Meadows claimed their seventh consecutive minor premiership following a thrilling tie with Mount Lofty at Heathfield during round 18 action in the Hills Cricket Association (HCA) on Saturday. The two teams, who played off in the 2020/21 Grand Final, will meet again at Meadows this Saturday in the ‘double chance’ semi final. Mount Lofty batted first and lost opener Josh Healey (3) early, before Adam Carthew and Redcaps skipper Jordan Neis-Beer (16) added 37 runs for the second wicket. Hard-hitting Jack Sandercock hit a quickfire 18 (12 balls), while Carthew continued on to top score with 32 (73 balls). A handy 26-run ninth-wicket stand between Dave Bennett (14 not out) and James Kittel-Neill (11 not out) lifted the home side to 8/132 at the end of their 40 overs. Rohan Reid (2/16) and Brad Louch (2/20) were the best of the Meadows bowlers. The Redcaps started brilliantly with the ball as Meadows collapsed to 6/46 and Mount Lofty had one hand on the minor premiership and home ground advantage in the finals. Veteran Dave Bennett was on fire as he took 3/9 from his eight overs, while Peter Giannes bowled a very restrictive opening spell of 0/9 (8). Enter Chad Dawe for the Bulldogs and as has happened so often throughout his career, Dawe changed the game in favour of his side. He found a willing ally in Marko Kovac as this pair added 69 runs for the seventh wicket before Kovac went for 25 (48 balls). The game, and the minor premiership, came down to Meadows needing five runs from the last over which was to be bowled by Carthew (2/36). The first ball of the over was a no-ball as there were too many fielders outside the fielding restriction circle. The subsequent ‘free-hit’ wasn’t scored off and then Louch (1) was run-out to leave Meadows needing one run to tie with two balls remaining to clinch top spot. Tom Bevan-Giles and Dawe ran a bye to the ‘keeper and then Dawe was dismissed on the last ball of the game to leave the game tied. Dawe was the star for Meadows with 61 from just 38 balls. His innings contained no boundaries but he hit an amazing seven sixes!

“It was a very good game of Cricket,” Meadows skipper Rohan Reid said. “A lot of our games this season have been close and gone down to the last few overs. It was great to come out with a tie, given the position we were in, to maintain top spot and win the minor premiership. The competition is very tight and anyone in the top four can win the premiership.”

Kangarilla finished their season on a high with an upset five-wicket win against Aldgate at Kangarilla on Saturday. Aldgate batted first and struggled throughout their innings as they slumped to 8/83 before skipper Jake Turnbull (31 not out) and Matt Lennon (13 not out) put on 27 runs for the ninth wicket to lift the ‘Gaters’ to 8/110 from their 40 overs. Frank Clements (14) was the only other Aldgate batsman to reach double figures. Ryan Grimmond (2/12), Jack Evans (2/17) and Che Martinsen (2/25) were the multiple wicket takers for Kangarilla. ‘Kangies’ had to work hard to reach the modest target, but they got there in the 40th over for the loss of five wickets. Lachlan Knight anchored the innings with a patient 39 (99 balls). He was ably supported by Ben Ryan (20) and Cam Venter (16 not out). Turnbull was the standout Aldgate bowler with miserly figures of 2/8 (8). The ‘Gaters’ now take on arch-rival Stirling in a knockout semi-final this Saturday, while Kangarilla finished fifth after a promising first half of the season.

Uraidla finished their season strongly with a comfortable 46-run win over finals-bound Stirling at Stirling Oval. The visitors batted first and posted a competitive 5/175 from their 40 overs. Ty Watson, in just his second game for the Demons, top scored with 57 (80 balls), and he got good support from Israel Symington (40), Alex Heptinstall (38) and Peter Wilson (22). Veteran Eagles fast bowler Chris Shaw was the standout performer with 4/43 (8), his best figures of the season. Stirling started the run chase in disastrous fashion as they were sitting precariously at 2/2. Daniel Gonzalez (44) and Kosta Sinodinos (22) put on 60 runs for the third wicket to get their side back in the contest. Harrison Webb added 26 (29 balls) but the home side lost 6/27 to be bowled out for 129 in the 37th over. Simon Parker (3/17) and Renzo Gaetan (3/21) did the damage with the ball for Uraidla.

Scott Creek Ironbank (SCIB) finished their season in style with a four-wicket win at Bridgewater to bring up their fifth win of the campaign. The Raiders batted first and struggled their way to 108 before being bowled out in the 40th over. Chris Murray (32) and Caleb Risson (25) were the only Bridgewater batsmen to pass 20. Five SCIB bowlers took wickets with Beau Thomas (3/30), Daniel Desengo (2/18) and Andy Adams (2/18) leading the way. Scott Creek Ironbank were in all sorts of trouble as they slipped to 6/68 in the 29th over. ‘Big Ben’ McGowan then took over as he smashed 42 not out from just 26 balls (4 x 4’s, 3 x 6’s) as he and Daniel Key (3 not out) saw their side over the line with 25 balls to spare. Bridgewater skipper Justin Summerill was his side's best bowler with 2/24 from eight overs. 

Ladder (after round 18)

Meadows 78, Mount Lofty 75, Aldgate 72, Stirling 69, Kangarilla 63, Uraidla 30, Scott Creek Ironbank 30, Bridgewater 15.

Semi-Final Fixtures

Meadows v Mount Lofty (Meadows)

Aldgate v Stirling (Aldgate)