NORTH have booked themselves a spot in another A Grade grand final and a shot at back-to-back premierships after a hard fought 36 run win at the Jubilee Oval on Saturday afternoon.
With the mercury sitting at a much more comfortable 34 degrees after sitting around 40 all week, the players and officials were loving the somewhat cool change.
After a tough week at the SACA Country Cup, captain Tobias Hack and five of his teammates were definitely a little worse for wear after four long days in the South Australian sun.
Hack won the toss and elected to bat first.
The wicket had been exposed to Friday evening’s thunderstorm and it was hard to get a read on what it may produce, with Hack hoping that it may break up as the day went on.
Michael Maalste and Connor McLean opened the innings for the Dogs and soon found that the pitch had plenty of tricks hidden within it.
West opened the bowling with Lachlan Harvey and Jawad Azam, providing a different challenge than their regular openers of Hebbard and Ferguson.
Both North openers seemed to be seeing the ball quite well as they took on the tricky wicket and slow outfield.
McLean (11) was the first to go, edging one to the keeper off the bowling of Hebbard in the 11th over, the score 1/32.
Just after the first drinks break, Maalste fell in the same manner to the bowling of Azam and was on his way to the pavilion for 20.
In what seems to be a common theme this season, this brought the partnership of Hack and Benjamin Jurd together, although this time would be a different story to the usually aggressive pair.
This week saw a quite different challenge with the West bowling attack using the pitch to perfection, as the tally trickled along at a snail’s pace.
The following 13 overs saw only 22 runs scored with no loss of wickets.
After a stern talking to from said specialist fieldsman, Hack and Jurd decided to take on his advice and put the foot down after the second drinks break.
From 2/68 after 30 overs, they moved to 2/115 after 36 overs before Jurd was adjudged LBW for a patient innings of 31 from 56 balls.
Hack was bowled a short time later to be on his way for a similar innings of 44 from 87.
The remaining batters scrambled for late innings runs to build a defendable total.
Austin Wilson (5), Jordan Vella (2), Luke Hall (8*) – who even managed a Konstas style ramp shot over the keepers head for four, and new man Trent Jones (1*) managed to bump the tally up to 6/136 at the close of innings.
A respectable total given the conditions, but the bowlers would need to do their bit to secure the win.
West skipper Laurence Hebbard decided to get on the attack early, promoting himself to open the batting with Azam.
After a couple of well struck boundaries early, he sent one high in the air from the bowling of Jaxon Cain to be caught in the safe hands of Hall to be dismissed for 11.
A short time later Maalste (1/12) got one through a little quick to have the big wicket of Max Everuss (5) and West were looking shaky early at 2/16.
Jones bowled well in his first spell in A Grade cricket and was unlucky not to take a wicket as he finished with 0/9 from his three overs.
Azam and Jordan Meehan managed to grind through to the first drinks break, Azam playing some clever paddles to manoeuvre around the North fielders.
West were 2/49 and tracking at a similar pace as North in the first innings, the game far from over.
After drinks, Hack decided to turn to his spinners as Vella and Hall were introduced into the attack.
Vella would be the one to make the breakthrough, bowling Azam for an entertaining 15 from 48 balls.
With the dangerous Harvey coming to the wicket, the game was at a crossroads and this is where North pounced.
The next nine overs would see West lose five wickets for just three runs as the fielders were kept busy with catches to Kieran McEvoy, Jones and Vella, as well a stumping to keeper Hack and an absolute hanger of a catch from Jurd – West had been reduced to 8/65 and the game was as good as done.
The spin of Vella (5/12) who claimed his first five-wicket haul for the season, and Hall (1/10) proving to be a handful on the tricky Jube wicket.
With the North bowlers tiring, Kaye dispatched a few loose deliveries to the boundary as he got West to a respectable total of 100. Jaxon Cain bowled well throughout the innings to finish with 3/24, claiming the final two wickets of the innings.
North will take on Central next weekend, the last appearance at the Jubilee Oval for this season before heading back to the Alma Oval to finish the year off.
North 6/136 (Hack 44, Jurd 31, Hebbard (3/23) defeated West 100 (Meehan 20, Kaye 20, Vella 5/12, Cain 3/24) by 36 runs.
