Tara Murray
The real stuff begins now for Rivergum in the North Metro Cricket Association Jika Shield.
The Kookas finished the regular season with the minor premiership, finishing ahead of Holy Trinity on percentage.
Having made the last 11 grand finals, it’s this time of season that the playing group really looks forward to.
Kookas captain-coach Matthew Perri they had all been waiting for this time of the season.
“It has been good and we got top spot which is important to get a home final as well,” he said.
“Both us and Holy Trinity have only lost one game for the year, so percentage was really important for us.
“The real stuff now starts for us. We’ll look to up our game now, we’ve lost the last two grand finals and the guys are pretty determined.”
On Saturday the Kookas easily accounted for Donath.
The Kookas made 3-244 from their 40 overs with James Bonnici top scoring with 83 not out and Matthew Kiely making 78 at the top of the order.
The Kookas then bowled Donath out for 82. Sean Neary took 4-15 off his eight overs.
Perri said it turned out to be an easy game which allowed them to rest some of their bowlers with one eye on finals.
He said it was good for Kiely and Bonnici to get some more time in the middle.
“Matt has made runs all year,” he said. “James has only played four games this year and made about 160-170 and in great form.
“He’s an experienced players and pretty determined to have a big finals series.”
Perri said they had players in form with both the bat and ball which is what they wanted at this time of the season.
He highlighted Neary was one of the key bowlers who had been getting the job done.
A grand final spot will be on the line this Saturday in the semi final with Holy Trinity. The loser will play in the preliminary final and face the winner of Preston Baseballers and Northern Socials.
Perri said making sure they got that double chance, which they had done quite easily, had been one of their big focuses heading into the season.
He said he’s expecting a tough match in the semi final.
“They’ve had a really good year,’ he said.
“It was a really tight contest the first time we played and we lost by two runs. The return match we won by nine wickets, which gave us some confidence.
“Having a home final is massive as Holy Trinity’s ground is a lot smaller than ours, hopefully plays into our hands.”
The Kookas third and fourth XI have also made finals, while their second XI missed out.
Perri said the achievement of the third XI to play finals was massive.
“They’re playing against most clubs second XI,” he said. “Hopefully they can make a grand final.”
