Meadows and Mount Lofty will enter the 2020/21 Hills Cricket Association (HCA) finals series as the form teams of the competition. Meadows have won their past eight games to finish with their sixth consecutive minor premiership, while Mount Lofty are on a four-game winning streak. The two teams clashed twice during the minor round with Meadows winning both games. They also played off for the Twenty20 title with the Redcaps winning a final-over thriller. Meadows started their premiership defence slowly, winning just two of their first five games, and appeared in danger of missing finals action for the first time since the 2004/05 season. A two-game break in the season due to COVID-19 seemed to reinvigorate the Bulldogs as they hit their straps with a vengeance. Skipper Rohan Reid (434 runs), Haydn Reid (329 runs) and Luke Tonkin (243 runs) have led the way with the bat while the returning Kris Dawe (26 wickets), Rohan Reid (19 wickets) and Callan Blackwell (14 wickets) have stood out with the ball.

Mount Lofty also had an inconsistent start to the season with just two wins and a tie (against Scott Creek Ironbank) from the first five rounds. From that moment on, the Redcaps lost just one game (to Meadows) as they finished in second position on the HCA ladder to secure the ‘double chance’. Skipper Jordan Neis-Beer (287 runs), Adam Carthew (234 runs) and James Kittel-Neill (228 runs) have been the main contributors with the bat while Aaron Smith (19 wickets), Carthew (14 wickets) and Max Hawke (13 wickets) are the Redcaps’ leading wicket takers. The winner of this semi-final will move straight through to the Grand Final on March 20 while the loser will live to fight another day in the Preliminary Final on March 13.



2018/19 premier Aldgate will take on Kangarilla in the ‘knockout’ semi-final with the game to be played on neutral territory at Balhannah Oval. It will be Kangarilla’s first appearance in a HCA final after joining the competition in 2014/15. ‘Kangies’ did qualify for finals last season but COVID-19 put paid to their chance of hitting the park. The sides have met on two occasions this season with the ledger standing at one win each. Aldgate spent most of the season inside the top two on the ladder before losing two of their last three games to slip to third spot. Mitch Thomas has enjoyed a breakout season with 418 runs and he has been supported by Frank Clements (247 runs) and skipper Jake Turnbull (206 runs). Turnbull, Matty Hansen and Jack Woollard all took 23 wickets in the minor round while veteran Perry Edwards chipped in with 17 wickets.

Kangarilla started the season well and looked a chance of finishing in the top two at Christmas. They lost form after the break, losing three games on the trot, to drop out of the top four. Wins against Uraidla and Flagstaff Hill in the last two rounds saw ‘Kangies’ snatch fourth spot and a knockout semi-final date with Aldgate. Steve Featherstone has had an excellent all-round season with 360 runs and 19 wickets while Cole Davy (337 runs) has had an excellent second half of the season. Skipper Che Martinsen (22 wickets) and Ben Evans (21 wickets) joined Featherstone inside the top 10 wicket takers in the HCA for the season. 

There will be a full wrap of the A1 semi-finals on the Fleurieu App on Monday along with scores from the A2 and A3 games.

‘A1’ Grade Semi-Finals (6/3/21)

Meadows v Mount Lofty (Meadows)

Aldgate v Kangarilla (Balhannah)

‘A2’ Grade Semi-Finals (6/3/21)

Bridgewater v Flagstaff Hill (Bridgewater)

Mylor v Aldgate (Mylor)

‘A3’ Grade Semi-Finals (6/3/21)

Aldgate v Bridgewater (Aldgate)

Scott Creek Ironbank v Kangarilla (Cherry Gardens)

*All games are 40-overs per side and start at 1.00pm