The all-round heroics of Nick Christie have sealed a preliminary final spot for Lalor Warriors in the North Metro Cricket Association’s Jika Shield.
Christie, playing in his last season, starred with bat and then the ball as the Warriors easily accounted for Holy Trinity in a two-day knockout semi-final at the weekend.
Things weren’t looking great for the Warriors early on Saturday, with the side in trouble at 5-45 and only one of the top five batsmen reaching double figures.
Enter Christie and the middle and lower orders that stuck around with him. Christie made 90 as the Warriors were bowled out for 204.
Warriors skipper Todd Hughes, who has played most of his cricket with Christie, said it was one of the best performances he’d seen from the all-rounder.
Hughes said Christie, not out at tea, was determined not to let his career simply fizzle out.
“He had the fire in his eyes,” Hughes said. “The last wicket partnership they put on 34 … Nick made most of the runs, but Ben [Gorski] stuck around with him.”
Hughes said Holy Trinity’s overnight total of 1-10 could have been higher if not for Christie’s work with the bat.
“We were looking at having to bowl an extra 15 to 20 overs at them,” Hughes said. “We ended up batting for another 20 overs and it ended up only being five to six overs. [we had to bowl].”
The Warriors were confident heading into day two, having had a lot of success in recent years when they had scored more than 200.
“In the last two or three seasons, I don’t think we’ve been beaten when we’ve made 200,” Hughes said. “Batting first we put the pressure on them. The ground suited our style of game.”
Holy Trinity was bowled out for 125, with Christie taking 4-19.
The Warriors will face North Brunswick Rosebank for a spot in the grand final.
North Brunswick/Rosebank lost to Rivergum in the other semi-final.
Hughes said having had a couple of wins over their opponents in recent years, the Warriors were confident, even though their preliminary final record against them is not good.
“We’ve played them the last three to four times we’ve made the preliminary final and they’ve knocked us off,” he said.
“But we’ve been able to win three games lately, so we know we can beat them.”
