By David Nagel
Kooweerup and Merinda Park will look to convert dominant round-robin form into grand final appearances when the Demons and Cobras host semi-finals of the CCCA T20 Kookaburra Cup.
Kooweerup finished top of ‘Premier Pool B’, with victories over Pakenham, Clyde and Carlisle Park seeing the Demons two games clear at the top of the four-team ladder.
Carlisle Park, Clyde and Pakenham all had one win each from their three games in Pool B, with the Lions – Pakenham – qualifying for the semi-final stage courtesy of a superior percentage.
Kooweerup will host Devon Meadows in Semi-Final 1 on Tuesday 16 January, after the Panthers qualified second in ‘Premier Pool A’, while Pakenham will head to Tony Way Reserve to take on Merinda Park in Semi-Final 2.
The Cobras have been super impressive to this stage of the tournament, with wins over Tooradin, Devon Meadows and Cardinia setting up a handy buffer at the top of the Pool A table.
Marquee player Michael De Iacovo set the scene early for the Cobras, making a rapid-fire 76 off just 42 deliveries in an impressive opening-round win over Tooradin.
That polished performance was well supported by all-rounder Rumesh Ranasinghe, who backed up his 21 runs, from 11 balls, with a tidy three-wicket spell.
Ranasinghe returned figures of 3/13 from four overs against the Seagulls, and has proven that no fluke with two further prominent displays with the ball.
In round two, he took 3/15 against Devon Meadows, which included a rare maiden in the shortest form of the game.
He then took 3/16 against Cardinia, before making 58 not out from 48 balls in a successful run chase.
If there was an MVP Award in the Kookaburra Cup, Ranasinghe would lead the pack with a likely eight votes from a maximum nine available.
But while the Cobras remain undefeated, they welcome a Pakenham side that has some serious fire-power at its disposal.
Lions’ dynamo Dale Tormey has the highest individual score of the tournament so far, pummelling an unbeaten 94 from just 54 balls against Carlisle Park in round two.
Tormey and Jordan Cleland (65 not out off 59 balls) – a marquee player from Berwick – produced an unbeaten 151-run partnership for the second wicket to lead the Lions to victory.
Tormey was brutal against the Vikings, crunching seven boundaries and six maximums in an innings that finished with a strike rate of 174.07.
This one should be close; but we’ll go for De Iacovo to win the battle of the big hitters and lead the Cobras to victory.
Kooweerup will start a pronounced favourite against Devon Meadows in its semi-final, although the Panthers have had some steady contributors that could take the game up to the Demons.
Vishesh Bansal 55 (53) was the star for the Panthers in round one, while Nathan Worsteling (52 (41) put his name in lights in round two.
And, speaking of lights, it was Lucas Ligt – with 3/27 and 37 off 55 balls – that was the shining light for the Panthers in their round-three clash of the tournament.
But this is a step up in class; with the likes of Luke McMaster, Chris Bright, Sahan Perera and Steve Dillon to lead the Demons to a grand final berth.
The two undefeated sides in District Division, Officer and Lang Lang, will host semi-finals in the second-tier competition.
The Bullants host reigning champions Cranbourne Meadows, while Lang Lang will look to make It back-to-back grand final appearances when the Swampies roll out the red carpet for NNG/Maryknoll.
CCCA KOOKABURRA CUP
Semi-Final Fixture
Tuesday 16 January, 2023
PREMIER: MERINDA PARK host Pakenham, KOOWEERUP host Devon Meadows.
DISTRICT: OFFICER host Cranbourne Meadows, LANG LANG host Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll.
