Eastlake cruised to a six-wicket victory over Tuggeranong in the semi-final of the John Gallop Trophy at Stirling Oval yesterday.
Tuggeranong won the toss and batted and was in trouble after losing three early wickets including key batsman Justin Haywood who fell for a duck after just two balls.
After some resistance from its middle order Tuggeranong was dismissed by Eastlake for only 150 runs.
Eastlake's bowlers shared the spoils with Matt Winter's 3-29 the best.
In response Eastlake's batsmen had little trouble scoring the winning runs with more than five wickets to spare.
''The performance we put up was very clinical,'' Eastlake captain Adam Tett said.
''Everyone chipped in, which was fantastic. The bowlers bowled really well, in particular the spinners, Winter and [Mick] Shaw.''
Tett praised his team's effort in the field crediting two spectacular catches by Matthew Gawthrop and Braden Dinham as match-turning efforts.
Tuggeranong captain Michael Wescombe also pointed to Eastlake's fielding as a factor.
''To their [Eastlake's] credit they fielded the house down, they took their chances where as we missed ours ... and it certainly hurts when you only have 150 to defend,'' Wescombe said.
Tett (54 not out) combined with Dinham (25) in a 69-run partnership for Eastlake's fourth wicket after Tuggeranong had claimed three wickets for one run.
After that mini-collapse Wescombe thought his team was still in with a shot at a grand final spot but it didn't eventuate.
''We were in with a good chance there at one stage but Adam [Tett] and Dinham dug in and drove them home,'' he said.
Wescombe lamented his side's low score with the bat, saying its small total was not enough for his bowlers to defend.
''We didn't execute our batting very well, got out to a few selfish shots which brought [about] our demise and 150 simply wasn't enough on that wicket.''
Eastlake will face Queanbeyan in the final of the one-day competition after Queanbeyan defeated Weston Creek by three wickets. The final will be played on February 12.
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