Turf Cricket club Jacana is rapidly approaching a fork in the road with a raft of imminent retirements and would love nothing more than to send off their loyal servants with a drought-breaking north B1 flag.
“About six of us will finish up this year, so it’s a now-or-never situation for us,” Lions vice-captain Casey Whelan told Star Weekly.
“We really have to make it count.”
It has been a painstaking 42 years since Jacana’s last first XI premiership.
The Lions are glad to be back in the finals after last summer’s heartbreak, when they missed out on the top four by 0.02 per cent.
They have secured a home final with a top-two finish, giving them a great chance to advance to their first grand final since 2009-10.
“It was a bit of a stinger that one,” Whelan said of missing the finals last season.
“There were two or three runs across the whole season that cost us a finals spot.
“It’s been 42 years . . . so we’re definitely overdue down at Jacana. We’ve always been competitive and we’ve had some wins in other grades.
“For the most part it’s been quite strong, but we’ve never quite been able to get over the line when it counts.”
Standing in the way of Jacana and ultimate glory is minor premier East Coburg.
Easts are deserved favourites after spending the summer on top of the ladder but Whelan will back his side to bring them down should the teams advance beyond the semi-finals.
“We really think that on our day, we can beat anyone in our comp, definitely,” he said.
Jacana has a priceless commodity in the finals: match-winners.
The Lions have arguably the best player involved in the March action in all-rounder Praneeth Jayasundera.
Opposition clubs would feel sick digesting Jayasundera’s numbers, including 515 runs at 42.9 batting at number four, 37 wickets at 12.2 with his leg spin and seven catches in the field for a bit of icing on the cake.
The 34-year-old was once a Sri Lanka A player, scoring just under 2500 runs and taking 131 first-class wickets in his native land.
“We can’t do without him really, he’s that good,” Whelan said.
“He’s a superstar and a ripper bloke, too.
“You won’t find a better player in the comp.”
With 494 runs at 38, Telge Peiris is another batsman who could tear a game to shreds for Jacana in the finals.
But the lack of consistent form in the rest of the batting department is a slight concern to Whelan.
“There’s a lot of talent there that’s unfulfilled for the most part,” he said.
“We have a lot of players that look good for a while and seem to find a way to get out. One day it will all come together.”
But Jacana has a well-stocked cupboard in the bowling department with six genuine threats.
The Lions have the first and third leading wicket-takers in the division in Jayasundera and Jack Ottaway, who has 29 at 14.55.
Wayne Cooper (18 at 21.44), Glenn Groves (15 at 19.47), Shannon Bennett (13 at 12.23) and Peiris (11 at 16.18) all have more than 10 wickets.
The VTCA finals begin on Saturday with Jacana to host Flemington in the semi-final.
