Timely ton just the tonic for Wonthaggi Club in cricket finale

LOCHLAN McLean has scored a couple of centuries in A Grade Division Two over the journey, but he chose a very timely moment to score his maiden A Grade Division 1 ton on Saturday when he guided Wonthaggi Club to a testing target of 256 off 86.3 overs in the grand final at Scorpion Park in Leongatha.

At the halfway mark, though, it looked anything like that as Club lost their sixth wicket in the 43rd over, with less than 80 runs on the board.

Mitch Thomas 12, Alex Geyer 5 and Ryan Thomas 7 were all out in the first 13 overs as bowlers Travis Pickering and Jugraj Singh turned the screws backed up well in the field.

There was some relief for a while as Sulakshan Mendisque 13 and Simon Beaumont 22 offered some resistance but the decision to bat first, after winning the toss, was under scrutiny as they went in quick succession, followed by Jakeb Thomas for a duck, with the bowlers well on top in cool, overcast conditions.

But Club has been able to battle their way out of a hole a number of times this year and slowly but surely, the combination of Lochie McLean and captain Joel Brann started to turn things around with Brann contributing a very important 33 off 80 balls to start blunting the OMK attack.

He became Singh’s third victim in the 70th over, out caught by Ethan Lamers, opening the way for another important knock by Fraser West, who, as well as taking the pressure off his partner Lochie McLean as he moved into the 80s and then 90s, contributed a free-flowing 28 of his own off 40 balls, including one towering six over the Leongatha Town social rooms.

He looked for all the world like taking the game away from OMK but against the run of play, was given out LBW to Jacob Lamers who was working up a head of steam from the school end of the ground.

All the while, McLean was moving closer to three figures, punishing the bad balls for four, working others for ones and twos, and patiently waiting out the good deliveries.

He never once gave OMK a chance, through more than 160 deliveries, and as he dabbed one down to backward point for an easy two to bring up his ton, everyone around the ground stood to give him a richly deserved standing ovation.

There are two things you want to do as a team when you go into a grand final, win it of course, but you also want to dignify your efforts through the season by putting up a decent score and making a real game of it.

From a difficult position at the halfway stage, Wonthaggi Club have done that by posting 256. If you break it down, it’s less than three runs an over but it’s also “runs on the board” and will present OMK’s batsmen with a genuine test when they come back tomorrow.

The good news for them is that the weather is on the improve for Sunday and the Leongatha Town grounds’ crew, and their supporters, have prepared a super deck befitting the grand finale to the Leongatha and District Cricket Association season.