By JARROD POTTER
THERE were no coin flips or races to settle this score. With training, local Twenty20s and a rigid schedule for Cricket Victoria to maintain, Cranbourne and Buckley Ridges were unable to schedule a time this week for their Statewide Twenty20 Cup second round match. The third round match had already been scheduled against Brighton District next week, so a winner had to be found from this week’s match.
With both sides keen to advance – as the winner of the metropolitan contest plays on the MCG as Buckley Ridges has achieved twice before – the Eagles and Ridges took to Casey Fields on Tuesday night for a bowl off to decide.
Herein lies the obvious question: what’s a bowl off?
In a move sanctioned by Cricket Victoria, six men from each side run in to try and knock the bails off and the stumps over – with Cranbourne taking the bowl off victory 3-2.
Steve Spoljaric, Cam Dinger and “Funky” Miller struck the pegs for Cranbourne and their efforts were enough to give the Eagles the highly strange victory.
Spoljaric was used to this caper, having participated in a couple overseas while in England.
“It was normal to me – been involved in a few over the years,” Spoljaric said. “No skill involved whatsoever you’ve just got to bowl the stump and not really anything you can say, the loser is never going to be happy in that situation. It puts Cranbourne into the strange position of not winning a match yet in the cup, but through to the third round, but Spoljaric thinks the Eagles can knock off whoever they face.
“The last few Twenty20s we haven’t had Te Ahu (Davis),” Spoljaric said. “He’s had three or four weeks off – he’s an important cog for us and in Twenty20 he’ll lift us 30 per cent as no one hits it as hard as him.”
Cranbourne heads into round three of the Statewide Twenty20 Cup to face Brighton District at home on Wednesday from 5.30pm.
