LOOK WHO SWANS INTO FINALS
South Barwon knocked off premiership contender Lara to book a GCA1 finals berth on Saturday.
SOUTH Barwon will host a semi-final contest against Lara after outclassing the Cats in a match that powered the Swans to second on the GCA1 ladder.
“It’s really exciting for us as a club because we know that to play finals in GCA1 you have to play a lot of good cricket and win a lot of games,” Swans coach Bill Dixon said after his side claimed a four-wicket win in the one-day clash at Bisinella Oval.
“I think we’re in the top four sides and to achieve that as a group that has committed unbelievably well makes me really proud for them.”
The visitors had Lara on the back foot early, with Nick Lynch (4-44) and Kyle Bienefelt (3-24) striking consistently through the initial overs.
“We had an outstanding effort with both our bowling and fielding groups today, really well led by captain Terry Hill,” Dixon said. “We were able to get poles early, which is critical against Lara — they’ve got an enormous amount of talent.”
Emerging Lara youngster Jordan Stone dug in with an innings-high 46, but contributors were too few and far between as the Cats were sent tumbling for just 120.
Unsurprisingly, Lara’s newball counter attack was fierce, with a quality spell from Sam Purdy (4-33) reducing South Barwon to 5-54.
However, the Swans’ decision to open with Ryan Gibson ultimately proved a masterstroke, with the English powerhouse striking nine boundaries in a match-defining 61.
Gibson guided the response to 6-95 before Jordan Rossi (12 not out) and Cullan Spence (16 not out) nursed the innings home.
“It was never going to be easy and I expected it to be a real dogfight,” Dixon said.
“Ryan Gibson came out and smoked the ball really hard and his was a really intelligent innings.
“He plays a lot of short-format cricket in England and he opens all the time, so we knew that we could really trust him in this format of the game.”