Sport
24 March, 2026
Laane secures Grand Final return over Bulls
Laanecoorie Dunolly has shaken off any semi-final jitters to overcome a serious Beaufort day two scare and advance to their fifth March premiership decider in six years with a seven-wicket victory.
A gritty 49 from Lyle Aichroth salvaged the Bulls after another impressive bowling showcase from the hosts threatened to end the final on the opening day.
Despite Laane’s run chase of Beaufort’s 8/157 getting off to a nightmare start thanks to three wickets from Jayden Scotland and Joel Pymer, a 141-run partnership from stellar all-rounders Sam Bartlett and Josh Fitzpatrick secured Laane’s chance at redemption.
After winning the toss, the hosts elected to bowl first, looking to place immediate pressure on star opener Jarrod Blandford and Charlie Dyer.
Eight overs in, Blandford and Dyer were unscathed, but a swift bowling change brought about the opening wicket, as Joe Lovel’s first ball got Dyer caught by Nafis Shaikh for two.
Fresh off scoring 57 in A reserve, 2024/25 MDCA Team of the Year member Kriss Ellis made a timely return for the Bulls.
The new partnership of Ellis and Blandford looked solid until Lovel struck again, this time getting Ellis out for eight thanks to a Will Chamings catch.
With his team on the cusp of disarray, Bulls captain Brandon Walsh joined Blandford in the middle, a partnership that scored 99 runs against the ladder-leaders three weeks ago.
As Beaufort’s key bats began to settle, Laane threw the ball to Alex Cook, who conceded eight runs in his first over thanks to a Walsh boundary. Cook had the last laugh on Walsh, removing him for 13 thanks to Shaikh’s second catch of the day.
With Cook stirring up some early success, fellow spinner Amar Ullah was also brought into the attack. The midseason recruit only needed eight balls to claim Beaufort’s big wicket, removing Blandford for 28 thanks to a Lachie Condie catch.
With their talisman gone and their team’s Grand Final dreams spiralling at 4/64, Lachlan Oddie and Theo Trevelyan-Clark were tasked with restoring Beaufort’s innings while surviving a suffocating spin barrage.
Just as the new pairing seemed to be finding its footing, Cook crashed the Bulls into further demise, getting Oddie caught by Ullah after scoring 18.
Trevelyan-Clark soon followed, skying a Ullah delivery that fell into the reliable hands of Matt Smith, placing Beaufort in a world of hurt at 6/86.
With 35 overs remaining on day one, the bloodthirsty hosts seemed destined to have the contest virtually wrapped up by Saturday, just needing to eradicate the new partnership of Aichroth and Nick Stabbins to expose Beaufort’s tail.
However, Aichroth and Stabbins weren’t accepting of that idea. Filled with confidence following their pivotal 70-run stand against Carisbrook the round prior, the pair brought the fight back to the favourites.
Even as the hosts introduced Chamings and Shaikh into the equation, Beaufort’s pairing continued to maximise their overs, with Stabbins solid as a rock and Aichroth the controlled aggressor.
After 35 valuable runs and 22 overs, Ullah finally broke the stand, getting Stabbins caught by Condie for eight on his 70th ball.
With hopes of rebuilding after Stabbins’ removal, Nicholas Broad filled the role of Aichroth’s anchor admirably, allowing the Englishman to keep his team ticking.
However, the pairing was short-lived as Smith once again made his presence felt in the field, running out Broad for one as he looked to stretch a single into a two.
The new man in Scotland flourished with some quick singles in the last five overs, scoring eight alongside Aichroth, who fell just short of a deserved half-century after facing 133 balls.
While Aichroth’s unbeaten 49 kept the Bulls alive, a commanding bowling display placed Laane in the driver’s seat, restricting their opponents to a run rate of two.
Ullah made the most of his mammoth 25 overs, taking 3/40 with nine maidens while Lovel and Cook took two wickets each.
When players returned to Bryants Oval on Sunday, a sense of urgency was in the air, with Laane openers Tom Hannett and Tom Hart hoping to put the game to bed while Beaufort were desperate to wrestle back control.
What transpired was a frantic six overs of cricket which shook the game's foundations, constructed by Scotland and Pymer.
Scotland answered Beaufort’s dreams of a perfect opening over when his fifth ball struck Hannett’s pads, removing the Ken Gibbs medallist for a duck.
After consecutive fours threatened to let Laane accelerate, Hart saw his leg stump poleaxed by Scotland, quickly gone for five.
Pymer joined in the fun three overs later, catching the edge of league-leading run-scorer Nafis Shaikh, which Stabbins caught to send the Bulls into dreamland.
It was game on with Laane stunned to 3/19, reminiscent of their 4/41 collapse against Carisbrook in last season’s historic semi-final upset.
With Fitzpatrick and Bartlett already at the crease, who both scored fifties against Beaufort in round 14, the Bulls knew they needed another quick wicket to capitalise on this opportunity.
As he looked to stem the tide, Bartlett suffered a nasty blow to his hand from a Scotland ripsnorter, visibly in uncomfortable pain.
Despite the knock, Bartlett and Fitzpatrick survived the remainder of Scotland and Pymer’s opening spells as Beaufort turned to Oddie and Walsh after the drinks break.
Facing two quality spinners, the Laane pair burst away from the Bulls’, going from 3/57 at the 20 over mark to 3/118 10 overs later as both climbed towards their fifties.
The return of Scotland and Pymer looked to turn the tide for Beaufort, but Fitzpatrick and Bartlett continued their sensational form, with a Fitzpatrick six off Pymer finishing the match in the 36th over.
Identically to his aforementioned round 14 knock, Fitzpatrick ended the innings on 70 with seven fours and two sixes, with Bartlett close behind on 62.
Scotland was excellent in defeat for Beaufort, finishing with 2/33.