Cricket
2 March, 2026
Late heroics earn Combine finals spot
Swifts-Great Western secured the fourth and last remaining finals spot with a thrilling victory over the Horsham Tigers on Saturday February 28 in round 13 of the Horsham Cricket Association A grade competition.
In the top-of-the-table decider between West Wimmera and the Bullants, the Warriors secured first place with a commanding first-innings victory.
Needing an outright win if Donald Jeffcott were to claim first innings points in their game, a superb last-innings performance saw the Combine claim the maximum points in the final overs of the day.
Resuming day two at 4/111, Jack Cann (34 not out) and Max McMahon (18) helped Swifts-Great Western pass the Tigers' first innings total of 150 before declaring at 6/168.
David Puls (2/37) and Tyler Puls (2/58) each had two wickets for the visitors.
In trouble at 3/31 and then 4/52, a 73-run partnership between Sam Leith (38 not out) and Archie Knight (31) helped the side to 4/125, making a Combine victory increasingly unlikely.
But Jayden McCartney (3/7) and Zachary Marrow (2/20) ignited a Tigers' collapse, bowling them out for 128, with Wil Clough also finishing with 2/12.
Requiring 111 with just 13 overs to play, Swifts-Great Western skipper Aiden Graveson set the tone early, smashing 28 runs in the opening two overs.
Despite the loss of Jacob Dunn, Zachary Marrow came to the crease and launched some big hitting of his own.
Graveson (67 not out) and Marrow (44 not out) combined for eight sixes as they finished 1/114 in the 11th over, recording a remarkable outright victory.
Asked about the last-innings run chase, Graveson said he and Marrow set an aim of 10 runs per over to stand a chance.
“To be honest, I was just trying to hit the cover off everything,” Graveson said.
“We needed 110 in 13 overs, and I told Zach ‘Let’s keep turning it over’.
“We wanted 10 runs per over and we met that, so we needed about 20 with five overs to go.”
The Combine skipper admitted he didn’t think the side could pull it off after the partnership between Leith and Knight.
“I asked one of the guys when I was fielding on the boundary, ‘Can you do us a favour and check the score of the Donald game?”, Graveson said.
“At that point I didn’t think we could get the outright.”
At Quantong Recreation Reserve, the Bullants resumed the day at 1/16 in response to West Wimmera’s 185.
Despite starts from Jack Combe (16), Tony Caccaviello (13) and Justtin Combe (10), the Bullants struggled against the Warriors’ bowling attack.
Xavier Bone (2/9) struck early in the day before a tremendous spell from Austin Merrett (6/20) tore through the Bullants’ middle order, dismissing them for 74.
At Donald Recreation Reserve, Donald Jeffcott resumed play at 0/18 in chase of 156 made by Brim KSH on day one.
Cooper Anderson (43) and Dylan Ruurds (22) opened the day well for the home side before multiple wickets from Lachlan McGinniss and Fletcher Bright saw Donald Jeffcott fall to 6/111.
A captain’s knock of 36 not out from Eddie Landwehr ultimately guided Donald Jeffcott home as the side finished 8/160.
Lachlan McGinniss finished 5/70 for the Eagles, while Fletcher Bright had 2/29.
Despite the victory, Donald Jeffcott finished the home-and-away season in fifth, narrowly missing a top four finals spot.
At Dudley Cornell, Laharum resumed at 0/15 in response to the Colts’ first innings total of 286.
Most of the Demons’ top and middle order got starts, including Monty Wynne (18) and Jason Kannar (17), but regular wickets kept the game in the Colts’ favour.
Laharum was eventually bowled out for 117, handing the Colts a 169-run first innings victory and three straight wins to finish their season.
Skipper Jake McLean finished with 4/18 while Dylan Arnott (2/16) and Jay Couch (2/26) each had two wickets.
With the ground at Murtoa unplayable, the match between Lubeck Murtoa and St Mary’s was abandoned.
The end of the regular season sees West Wimmera, the Bullants, Laharum and Swifts-Great Western qualify as the four finals teams.
The semi-finals, set to be played this coming Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8, will see the Warriors take on the Combine while the Bullants play Laharum, with the venues still to be determined.