BLU unable to chase mammoth green machine total

From ball one the Lions knew it would require an almighty batting effort to chase down Echuca’s 354 in 80 overs.

BLU needed a giant score from its captain Regis Chakabva, who was the man in the best position to do it, being the 2024-25 McMahon Shield leading run-scorer.

As proceedings got under way, things looked good for the Lions as Chakabva and Kade Pearse got off to a great start with the season on the line.

The pair batted through until just before the 30-over mark in which they added a combined 93 runs to the total.

However, that was the extent of Pearse’s (42) contribution as he was caught by Charlie Hinks trying to drive down the ground off Aidan Young’s bowling.

Chakabva, on the other hand, had already raised the bat for a half-century and continued on with first drop Liam Hamilton.

But the duo would only bat five overs together as Chakabva was soon joining his opening partner back in the sheds after getting struck on the pads by Kale Edwards for 71, Echuca delivering BLU a big blow to its chase chances.

The Lions quickly fell into disarray within an over as Noah Turner (0) was run out and Luke Thompson (0) was trapped lbw by Aidan Young in consecutive deliveries.

This instantly put pressure on Hamilton and the middle order, but number six Cameron Laird managed to hold his own.

Hamilton and Laird put on 30 between them and then fell into the same trap as Turner and Thompson, both being caught out within an over, Hamilton for 20 and Laird for 14.

Lucas Holgate (4) didn’t hang around for long but Thomas Dicker and Gregory Pearse managed to provide resistance to Echuca’s bowling attack with its tail up.

The pair spent eight overs battling before Dicker (15) departed when he was caught by Kale Edwards off Brendan Moyle’s bowling.

Jeremy Felmingham (1) contributed little in his six balls faced, which meant that BLU’s season rested on the shoulders of Pearse and Simon Van Duinen.

This seemed unlikely as BLU had barely passed halfway in runs required and had one wicket remaining.

While Pearse and Van Duinen fought valiantly to get the Lions past 200, their season came to an end when Pearse was caught dancing down the wicket by Easton Carlile for 30.

BLU ended its day all out for 206, a good score in its own right, but still 148 runs short of Echuca.

This meant the green machine prevented the Lions sneaking into the finals and will continue on to its title defence in the semi-final.

It will come up against a balanced Moama side in a 2024 grand final rematch. The two sides have only faced each other once this season, with Echuca the victor.