Sport
18 November, 2025
Laane survives Carisbrook early ambush
A superb 167-run partnership from star batsmen Tom Hannett and Nafis Shaikh has allowed Laanecoorie Dunolly to survive a major deja-vu scare from Carisbrook and secure a nine-wicket victory.
With openers Elliot Cullinan and William Coutts navigating the first 30 overs unscathed while posting 139 runs, it looked as though Carisbrook could repeat their historic semi-final upset that snapped Laane’s long-standing win streak.
Keen to extinguish any existing demons from last season’s heartbreak, Hannett and Shaikh made Carisbrook’s challenging target look effortless, as the pair both finished unbeaten on 87 to reach the goal of 195 in the 32nd over.
After missing Carisbrook’s last three matches, Cullinan returned to open the batting for the hosts alongside the in-form captain William Coutts after he won the toss and elected to bat.
Boosted by a 12-ball first over, which consisted of five wides and a no-ball from the usually dependable Josh Fitzpatrick, Carisbrook was off to a flyer, with Cullinan hitting four boundaries in the first four overs to have his team at 0-31.
Fitzpatrick, Sam Bartlett, Matt Smith, Alex Cook and Joe Lovel stemmed the run rate, but the visitors couldn’t break up their opponents’ humming opening partnership.
Shortly after resuming the innings at 0-86 following the drinks break, Cullinan’s confidence continued to blossom, securing his first A grade half-century.
With the opportunity to turn his maiden 50 into a ton, Cullinan upped his aggression, generating big overs off spinners Shaikh and Smith to power his team past three figures.
Searching for a way to break up the substantial partnership, Will Chamings was brought on as Laane’s eighth bowler for the match.
In his second over, he finally brought Laane some salvation, ending Cullinan’s breakout innings at 76 by knocking the stumps.
With less than 10 overs left in the innings, the hard-hitting Dean Nalder was next at the crease, who scored 74 in Carisbrook’s semi-final win over Laane last season.
Just as Nalder started to cause problems with two fours in four balls, Laane’s lightning rod Chamings struck again, dismissing Nalder for 10 with a catch from Lovel.
Jordan Hooper joined Coutts in the middle, but he only lasted five balls before he was trapped for an LBW dismissal by Cook after scoring one to have Carisbrook at 3/158.
That dismissal allowed 2024/25 MDCA Team of the Year member Liam Hurse to make his anticipated season debut for Carisbrook. But just after he brought up his second 50 of the season, Coutts was caught by Smith off a Steven Dellavedova delivery.
Three balls later, Dellavedova had his second, ending Hurse’s innings prematurely at one when he was caught by Shaikh.
After losing their first five wickets for 23 runs in the space of six overs, it looked like Carisbrook would waste a remarkable effort at the top of the order.
However, Brayden Wright and Atticus Cullinan eased Carisbrook’s concerns with a cunning partnership.
Dellavedova would get rid of Wright in the final over for 19 with a catch from Hannett, but Carisbrook were pleased to set down a challenge of 194 for the current one-day premiers, with Atticus Cullinan and Cole Harris not out on 12 and one respectively.
With their team unable to generate early breakthroughs, Dellavedova and Chamings stepped up late for Laane, with Dellavedova finishing with 3/38 and Chamings taking 2/15 from three overs.
Carisbrook knew they needed to make early inroads into Laane’s lineup, especially following Hannett’s hundred in the last encounter between these two teams.
After combining to score 118 runs in Laane’s last match versus Beaufort, Fitzpatrick and Hannett were put under tight pressure early thanks to the sharp bowling of Atticus Cullinan and Nalder.
Nalder in particular was shackling Laane’s openers, with the spinner bowling Fitzpatrick for 16 to have the visitors at 1/30 after eight overs.
That brought Shaikh to the crease, who has surpassed 30 in four of his first six innings this season and someone Carisbrook would love to see the back of immediately.
Alongside Hannett, Shaikh settled in swiftly, with the pair navigating the spells of Atticus Cullinan and Nalder. With Carisbrook’s opening duo out of the attack, Laane’s run rate slowly began to creep up, entering the drinks break at 1/101.
Despite the best efforts of Hurse, Wright and Axel Purcell, nothing seemed to stop Hannett and Shaikh, with the partnership scoring 46 runs in the space of four overs before Hannett emphatically ended the run chase with his ninth boundary.
The duo rather poetically finished on the same score of 87, with Hannett facing 94 balls while Shaikh only needed 72 in a spectacular innings.
Nalder was the only wicket-taker for Carisbrook, finishing with figures of 1/24 from seven overs.