Sport
20 March, 2026
MDCA A Reserve Semi-Final Preview — Avoca Vs Clunes
Clunes quest to cement their A reserve dynasty with a third consecutive premiership lands at Carisbrook Recreation Reserve on Saturday, where they face ladder-leaders Avoca in what should be a compelling semi-final.
In the world of sport, the complexion of a season can change as quickly as Victorian weather, and Avoca’s rather perplexing campaign is an intriguing case study into that phenomenon.
In their first foray back into senior cricket after an extended recess, the Bulldogs ruled over their competition. Starting with a four-wicket victory over the Magpies, Avoca quickly became premiership favourites after winning their first eight matches.
However, whether it was a crash back down to reality or recovering from a Christmas hangover, Avoca’s sensational form has dropped dramatically since the holiday break, losing five of six games to find themselves in jeopardy of missing the top four entirely.
A 126-run demolition of Carisbrook placed any finals concerns to rest, allowing them to forget their late-season skid as it ultimately didn’t cost them top spot.
Finishing first usually gives you a slightly easier opponent in the semi-final, but there’s nothing easy about defeating Clunes in an A reserve final.
While their title defence got off to a slightly turbulent start, it didn’t take long for the Magpies to realign their destination towards finals after bowling Carisbrook for 17 in round four.
An unbeaten century from Adam Clark against Avoca to end February gave the Magpies a finals lifeline, meaning their loss to MKM last weekend didn’t cost them their top-four spot.
Many familiar faces from their recent premiership teams have returned to try and claim another medallion this season, including captain Josh Dunn, opener Mark Jenkin and all-rounder Brad Stevenson.
Since making his A reserve debut in round four, Jenkin has been a menace at the top of Clunes’ batting order, scoring four fifties to finish as the competition’s leading run-scorer.
Even with that achievement, you could argue Jenkin hasn’t been the Magpies’ best player this season, with Clark producing a sensational campaign with 306 runs and a team-high 23 wickets.
Fred Penhall has been another standout for Clunes, scoring 250 runs at an average of 35.71.
Despite their premiership pedigree, the Magpies will have to be at their best against the Bulldogs, who are headlined by arguably the two best players in A reserve this season.
While Glen Cosgriff has had an outstanding season with 278 runs and 24 wickets to his name, his teammate James Collicoat is somehow on another planet.
Alongside him finishing as the competition’s second-best run-scorer, Collicoat’s consistency with the ball has been mesmerising, taking at least two wickets in a staggering 13 matches to finish with a league-leading 31 breakthroughs.
Avoca’s season hasn’t just been a two-man act, as it takes a plethora of influential cricketers for a team to finish with the most runs scored and wickets taken.
Eyan Habib, Nathan Coghlan and Brad Palmer join Cosgriff and Collicoat in making over 200 runs this season, while captain Cameron Holland and Tyson Gray have combined for 33 wickets.