T20 Grand Final

The CSB Men's Turf T20 Grand Final is upon us to be played at Banksia Reserve Beaumaris between Beaumaris & Parkdale United this Wednesday night from 5:15pm.

The umpires will be Arthur Simpson and John Krause.

At the start of the competition we had 19 teams, broken up into 3 divisions, North, Central & South with each team playing 5 round games.

After the round games South Yarra progressed as winners of the North Group, Beaumaris as winners of the Central Group. Parkdale United as winners of the South Group and Mordialloc as the best placed side (14 points) not to win a division.

Beaumaris - How they reached the final

Beaumaris round 1 game versus Hampton was washed out, whilst in Round 2 they restricted Bayside to 5/97 from 20 overs (Cam Watts 2/18 off 4) and reach 3/98 in reply of 14.5 overs with home grown marquee player Ed Newman making 44no.

Round 3 saw Beaumaris play Mentone at Banksia Reserve with Mentone batting first and making 5/132 from there 20 overs, which Beaumaris chased down after 19.3 overs 6/136 (Jonty Leadbeater 53no).

In Round 4 Beaumaris visited Dendy Park where they batted first and made 6/172 (Ian Cockbain 40, Jonty Leadbeater 43) and then bowled Brighton District out for 81 (Jonty Leadbeater 3/15).

The last home and away round found Beaumaris facing Bentleigh at Beaumaris Reserve. Bentleigh batted first and made 8/138 (Mellick 2/23, Earney 2/22, Hennig 2/26) with Beaumaris chasing this down after 14.2 overs 3/139 (Hennig 46no).

This meant the Beaumaris had earnt the right for a home semi final, and batted first against Moridalloc at Beaumaris Reserve. Beaumaris were bowled out in the 20th over for 101 (Jonty Leadbeater 42) and it appeared it could be anyone's game. Benjamin Earney (3/14) picked up a wick with his first ball, and when Moridalloc fell to 7/58 it looked to be a difficult assignment for the visitors. Mordialloc battled on gamely and were eventually dismissed for 86 with Matt Hutechon (2/7) and Cam Watts (2/15) also leading the way with the ball.

Parkdale United - How they reached the final

Parkdale United's round 1 away game vs Chelsea was also abandoned due to poor, before facing Dingley at Jack Grut in Round 2. Dingley batted first and managed 9/80 aff there 20 overs (Tim Drummond 3/15) before Parkdale United quickly reached 1/81 after 7.5 overs (Jack Cunnington 54no).

A trip to Mordialloc greeted Parkdale United in round 3 where they bowled first and restricted Mordialloc to 4/117 (Issac Brooks 3/10) from their 20 overs. In what was a close game Parkdale United were able to chase them down in 18.5 overs, 4/118 (Tim Drummond 40no).

Round 4's game at Jack Grut also proved to be a close game with Parkdale United sending the visiting Bonbeach team in and restricting them to 7/105 (Tim Drummond 2/21, Dean Bott 2/17). Parkdale United chased the runs down in the 18th Over, 8/105 (Tim Drummond 37no). Parkdale United's Round 5 game versus St Louis was put back a week due to an issue with the outfield at Bonbeach 4, but unfortunately some wet weather the following week meant the game was unable to be played.

In the Semi Final Parkdale United faced South Yarra. Parkdale United sent the visitors in and South Yarra made 8/101 (Tim Drummond 2/15, Dean Bott 2/9, Isaac Brooks 2/15)from there 20 overs. Parkdale United were able to pass the target in the 16th Over, 4/103 (Tim Drummond 29no, Sam Amon 26no, Jack Cunnington 25).

Lets Talk Marquee Players

Both clubs, Beaumaris and Parkdale United have been well served by their home-grown marquee players.

Ed Newman (St Kilda 1st) has played 2 pool games for Beaumaris averaging 32 in those 2 games and is expected to play in Wednesday night's final. Matt Hennig (St Kilda 1st) also represented Beaumaris in 1 pool game, making 46no and taking 2/26.

Jack Cunnington (St Kilda 2nds) has played 4 pool games for Parkdale United and has made 104 runs at 34.66 across those 3 games.

Other players to Watch

For Beaumaris top order bat and leg spinner Jonty Leadbeater appears to be the player to watch. His for during the pool games and the Semi Final has enable Beaumaris to reach the final.

For Parkdale United captain, right arm quick and middle order bat Tim Drummond's form with both bat and ball mean he is definitely the player to watch. His performances with bat and ball could go a long way to determining the outcome of the match.

CSB encourages as many people as possible to come along to Banksia Reserve, Oak Street, Beaumaris, from 5:15pm on Wednesday 7th of February to witness what looms as a mouthwatering clash between two undefeated sides, to see who will be crowned the CSB T20 premiers for 2023/2024.