By Marcus Uhe
Springvale South, Buckley Ridges, Dandenong District Cricket Association Turf 1 grand final, Arch Brown Reserve.
Sounding familiar? There’s a very good reason for that.
12 months on from the previous decider, Berwick’s Buchanan Road will resemble a busy thoroughfare as the DDCA community descends on the Bear Cave to witness which team will be crowned champions of the 2023-24 Turf 1 season.
Springvale South, the benchmark all year, is shooting for unprecedented history, aiming to be the first team in the near-100 year history of the DDCA win a hat-trick of premierships.
Undefeated for the first 11 rounds, two losses in the back half of the year saw the Bloods suffer a minor stumble, but when it counted in the qualifying final, they were flawless in their execution against their grand final opponent.
Of the two losses, critically, one came against Buckley Ridges, back in round 12.
While the Bloods were undermanned in that fixture, not every team can chase 361 like Buckley did, particularly when their season looked in jeopardy after a brutal first day.
Courtesy of a 12-point deduction for breaching their player point allocation, Buckley Ridges looked at risk of slipping out of the top four that day, but rallied as they so often do, proving that counting them out is a risky exercise.
The case could be made that, due to only losing once in the home-and-away season, the Bucks were the competition’s premier team, the points deduction the primary reason for slipping down the table.
Here are the key factors to watch out for on Saturday.
SPREADING THE LOAD
The round-12 win proved that there are frailties in the Bloods’ line-up – you just have to scour really hard to find them.
Jordan Wyatt (129) and Mitch Forsyth (70) accounted for 199 of the Bloods’ 361 runs, with the lower order failing to maximise the incredible platform the two created.
With 706 runs for the Wookey Medal-winning season, Wyatt now sits 471 runs clear of his nearest teammate, in Jordan Mackenzie.
It’s yet to impact the Bloods this season, but if the Bucks can remove Wyatt early, questions will be asked of his Springvale South teammates that have seldom been asked this season.
Removing Wyatt early, however, is a big ask, considering his recent form – his last four innings read 129 (against Buckley), 75, 77 and 89 (also against Buckley).
With the ball, spinner Jarryd Straker opened the season with 11 wickets against St Mary’s and never looked back from the pinnacle of the Bloods’ leading wicket taker’s list.
With 37 wickets, he’s 12 clear of Blade Baxter’s 25 poles, and 22 ahead of Josh Dowling and Jackson Sketcher, with 15 apiece.
His 2-103 in round 12 was his worst performance of the year, when the Bucks, through left-hander Josh Holden, maximised their home ground’s bizarre dimensions and picked him off on the tight square boundaries.
While Arch Brown Reserve doesn’t quite offer the same temptations, it is shorter on its square boundaries and longer straight down the ground.
Like with Wyatt, if the Bucks have the same success against Straker, it will be up to the remainder of the attack to step-up.
THE TOSS
Buckley Ridges have performed at their best this season when their backs are against the wall.
Four times they’ve successfully chased targets in two-day cricket, twice since Christmas reeling in scores in excess of 300, and a further three times in one-day games, suggesting they’ve mastered the art.
While their only two losses have come when asked to defend, including the qualifying final thrashing, when Wyatt sent them in to bat.
Should the toss of the coin fall their way, Buckley choosing to bowl seems as safe a bet as a catch into Troy Aust’s gloves.
Whether the risk to surrender prime batting conditions is worth it will weigh heavily on Ryan Quirk’s shoulders, should he win the toss.
For its part, Springvale South developed a habit of completing short chases after stellar bowling performances, particularly in one-day cricket, and have proven adept at both tasks, chasing and defending.
RECENT HISTORY
The last five Turf 1 clashes are split 5-4-1, the Bloods with their noses slightly in front.
Two of the five wins came in the last two grand finals, no doubt looming in the back of Buckley’s mind, as much as Buckley skipper, Jayson Hobbs, didn’t believe it would be a factor.
“I don’t think you address it, it’s in the past and we move on,” he said of the recent grand final records.
“The greatest thing is we get another opportunity.
“We get another crack at it and we’ll crack in.”
WEATHER
Last weekend’s heat offered oppressive conditions for cricket as temperatures pushed the 40-degree mark across Melbourne.
While the Bucks had to fight tooth-and-nail to claw their way into the grand final in 155 overs over the two days, the Bloods had the week off, a crucial recovery period late in the season coming off a packed month.
Some spent the weekend supporting their lower grade sides while others went to Park Oval to do some scouting of their upcoming opponents.
How Buckley backs-up will be critical this week, as the Bloods will be fresh and eager to maximise the advantage the rest created.
It was at Arch Brown Reserve in round 14 where Wyatt and Baxter’s energy and hustle between the wickets turned their contest with Berwick on its head, and if they bring the same intensity this week, the Bucks could be in-trouble.
At time of print, the forecast for the weekend is 25 on Saturday and 29 on Sunday, with very low chances of rain.
TEAM SELECTION
Springvale South has a pair of batters under injury clouds with their selections, who, along with the returning Ryan Quirk, are the only likely changes to the XI that won the qualifying final.
Jordan Mackenzie and Cam Forsyth are battling quad and hand injuries, respectively, both sustained in round 14’s win over Berwick.
Both are confident that they will recover in time, leaving the likes of Liam Hamilton, Brayden Sharp and Stephen Hennessey vulnerable, having been promoted from the reserves side for the qualifying final.
Hamilton and Sharp both made single-figure scores, and neither made impacts with the bat in the Turf 1 reserves grand final last weekend, while Hennessy hit a critical 95 in the decider, leaving him in the box-seat to retain his place if required.
Buckley Ridges is likely to be locked-in to their playing XI.
WHAT THEY SAID
Jayson Hobbs, Buckley Ridges captain:
“We can’t wait for it and we’re ready to get back into it.
“Jordan Wyatt is a massive player for them, he’s had a tremendous season.
“Blade (Baxter) and (Straker) through the middle periods are big factors for them.
“We’ll have to try to conquer them, but we’re up for the fight and we feel like we’ve got the group to win it.
“They knocked us off comfortably last week but we’re going to be up for it.
“Absolutely we can win it.”
Paul Hill, Springvale South coach:
“We’ve got a ticket there now, we’re in the grand final, so we’re only one win away from it.
“Enjoy it, we’ve won the last two and we don’t want to take it for granted, you don’t always get the opportunity to play in grand finals.”
TIP
Springvale South will add a third-successive premiership to the Alex Nelson Reserve trophy cabinet, capping a season in which they won the T20 premiership, and saw Jordan Wyatt claim the Wookey Medal.
Baxter, meanwhile, will successfully defend his Damien Fleming Medal, as the Player of the Match.
