18/03/2026
Semi-final round up ๐
2nd grade travelled to Kingscliff to face Murwillumbah in their semi final, the game was moved due to the Murwillumbah ground still being quite badly water damaged. The lakes won the toss and batted first and got off to an awesome start with the bat. The openers Jaji Singh (68) and Adeel Mohammed (39) put on an impressive 118 run stand to start the game. The runs continued to flow steadily, with some good partnerships, the Lakes finished their 40 overs 8-230. A great total on a wicket which we thought might have some demons given the rain from the previous two days. Murwillumbah started brightly with the bat themselves, bringing some nerves to the travelling fans. That was until the magician Jaji Singh was brought on, and picks up an unreal triple wicket maiden, knocking over the dangerous opposition skipper, almost taking the game away in one swift over. The opposition were 5-84 at drinks, with Jaji picking up all 5 wickets up until that point. He later finished his spell 5-28. The wickets continued to fall thanks to Connor Reed (1-15) and Jakson Webb (4-8), who swiftly knocked over the tail, bowling out the opposition for 125. An amazing result for the Lakes, finally progressing past the semi final after failing to do so in the last few years. Commiserations to Murwillumbah, they had a great season with a bunch of really good young players. They could have dug in their heels and we wouldn't have had a game and they'd have walked into the final. We appreciate them wanting to get on and have a good game of cricket. 2nd grade will travel Byron Bay to play in the grand final.
4th grade travelled to Kingscliff aswell, where they faced Cudgen in the 2nd vs 3rd place semi final. The Lakes won the toss and chose to field, getting off to a strong start, thanks to Jesse Shortus (2-29) picking up a couple of early wickets. Cudgen steadied the ship thanks to their skipper, until club favourite Sam Carroll prised open the game with some more quick wickets to fall just after. Unfortunately the game got away from the Lakes a bit, with Cudgen batting freely and finishing on 9-247, with Wayne Shortus (3-31) picking up the best figures for the game. A decent start for the Lakes with Wayne Shortus scoring a quick 36 and Curtis Strong (70*) having to retire. The Lakes continued to score quickly but were losing wickets along with it. An important 60 run partnership from opening bowlers Jesse Shortus and Dave Wilson steadied the ship. A couple more wickets fell, which allowed Curtis Strong to come back in and blast a few 6s. Unfortunately the last wicket fell with him at the non-strikers end and the Lakes lost the game being bowled out for 207. This brings 4th grades season to a close. A big congratulations to the 4th grade skipper Scott Williams, who much like Murwillumbah in the 2nd grade game, could have turned down moving the game and walked in the grand final, but wanted to get on and play. This sort of attitude to the game shows just why people love playing with Scotty and why he's such a valuable member of our club. We wish Cudgen well in the grand final, where they play Murwillumbah Red.
A mixed week for the Lakes, with 2nd grade overcoming their semi final demons and progressing to the big dance. Commiserations to our 4th grade guys who gave it a good crack, but fell short of the grand final this season. We now look ahead to the 2nd grade final down in Byron Bay, where we'll take a strong travelling crowd. Thanks to our sponsors and volunteers who help us week in week out. Best of luck to 2nd grade for the weekend.
Up the Lakes