Weston Creek Molonglo may have only scraped into the Douglas Cup finals, but veteran batsman Cade Brown has signalled the side's intent as a serious challenger for the two-day title.
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But Creek is going to have to find a way to control Eastlake's dynamic duo, Michael Spaseski and Vele Dukoski, who put on a batting masterclass to secure the minor premiership.
Creek punched its ticket to the final four with a devastating spell of bowling to record an emphatic 155-run win against ANU at Stirling Oval on Saturday.
ANU was in reasonable shape at 4-129 chasing Creek's first innings of 288 before it lost its last six wickets for just four runs to be all out for 133.
Creek will now take on minor premiers Eastlake at Kingston Oval while Queanbeyan will face Wests/UC at Freebody Oval, with both semi-finals to be held over three days starting Friday.
It's a chance for Creek to gain its first piece of silverware of the summer after going agonisingly close in the one-day final.
Brown believes Creek will have plenty of motivation to make amends for their thrilling four-run loss to Wests/UC.
"We're pretty hungry given what happened to us in the one-day final. We're all disappointed with how that finished," Brown said.
"It's only added fire to the belly and we want to do really well in the two-day competition.
"We need to front up against whoever we play next week. Because we finished fourth we've got to take the game on."
Eastlake chased down 350 against Queanbeyan to secure top spot.
Spaseski (146 not out) and Vele Dukoski (131 not out) combined for an unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership of 247 as Eastlake finished at 3-354 at Freebody Oval.
Creek slumped to 8-119 in its first innings against ANU before Corey Ryan and Mark Akeroyd put on a record ninth-wicket partnership of 160.
Adam Heading (3-15) and Djali Bloomfield (3-25) both took three wickets to secure the victory.
Creek's win knocked Tuggeranong and Ginninderra out of contention.
Tuggeranong (5-218 dec) beat North Canberra Gungahlin (129 and 4-116) on first innings, while Ginninderra (324) knocked over Wests/UC for just 46.
Wests/UC got some valuable batting practice in its second dig, finishing at 4-246.
Ginninderra captain Daniel Poidevin was elated to finish the season on a high, with Jack Willcox taking 5-16 and Lochie Christian 100 not out.
"It was unreal, we bowled really well and took all our chances," Poidevin said.
"There's a lot of potential in this club, we just need to start next season off with a few more wins."
