All-rounder Simon Ogilvie rode his luck with the bat to put Golden Point in the box seat against Mt Clear in the Ballarat Cricket Association firsts grand final at Wendouree on Sunday.
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Ogilvie produced a match-winning innings of 86 runs to help Golden Point to 7-247 in reply to Mounties’ 192.
The run chase was delicately poised when Ogilvie joined Josh White at 3-37 after Stephen O’Loughlin, Nathan Bagley and Manjula De Zoysa were dismissed in the space of three runs.
In a role reversal from the previous day, Mounties were all over the minor premier.
Another wicket would have had Mt Clear well on top and it almost happened with Ogilvie giving a difficult chance before he had scored.
He survived this, and much later two more chances in one over, to pave the way for a match-saving 100-run stand with White, who scratched his way to 32 off 148 balls before losing his patience with a big swipe outside the off stump.
Once White was gone Ogilvie became the backbone and later the enforcer with 11 fours and a six as he was joined by youngster Sam Harris.
With Harris getting 41 off 44 balls, they took Golden Point to within two runs of Mt Clear before Ogilvie’s luck finally ran out.
Darcy Thomson and Nathan Yates bowled tirelsssy for Mt Clear at each end of the innings, with their early spells grinding Golden Point to halt in the run chase.
Thomson finished with 3-58 off 24 overs, while Yates took 2-64 off 22 overs.
