Ocean Grove captain Fletcher Long played one of his best ever innings to keep his side in the Bellarine Peninsula Cricket Association A1 Grade finals hunt against Barrabool on Saturday January 11.
With the scores tied and one ball remaining with one wicket in hand, Long belted Archer Jaques to the square leg boundary to bring up a memorable win.
Ocean Grove needed 13 from the final over to win and Long ended unbeaten on 76.
“I’m not a power hitter by any means so I’m usually the bloke trying to get off strike and get the set batsman in, but this time it was my chance to do it,” Long said.
“I had a really clear plan. I was looking at their fields and if you pitch up I was going to hit it over his head and if you got straight I was going to try and work it to the leg side.
“We identified that probably I had to face the majority of the balls for the last four overs if we were going to get close and I just got lucky. Got a couple in the gaps and it worked out our way in the end.”
Earlier in the day Barrabool made 5/193 from 40 overs with Shane Stevens (71 from 114 deliveries) and Michael Kelson (68 from 92) getting runs in hot conditions.
“They batted really well, but we always felt like we were still in the game,” Long said.
“They were only going at twos and threes an over and I didn’t think for that first 20 overs were in a bad spot and even though we hadn’t taken any wickets, I didn’t feel like they were taking the game away from us.”
Long and Shaun Fankhauser (42 from 57 balls) had a crucial partnership during the run chase, but middle-order wickets ensured the Bulls were slightly on top.
With No 11 Alex Mann at the crease at the start of the final over with 13 needed and Long on strike, the skipper kept a cool head and got the runs.
The win means Ocean Grove is only half a game outside the top four whereas a loss would have made it difficult to make the finals.
“For us, it was kind of two ways of looking at it for the last six games (of the season),” Long said.
“We’ve got to try and get a few wins, not only to keep off the bottom and avoid that relegation spot, but now that we’ve pinched one, we’re half a game out of the four. If we string a few together, we could push for a finals spot. That’s well and truly our goal now.”
The Grubbers face second placed Armstrong Creek this Saturday and Long knows too well the hurdle his side faces in star opener Clay Mulgrew, who has 600 runs for the season. They must remove the dangerous right-hander early.
“I think that’s everyone’s plan, but everyone’s plan seems to be not working,” Long said.
“He just churns out runs every week. I think you need a little bit of luck with a batsman like that.
“You can take a good catch or a good run out, it’s just about bowling good lines and making him force the issue and force a false shot and who knows, if you can knock him over early, the rest of their batting hasn’t had to do much this year.”
Barrabool was too good for Ocean Grove in B Grade. A hard-hitting unbeaten 90 from 76 balls from Daniel Mair gave the Bulls a very competitive 6/205 batting first with Sam McGlynn the dual wicket taker. In reply, Grove made 166 with Robbie Rutley making a nice 40 not out from 44.
Greg Scarpa’s 77 from 89 deliveries helped steer Ocean Grove to a win against Barrabool in C1 Grade. Grove made 172 all out and then a superb spell of bowling from Will Finn (4/13 from eight overs) and three wickets for Xavier Kiddle had Barrabool back in the sheds for 121.
