Coast hang on for win

THE young Gold Coast Dolphins outfit will continue searching for a “killer punch” after almost surrendering a certain Queensland Premier Cricket victory against Norths.

A Josh Kann-inspired effort on day one meant the Dolphins (265) entered Saturday needing three wickets to win and with 197 runs in hand.

However, eighth-wicket pair Bernard Bester (88) and Josh Brown (76) added 130 to Norths’ overnight score before the latter fell to Matt Kuhnemann with the score on 198.

Kuhnemann (2-38, pictured) struck again soon after but Gold Coast were made to toil for the final wicket, with Norths falling just 26 runs short in the end when Bester was caught off Trent Arnold at mid-off.

Kann (7-87) couldn’t add to his seven-wicket haul but was among the pick of the bowlers on a day where his side weren’t quite at their best.

“Kanny bowled really well and had a couple of dropped chances, which probably would have ended the game a lot quicker,” captain Max Houlahan said.

“We’ve had it a couple of times this year where we have been very dominant, had teams on the ropes and then struggled with that killer punch.

“We just started really lethargically and it sort of just kept dragging on for the first hour or so and then Matt Kuhnemann bowled really well and dragged it back as you would expect your professional to do.”

Houlahan was the main stay in a second innings of 5-211, finishing unbeaten on 83 as he called an early end to the match despite his first ton since October 2017 being in sight.

“We could have kept playing but I just thought the match was going nowhere so there’s no real point of us staying out there,” he said.

“I’m not really about (personal milestones).

“I’d rather just get off if the game is going nowhere and move onto next week … but it was good to spend some time in the middle.

“After losing like that, Norths were obviously coming quite hard at us and it got quite heated so it was good to stand up and go through the tough period of short-ball barrages and stuff like that, to get through for the team.”

Gold Coast could leapfrog Redlands for fifth place if they beat them in the last two-day match of the regular season at Bill Pippen Oval.

The Tigers (288) easily accounted for Toombul (74, 5-188) at Peter Burge Oval on Saturday