Semi Finals

NEW FACES IN SEMI FINALS

No ST KILDA and no MELBOURNE. For the first time since 1983/84, neither the Saints or the Demons will be contesting a semi final. These two Cricket Victoria power-houses bowed out in last weekend's Quarter Finals at the respective hands of RINGWOOD and DANDENONG. GEELONG and MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY have also won their way through to the semis in contrasting circumstances, the Cats comfortably accounting for the Blues, while the Students endured a dramatic and fiercely-contested two days at the Merv Hughes Oval against the Bulldogs and emerged with their noses in front.

In the semi finals next weekend, RINGWOOD takes on MELBOURNE UNI while GEELONG meets DANDENONG. These four teams have never met in a finals match previously, so it's all uncharted territory. The Panthers, of course, with the 2006/07 First XI cup in the cabinet and pennant on the wall at Shepley Oval, have some experience of finals pressure, the fight for the flag is wide open.

With the Bulldogs, Demons and Blues all stumbling at the Quarter Final hurdle, RINGWOOD is the highest-ranked semi finalist. The Rams' batting has been brittle at times, but Tom Stray (712 runs @ 39.56) and skipper Sean Flynn (557 @ 32.76) have both been consistent, with Ben Osborne (350), Michael King (393) and David King (377) all chipping in with valuable contributions at different times. The bowling attack has been the Rams' strength, led by left-armer and a Ryder Medal favourite, Michael King (50 wickets @ 13.92), with good support from Matthew Gale (28 @ 18.64), Steve Gilmour (26 @ 23.96), Drew McKay (27 @ 24.63) and leggie Daniel King (21 @ 24.52). Gale's burst of 4/0 in 17 balls last weekend against the Saints accounted for Klinger, Rowan, Jewell and McGuinness.

The Rams meet MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY, whose strength is also with their bowling attack. Nick Williams (29 wickets @ 19.97), Ashley Robertson (28 @ 17.18), Nick Ellsmore (28 @ 24) and Scott Sanders (32 @ 19.56) have all been consistent, while Greg Kennedy (19 @ 15.32) has been a handy addition since coming in from the Seconds for the last six games. The Students' batting has been suspect at times. Apart from Scott Sanders (512 runs @ 26.95) and Alex Cairns (511 @ 24.33), the top-order has presented some problems, but the Students have often relied on lower order contributions from Paul Percy (356 @ 27.38), Nick Williams (210 @ 17.50) and Nick Ellsmore (315 @ 18.53) to get them across the line and, more often than not, they have.

On paper, GEELONG looks hard to beat. The Cats won their last two home and away matches outright and comfortably defeated the Blues in the Quarter Final last week. The prolific Aaron Finch (1061 runs @ 58.94) has been outstanding, well supported by veteran Clinton Peake (850 @ 56.67) and the promising 20 year-old Joel Davies (598 @ 29.90). After beginning the season well, Liam Buchanan (810 @ 36.82) has
returned to form in the last two matches. The attack has been led by Trent Walerys (54 wickets @ 17.19) and Marc Carson (37 @ 23.32), with off-spinner Luke Muller (28 @ 24.79) providing good back-up. These three have bowled almost two thirds of the Cats' overs for the season.

DANDENONG is the reigning premier and will go into the semi final with the confidence that they have been there before. With the talent at their disposal, the Panthers' season has not all gone according to plan. If they could get Siddle, the Pattinsons and Boraston all fit and on the park at the same time, their attack would be awesome, but injuries and Bushrangers' duties have meant that Warren Ayres has relied heavily on all-rounders David Newman (41 wickets @ 18.32) and Matthew Chasemore (25 @ 23.12) and they have done the job. In Brett Forsyth (808 runs @ 44.89), the Panthers have developed a fine opening batsman. His unbeaten century in the Quarter Final guided the Panthers to victory over the Demons and, with Newman (611 @ 43.64) and Ayres (616 @ 38.50) making their customary, dependable contributions, the batting has done the job on most occasions.

SEMI FINALS STATS (BASED ON QUARTER FINAL TEAMS)

	Batting (RPW)	Bowling (RPW)	Ave Age	Avge Matches	Avge Finals
Ringwood	23.14	19.94	23 yrs 9 mths	65.18	1
Melbourne Uni	20.16	24.39	24 yrs 11 mths	72.72	4
Geelong	31.97	23.69	26 yrs 6 mths	117.27	3
Dandenong	27.81	25.80	24 yrs 9 mths	101.54	6.5

SEMI FINALS - Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 March 2008

1sts
Ringwood (3) v Melbourne Uni (8) at Melbourne University
Geelong (5) v Dandenong (7) at St Kilda

2nds
Fitz Donc (2) v Camb Magpies (8) at Schramms Res #1, Doncaster
Melbourne (3) v Geelong (4) at the Albert Ground

3rds
Melb Uni (1) v Essendon (4) at Monash Uni #1 Oval
Geelong (2) v Richmond (3) at Queen's Park, Geelong

4ths
Carlton (1) v Prahran (7) at Princes Park #1 Oval
Melbourne Uni (3) v Frank Pen (5) at AH Butler Oval, Frankston

Hours of Play (all XIs): 11am - 5.50pm.
Playing Conditions as per Rule 20. In an uninterrupted match, the innings of the first batting team is restricted to 110 overs. A new ball is available after 80 overs in all grades.

* The figures in brackets indicate where the team finished after R17.

KOOKABURRA AWARDS

View Kookaburra Award winners from the Quarter Finals HERE

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