BCA REVIEW | Finals shock as thrillers highlight last round

The four-run result, secured after Ben Longhurst captured the wicket of Dan McDonald, means that Golden Point slipped from what would have seen them finish top of the table to fourth, sending them into a semi-final showdown with minor premiers Ballarat-Redan.

Remarkably, after an incredible final day of the season, Ballarat-Redan was the only top four side to maintain its position in the top four, despite it also going down.

Just four points would separate all the top four sides, with Golden Point slipping to fourth on percentage behind Mount Clear.

The wicket at Darley Park has been conducive to low scores all season, so the home side's 157 last week always looked daunting.

Golden Point, so often calm in the chase never really got into any momentum. Other than Manjula De Zoysa who has relished the opportunity in the second half of the season to open, no-one really fired for the Pointees.

Darley looked well in control with Dilan Chandima leading the way with the ball. While it has been the superstar's season with the bat, he sensed a win here, snaring five wickets, including the prized scalps of De Zoysa, Josh White and Lukas Pegg.

Pacemen Madushanka Ekanayaka and Longhurst picked up two each as Golden Point collapsed for one of the first times this season.

The result means the Pointees will have to beat the top side in the competition if they are to make the grand final.

But at least there is next week for Golden Point. For Darley it has been a season to forget which all imploded in the first half of the season. Remarkably, for a team so consistent over so many years, the Lions were already out of finals contention at Christmas.

A lot of soul searching will be needed at the club in the off-season and this will be seen as a season to forget. Expect Darley to bounce back hard next season.

They may have just missed out on a place in the top four, but Wendouree had something to smile about in a thrilling final game of the season, chasing down Bacchus Marsh's score of 322 with a last ball win.

It was left to number 11 Tom Batters to hit the winning run on the last ball of the 80^th over, after fellow tailender had smashed a six a six on the third last ball of the game.

That six brought the Red Caps to within one run of Bacchus Marsh's score, a single from Peeters meant Batters was left with the duty to win the game.

His swing at the bowling of Tom Wardell barely cleared the stumps at the other end, but he was able to scamper home, making his ground by inches after a desperate throw at the stumps.

Earlier, it was skipper Heath Pyke who rounded out his own personally impressive season with 105, giving his side a chance, while 62 from opener Cole Roscholler gave his side some early momentum.

For Bacchus Marsh, youngster Angus Jones continued his fine end to the season, leading the way for his side with three wickets.

The result will be a bitter sweet one for Wendouree, who would be disappointed to have missed out on finals when for most of the season, they looked like being there.

For Bacchus Marsh, it has shown plenty in its first season in the BCA. Five wins was a fair reward for the club entering a new competition. Expect to see a rapid improvement from them next season.

Mount Clear's three-wicket win over Ballarat-Redan sets up a dream semi-final showdown next weekend with East Ballarat.

Chasing a small, but far-from-comfortable target on a tricky wicket, Mounties all-round Joel Moriarty proved to be the hero for his side as he led his team to the target with just 16 balls to spare.

Moriarty was the glue that held the innings together when the Ballarat-Redan pacemen looked to be causing carnage. His stay of 113 balls for an unbeaten 53 ultimately proved to be the difference between the two sides.

Both teams threw everything at each in this one. Nathan Patrikeos was outstanding with four wickets while Matthew Aikman and Brendan Thomson also got among the wickets.

But Mount Clear, particularly since its Twenty20 triumph, has shown a steel and when the going got tough, were once again able to stand-up when it mattered most.

A win over the top side will do wonders for their confidence, but the real stuff begins next week and the draw has done them no favours with a match-up against reigning premiers East Ballarat.

Ballarat-Redan will relish an opportunity to get on a flat wicket next weekend, likely at CE Brown Reserve given their opponent is Golden Point. Darley's thrilling win means arguably the top two sides of the year will now meet in the semi-final, while arguably the top form sides heading into finals will also clash.

A season a growth has ended in the best possible way for Brown Hill who proved too strong for Buninyong in their clash.

Set just 126 for its fourth win of the season, Brown Hill reached the target in just 48 overs, going on to make some quick runs, before calling the day, and the season closed at 7-204.

Once Brown Hill took the lead, it looked as though it would try and go on to chase an outright result, but once skipper Akila Lakshan was dismissed for 84 off just 79 balls, it soon became apparent that an outright result wouldn't be needed.

The victory makes it four for the season for Brown Hill, a season in which the club has taken enormous strides after a number of years at the bottom of the ladder. It's a season the club will be keen to build on next year and with a bit more luck in bowling stocks, he Bulls should be aiming for finals.

It's the opposite issue for Buninyong which needs to work first and foremost on its batting in the off-season. The bowlers have done their best, but the batters need to bat longer. Too often this season the team was dismissed inside 40 overs for scores around 100.

They are young and will get better over time, but need more out of the batting line-up to be able to push up the ladder in coming years.

East Ballarat wasn't at its best, but managed to get the job done against Naps-Sebas, to set up its semi-final showdown next weekend.

After restricting East Ballarat to 190 last week, Naps-Sebas would have always considered themselves a big chance of getting the total this week. And they had plenty of chances with a number of top-order players getting starts, but failing to land the knock-out blow.

Opener Nathan Doonan top-scored with 35, skipper Daniel Scott made 32 while tailenders Harry Pierson, and Luke Corden also getting into the 20s.

But the thorn in the side all throughout the innings was Josh Brown. He took control for the Hawks with five wickets, impressively, all against top six batters.

East will now face Mount Clear for a place in the grand final, while for Naps-Sebas, it was a tough season of just two wins brought to an end.

BALLARAT-REDAN 67, EAST BALLARAT 64, MOUNT CLEAR 63, GOLDEN POINT 63, Wendouree 52, Darley 37, Bacchus Marsh 33, Brown Hill 27, Naps-Sebas 15, Buninyong 9

Ballarat-Redan v Golden Point, East Ballarat v Mount Clear