Peaks bounced out

North County have booked a place in the Albany Cricket Association A-grade grand final after Bulldogs seamer Glen Battersby produced one of the great bowling performances in recent finals history to lead his side to victory against Manypeaks in Saturday’s preliminary final.

Battersby had played one A-grade game all season, but he grabbed a swag of crucial wickets and finished the day with 7-40 from eight overs as the Bulldogs held off a disappointing Peaks to win by 20 runs.

The veteran seamer was also involved in several verbal exchanges between the two sides and was reported for making an inappropriate gesture to Peaks coach Langley Angel after the dismissal of captain Craig Sinclair.

Battersby is expected to be hit with a $100 fine but will be free to play in the grand final against Railways.

County captain Graeme Weinert said he was thrilled with Battersby’s performance.

“It was a very good effort,” he said. “Bringing him up from B-grade and to finish with seven (wickets) — that’s just phenomenal really.”

The Bulldogs set Peaks an imposing target of 204 after an even performance with the bat as Harry Broomhall top-scored with 60.

Peaks struggled to maintain a competitive run rate and Battersby managed to strike at crucial stages throughout the innings to ensure County came away with the all-important win.

Weinert praised his side’s determination throughout the contest.

“It was a good solid batting effort from everyone to post 204 and I thought that would be a competitive total,” he said. “Peaks started well and we just kept fighting and getting the breakthroughs right when we needed them.”

Angel said County’s batting performance set them up for victory.

“Two-hundred runs on the board is always going to be a tough chase,” he said.