Thrilling B-grade finals as Denmark win in final over and Manypeaks bounce out Royals and Collingwood Park

Denmark and Manypeaks won thrilling Albany and Districts Cricket Association B-grade finals on Saturday. The Magpies claimed a final-over thriller to book a place in the grand final, while Peaks progressed to a preliminary final after overcoming reigning premiers Royals and then knocked out Collingwood Park the following day to reach the decider. Park seriously challenged the Magpies in Saturday’s qualifying final with the run chase going down to the final over. After winning the toss and electing to bat first at Turf South, Park made a strong total of 208 but the Magpies chased it down in stunning fashion. The Magpies were 2-20 in the early stages after the wickets of Oliver Pluckhahn (3) and Jed Schwarzbach (1), but a rallying 58-run partnership between Matt Burton (39) and Campbell Robertson (46) put them in a good spot. Jackson Ross smashed 64 off 49 in the middle order but he was removed by Jaymon Spaanderman to leave his side 8-201 in the 44th over. Ethan Forman whacked a four with the final ball of the 44th over before tailender Samuel Ross (2) was removed with the first ball of the final over. A quick single to Aden Montague tied the scores before Forman sealed the game with a single, sparking cheerful scenes among the Magpies. Will Elms snared 3-46 for Park while Michael Martain (2-23) and Spaanderman (2-40) also chipped in. Earlier, Park were anchored by a superb 90-run knock from Bradley Lister. Lister hit 90 off just 69 balls in an innings that included nine fours and two sixes. Montague claimed figures of 3-11 while Ross (2-38) was the other multiple wicket taker. At Turf North, the Lions season came to an end, knocked out by Peaks in the elimination final. A classy unbeaten innings from Gary McGlade helped him top score with 43 not out off 46 balls, while an earlier contribution from Angus McSweeney (33) and a late cameo from skipper Jonathan Brodala (31 off 14) ensured Peaks reached 7-162. Peaks had the Lions 5-48 after the wickets of Tyler Crommelin (5), Joshua Duffield (1), Leighton Smith (25), Caleb Haua (0) and Shane Manser (14). The Lions fought tooth and nail to stay in the run chase with Damion Leo (21), Matthew Thompson (27) and Harry Forsyth (26no) adding crucial runs. Hayden Leo was clean bowled by Owen Smith before Forsyth and David Brown (2) added six runs but the latter was bowled by McGlade as his side were dismissed for 138, falling 24 runs short in the chase. Owen Smith returned great figures of 3-30 while Thomas Sutherland (3-13) also starred. Park were bundled out in straight sets after going down by 53 runs to Peaks in the preliminary final at Turf North on Sunday. With Peaks batting first, McGlade completed a dominant weekend with a brilliant 94 off 91 to help Peaks post a strong total of 7-232 at the conclusion of the 45 overs. McGlade had plenty of support from Wade Anning (41 off 74) with the two sharing in a match-winning 154-run partnership. Jarrad Fuller (4-31) toiled hard in a losing affair for Park. Park’s Steven Teague hit an unbeaten 36 in the run chase, while Dustin Boyce (24) and Jarrod Hansen (22) also chipped in but they could only manage 9-179 in reply. Brodala returned wonderful figures of 3-28 while Brendan Pollard (3-24) helped his side advance to the grand final. In the C-grade, Park won the preliminary final over Peaks on Saturday by 51 runs after Dylan Belward (61 off 39) and Graeme Weinert (43) helped guide them to a strong total of 8-212. Peaks were bowled for 161 inside 38 overs despite a half century to Peter Owen (50) and a cameo from Jeremy Sutherland (37). Weinert (3-10) and Steven Van Nierop (3-17) led the way with the ball for the winners.