BDCA men’s first-grade: Long-awaited grand final between Colts and Dalyellup finally arrives

Colts and Dalyellup, the two strongest teams in the Bunbury & Districts Cricket Association men’s first-grade season, will finally face off in the competition’s grand final this weekend.

The season has had a sense of inevitability since the early stages, with the pair looking to be ahead of the competition from the start of the summer.

Both sides finished the regular season two wins clear of the chasing pack with 10-2 records and eight bonus point victories and were only able to be separated by Colts’ superior quotient.

A quirk of the fixture means Colts, who earned the right to host the season decider at Bunbury Recreation Ground with a five-wicket win in the qualifying final, have not played in the past two weekends, while Dalyellup kept their season alive with a nailbiting eight-run preliminary final win over Leschenault on Saturday.

The minor premiers will not be short on motivation, having dropped last year’s grand final to Marist on their home turf.

In-form Dalyellup young gun Keagan Lynch shapes as their key player and will be well suited to the fixture’s two-day format, while much of the 90 potential overs for the hosts will likely be filled in by veteran spinners Cruize Ciallella and Tim Hutchison.

Colts will also have a strong presence in the lower grade grand finals, with their second and third-grade sides taking on Burekup and the Rising Stars respectively, while the fourth-grade season decider will see Donnybrook take on Dalyellup as Burekup play Hay Park in fifth-grade.