Sport
17 March, 2026
Avoca, Colts, Clunes and MKM make finals
A top four race which has captivated much of the A reserve season received the photo finish it deserved on Saturday, as a gripping climax of the home and away season ended with Avoca, Clunes, Colts Phelans and MKM heading to the finals.
Despite being just three points away from finishing top of the ladder and being level on points with Clunes and Colts, Beaufort Red was the desperately unfortunate side to miss out on finals with a 0.375 inferior quotient.
With their dominant win over Carisbrook, Avoca reclaimed the coveted top spot, hoping to cap off a spectacular return to senior cricket with a title. Their finals quest begins against the three-peat hunting Magpies, who ended February by defeating the Bulldogs by 86 runs.
That leaves MKM and Colts to battle it out in the other semi-final after both teams clinched their top four spot with victories on the weekend.
It will be the first meeting between the two sides since the Colts’ historic comeback at the Mill in round 14, which proved instrumental to their finals berth as the starting point of a six-game winning streak.
Clunes 80 def by MKM 3/81
With their season hanging in the balance, MKM punched their finals ticket with a commanding seven-wicket victory over the reigning premiers.
Chris Freeman was the standout for the Mill, taking four crucial wickets and going 40 not out to complete his team’s run chase in 29 overs.
It was another trademark bowling performance from MKM that produced their early advantage, with three wickets from Nathan Leist throttling Clunes high-powered batting line-up to 5/48.
Fred Penhall and Brendan Ingram attempted to get the Magpies back on course, but Freeman clipped their wings with a potent spell that bowled Clunes out for 80.
Even with their finals spot virtually sealed, Clunes were determined not to go down without a fight, highlighted by Brad Stevenson trapping Leist for an LBW dismissal before MKM got off the mark.
Excellent bowling from Stevenson, Adam Clark and Mark Jenkin restricted MKM’s usually aggressive batting lineup from exploding, but Sebastian Borg and Jithin Aby Thomas all produced solid totals alongside Freeman as the Mill successfully chipped away at the target.
Avoca 7/243 def Carisbrook 7/117
After a horrid month of cricket, Avoca’s seniors return will come to the finals stage, overcoming their recent skid to vanquish Carisbrook by 126 runs.
With MKM’s victory meaning a win was required to make next weekend’s semi-final, the Bulldogs recaptured their early-season bite, smashing 243 in the first innings to take the match away from Carisbrook.
Avoca’s top order all scored at least 25 runs after Carisbrook won the toss and sent them in to bat, with Glen Cosgriff leading with an unbeaten 53 while opener Nathan Coghlan scored 43 and the pair of Cameron Holland and James Collicoat reached the 30s.
Six Carisbrook bowlers picked up a wicket during the innings, with Brayden Minter topping the charts with 2/12.
Outside of a sublime 68 from Caleb Cluff and a solid knock from Brandon Carter, Avoca kept their opponents’ run chase in check.
For the second week in a row, the Bulldogs only utilised five bowlers, with Tyson Gray capitalising on his prolonged spell with figures of 2/21 while Collicoat took 2/30.
Beaufort Red 105 def by Colts Phelans 5/106
In a de facto elimination final, Colts Phelans completed an astonishing late-season surge to procure a finals spot at Beaufort Red’s expense, winning by five wickets.
Heading into this pivotal contest after a two-week hiatus, Beaufort Red were slow out of the gates after being sent in to bat, with Ethan Chaplin, Luke Patterson and Grant Rogers combining to have the hosts struggling at 3/20.
Joshua Lofts and Harrison Grant helped stabilise Beaufort Red’s innings, each finishing on 28. That allowed Craig Grant to cut loose late, only needing 17 balls to make 21 runs with four boundaries.
The pairing of Riley Govan and Aaron Balzan nullified those impacts by ripping through Beaufort Red’s middle order with a combined five wickets, holding the hosts to a final score of 105.
Chasing 106 is typically a formality for many teams, but the youthful variable of Nicolas Stares provided Beaufort Red an avenue to finals salvation.
After removing Nick Peart and Peter Egan for cheap, Stares dismissed A grade regular Rhys Egan for 11 to bring Beaufort Red back into the game.
Starting their partnership with the Colts in trouble on 3/31, Patterson and Balzan crushed Beaufort Red’s finals aspirations with a 68-run stand.
Patterson top scored with 41 while Balzan ended unbeaten on 25 as the Colts completed their finals sealing run chase in the 30th over.
Maryborough 4/119 def Beaufort Blue 118
An outstanding 89 from Lachlan Bursill ensured Maryborough’s campaign ended in victory, defeating Beaufort Blue by six wickets.
Despite Beaufort Blue being undermanned, Kriss Ellis threatened to give the Owls a contest, scoring a classy 57 with 10 fours at the top of the order.
Brady Edwards followed in Ellis’ footsteps with an exhilarating 39, but Maryborough’s bowling attack, led by Jaxon Carmody and Luke Grant, always found a way to routinely create breakthroughs, bowling Beaufort Blue out for 118.
Even with early wickets from Dan Quixley and Rory Wilkinson tumbling Maryborough to 2/3, Bursill almost single-handedly kept the Owls rolling.
With 10 fours and three sixes, Bursill was a boundary factory on Saturday, guiding his team to cruise past Beaufort Blue’s total.