TYRENDARRA booked their spot in the Portland and District Cricket Association’s 2022-23 season grand final with an emphatic victory over Portland Tigers over the weekend, winning the two-day match with 10 wickets in hand at Alexandra Park.

The Tigers won the toss and elected to bat first on Saturday, hoping to put a big score on the board to get themselves on top.

Things certainly weren’t going according to plan right from the very first over, as a mid-wicket mishap saw key batsman Michael Blomeley run out for a diamond duck.

Things went from bad to worse for the Tigers, as Lachie Kirk trapped star batsman Will Hardie LBW for two, before Sam Wilson had Llewellyn Oakley caught at second slip for nought.

All of a sudden, the Tigers were three wickets down with just two runs on the board, and it looked as though this match could be over before it started.

While the Tigers did their best to stop the flow of wickets, grinding out dot ball after dot ball in an attempt to steady the ship, the Darras just kept making things happen.

Darras captain Cam Mather took a screamer in the gully to break the Tigers’ most resolute partnership between Ben Atwell and Nik Oakley, and while the Tigers continued to do their best to dig-in, the Darras were simply better.

After 50.3 overs, the Tigers were eventually all out for 57, with Atwell their last man standing, unbeaten on 18 after facing 140 deliveries.

Darren Killmister led what was an all-around dominant bowling performance from his side, claiming 4-15 from 15.3 overs, while Wilson (2-6 from six), Will Kirk (1-6 from six), Lachie Kirk (1-9 from nine) and Ben Menzel (1-15 from 13) were the other wicket takers.

In addition, the tidiness of the Darras’ bowling was equally commendable, as combined they bowled 22 maiden overs and conceded just three boundaries, one wide and zero no-balls.

Tyrendarra opening batsmen Killmister and Lachie Kirk took their time in reply on Saturday, seeking to ensure there was no collapse of their own, taking their side to stumps at 0-47, needing just 11 runs on day two.

From there it was a formality, as the Darras reached their target without losing a single wicket, before batting on for a further handful of overs, finishing up at 2-113 early on Sunday before the game was called.

The Darras will now face off against top team Portland Colts for the season’s spoils this coming weekend, with two evenly-matched sides ready to go at it in what should be an enthralling clash.

Colts got up in their two-day clash this season, claiming a first-innings victory of 38 runs, but in spite of the result there are plenty of positives for both teams to take from it.

Colts were obviously able to claim the points, primarily by virtue of an impressive bowling effort which saw them hold the Darras to a reply of just 105.

But the Darras’ second-innings bowling performance in that match was reminiscent of the one they produced on Saturday, as they had Colts 6-31 before stumps were called on day-two, a fact which both sides will surely be cognisant of when they take the field this coming weekend.