Lakes Entrance scored a massive victory in round three of the “A” grade Bairnsdale Cricket Association knocking off the previously unbeaten and reigning two-day premier, Lindenow South Glenaladale, at the Glenaladale Recreation Reserve last Saturday.
The Bulls went into the clash without talented all rounders Scott Davidson, Luke Schumann and Nathan King but the Seagulls were also not at full strength with Ben Rotheram and Tom Stubbs not in the line-up.
A close match was expected with the contest the replay of last year’s one day grand final which was won by Lakes Entrance by 20 runs at the Lakes Entrance Recreation Reserve.
The Bulls won the toss and elected to bat and were quickly in trouble at 4/10, with Scott Dare, Haydn Erfurth, Mel Irish and Sam Howden back in the shed as English import Scott Tite (4/37) and Noah Dodd (2/16) worked well in tandem.
Logan Dunkley batted at five, playing a mature anchor role which saw him
make 59 from 103 balls, including six stylish boundaries. He was eventually the last man out.
He lost Zach O’Keefe and Seth Smith before either got established, the Dunkley-Smith friendship tested with a disastrous run out as the home side slumped to 6-30.
Will O’Keefe (16) was almost run out before he got started, the Bulls lucky not to be 7/35.
Dunkley and Will O’Keefe put on 31 for the seventh wicket, before Tite finally bowled Will O’Keefe, his innings helping to give his side some hope of posting a score to try and defend, similar to his effort in last year’s one day finale when he made a handy 31.
Brad Gibbs (11) became another valuable ally for Dunkley as they put together another 31 run unison before Ollie Chaplin (1/36) removed Gibbs.
The introduction of Kaleb Day (2/12) saw the fall of the final two wickets but not before Dunkley managed to get the score out to 123, the Bulls dismissed in the 34th over.
The Seagulls looked to be in huge trouble in reply when Liam Allen departed for 14, the pendulum swinging in the Bulls favour at 3/27, after an impressive opening spell from Smith (3/17), which included wickets of the the dangerous Ben John and Jake Le Maitre.
But Chaplin (56 not out) and Ryan Hooper (37) knuckled down, adding a match winning 66 for the fourth wicket, the Seagulls cruising home with 11 overs remaining for the loss of five wickets.
Chaplin hit seven boundaries in his unbeaten 87-ball stint at the crease, showing he is going to a key component for Lakes with both bat and ball in 2025/26.
Lakes Entrance sit third on the ladder, trailing Lindenow South Glenaladale on percentage, a game behind this week’s opponent, Orbost, who remain unbeaten after three matches.
The match will be played at the Orbost Recreation Reserve where new Blues imports Luke Humphries and Josh Court have impressed, helping rejuvenate a list that struggled to win a match before Christmas last season.
It’s a mouth-watering match up, the traditional local derby, with both sides looking to be in the finals mix early in 2025/26, keen to accumulate the wins and put separation between them and the chasing pack.
