigg, 50, saw off any threat of an outright win to Easts, which has missed its chance to defend its premiership.

This weekend the preliminary final will pit the consistent Lawrence outfit against the more mercurial Tucabia side.

Hackett’s seven-wicket haul is a warning to all that he is back to his best after a serious arm injury stopped him from bowling for a long period.

Always capable of bowling at impressive speed, he’s now got the nous gained from years of experience to work over batters looking for weaknesses.

Lawrence in a similar fashion to Harwood has impressed with its determination to bat out the overs.

It failed to do that against Harwood and found chasing a big score put too much pressure on its batters.

Tucabia has not scored consistently through the season so does not come into the game with the batting firepower that Harwood possesses.

Once again the game will be played over the Saturday and Sunday of the weekend, with play starting at 12.30pm and 10.25am.

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