Carnage with ball in hand has booked Hurley’s Hotel Hounds a spot in the Goulburn Valley Bush Bash League grand final for a fourth consecutive year.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Last year’s premier has the bit between their teeth, hungry for back-to-back titles after beating SRP Mud Dogs on Sunday to book a spot in next month’s decider against Sporties Spitfires.
And boy, did it appear easy.
The Hounds posted 7-128 off 20 overs at Victoria Park before skittling the Mud Dogs for 77, though it was their off-the-cuff batting improvisation which delighted captain Matt Hinks.
“With the bat we had to change our game plan a little bit on the way through; the plan was to front end as much as we could and get as many in the first 10 (overs) originally,” he said.
“We adapted on the fly, and we summed it up pretty quickly that 120-130 would be enough on that wicket.
“To be able to build through the middle and then a couple of nice overs late to top us off was good.
Image 1 of 5
Bowling wheels: Hounds' Cam Stevenson. Photo by Liam NashImage 2 of 5
Howzat: The Mud Dogs shout a loud appeal. Photo by Liam NashImage 3 of 5
Safe hands: Hounds' wicket keeper Regis Chakabva collects at the stumps. Photo by Liam NashImage 4 of 5
Backed up: Mud Dogs' Sam Pearce. Photo by Liam NashImage 5 of 5
Flying in: Mud Dogs' Tom Bailey. Photo by Liam Nash“And then with the ball, our marquee players stepped up for us.
“(Michael) Archer is a superstar. I don’t know how he hasn’t got a Big Bash contract yet, and Stevo (Cam Stevenson) probably bowled the quickest I’ve seen him bowl, which was good.”
Batting first, the Hounds were by no means flying as opener Joel Murphy and Kyle Mueller walked for single digits, and though Regis Chakavba arrived with a flurry (17 runs, three boundaries), the middle order was where the boys in blue made hay.
Anthony McMahon (34 off 22) and Jedd Wright (27 off 18) went bang with the bat, the former taking to Ethan Baxter in the 15th over with a four and two sixes in the space of four balls.
The last maximum proved to be a healthy payday for one lucky supporter.
McMahon’s monster six found the hands of a man in the crowd, who pocketed $500 through a GVBBL promotion, which was no surprise to Hinks.
“He (McMahon) is just batting really freely at the moment, he just knows his game really well and looks like he’s not fearing going out,” he said.
“I think that’s the beauty of our side as well; we’ve got guys who bat all the way down.”
Some hard running at the end from Archie Sussex (17) and Kobyn James (11 not out) propelled the Hounds close to 130, and it wasn’t long before the Kyabram-based franchise struck wrecking form with the ball.
Cue the deadly duo of Archer and Stevenson.
The harmonious blend of Archer’s furious leg spin and Stevenson’s raw pace was too much for the Mud Dogs’ top order, with only one batter, Tom Bailey, venturing into double figures from the top six.
Soon, the chase rested solely on the shoulders of Taylor Beard and Raguvaran Aravinthan.
When Beard was smartly stumped on 12 and Aravinthan’s partners began dropping like flies, it wasn’t long before the Hounds danced to the victory tune.
Archer claimed 3-8 off four overs while Stevenson’s 4-18 off three thrusted the Hounds into a grudge match against the Spitfires, a side Hinks had circled as a potential grand final opponent before the competition began.
“We earmarked them as the team to beat before the season and they’ve proved it so far. Obviously they had a loss yesterday but I think they were short on players,” he said.
“We’re really excited...I think we’ve got a really good side that’ll match up against the Bendigo team well.
“We’ve still got a couple of guys there who can play a role with the ball as well, so I think that’ll come into it against those opposition.
“Like us, they bat all the way down, so we’re going to need all of our experience to be able to get the job done.”
Senior Sports Journalist