All-rounder ruled out of A-grade decider

Manypeaks’ hopes of toppling Railways in Saturday’s Albany Cricket Association A-grade grand final have taken a hit, with all-rounder Warwick Durack ruled out of the decider through injury.

Durack injured his hand when diving awkwardly to field in the latter overs of Sunday’s preliminary final win over Denmark.

The left-arm seamer failed to complete his next over and has since been ruled out of the grand final with a fractured thumb and ligament damage.

It is a cruel blow to Peaks’ chances of an upset against the defending premiers, with captain Ryan Kinnear now searching for a replacement out of the club’s B-grade team who are also in a grand final.

Kinnear said he would look at bringing in an experienced player to help settle the middle-to-lower order.

“We will bring in an experienced player, I think,” he said.

“Probably a Wade Anning or Chad Jefferis.

“We have enough bowling and we back them to get the job done, so it’s likely to be a batsman.”

The Tigers will head into the clash with an unchanged 11 from their second semifinal win.

Peaks last appeared in a season decider in 2010-11 when they toppled the Tigers by one wicket in what is regarded as one of the most thrilling finishes in ACA history.

The Tigers have won the past two premierships against North County and will aim to join rare company as only the second club in ACA history to win a hat-trick of flags.

Collingwood Park achieved the feat twice between 1989-92 and four times in a row from 2005-09.

The Tigers have only lost one match this season to Royals in round 1, with their season including a current winning run of 21 matches this season.