C-grade minor premier Murchison kickstarted its finals campaign with a dominant victory against Tatura at Murchison Recreation Reserve.
Day two of the clash was not needed after Murchison produced an emphatic bowling performance to tear through Tatura for 62 runs inside 50 overs.
After electing to bat first, Tatura was in dire straits after Darryn Rowney (3-5) and his son Dylan (2-23) sent shockwaves through the visitors’ line-up to leave them 3-12 early in the piece.
Talented duo Aaron Miller (3-8) and Luke Dabkowski (2-8) then provided support for the Rowney boys as Tatura struggled to get the engine rolling.
Opening batsman Dean Archer (21 runs) tried his hardest to stem the flow of wickets that fell around him, while tail-end batsmen Josh Danaher and Tyler Morritt produced flashy cameos.
Despite losing Dabkowski early for 10 runs, Murchison was able to bat freely, as skipper Luke Twynstra (75 not out) and opener Brandan Reilly (52) scored flashy half-centuries to steer the Hoppers to a dominant nine-wicket win.
● In the remaining finals, Mooroopna Blue claimed a stunning upset win away from home against the fearsome Toolamba outfit.
The Cats sent Toolamba in to bat and had the host all out for 54 runs from 28 overs.
Although it was an immaculate team bowling performance, the standout performer was Damon Zampaglione, who claimed 3-14 off five overs.
Meanwhile, Jed Woods (2-11) and Travis Carter (2-1) chipped in with multiple wickets.
Despite being 2-18, a sublime unbeaten half-century from Michael Van Dorsser (51 not out) guided the Cats to a convincing three-wicket win.
● Nagambie was unable to hang on for a memorable win against Numurkah in the final qualifying match at the Numurkah Showgrounds.
Nagambie posted 104 batting first, thanks to Tom Barnes (22 runs) and quickly had the Blues struggling at 4-24 at the end of play.
But Numurkah prevailed by one-wicket in the end, as the Blues chased down the Lakers’ total to finish 9-132 from 65 overs.
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