FOR the third year in a row neither of the top two teams will play in the Northern United Cricket Association grand final.
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Next Saturday’s grand final will again be a battle of third v fourth after Bagshot and Heathcote both won their semi-finals.
Fourth-placed Heathcote upstaged top-of-the-ladder Elmore by 44 runs in their contest on Saturday.
The Saints compiled 8-167 off their 40 overs batting first.
The cornerstone of the Saints’ match-winning total was a knock of 61 from Luke Bell.
Opener Ben Harris also helped get the Saints away to a solid start with 33.
The competition’s No.1 bower, Elmore’s Matt Gilmour, snared 3-39 for the Redbacks, ending his season with 36 wickets.
Elmore’s batting line-up failed to fire in its chase and was bowled out for 123.
The Redbacks had been 4-44 before Joe Harney (31) and Bailey Boyack (41) added 56 for the fifth wicket.
But once Harney was dismissed the Redbacks’ last five wickets fell for 23 runs.
Heathcote captain Patrick Ring was instrumental in bowling the Saints into their first grand final since 2014 by capturing 5-19.
• Bagshot put an end to Dingee’s chances of a flag three-peat, winning their semi-final by eight runs.
The Razorbacks amassed 6-138 after being sent in, with opener Marc Sherwell (36) top-scoring.
Bagshot’s innings had threatened to be de-railed when it lost 4-6 to crash from 1-71 to 5-77.
Brad Wickham’s 3-25 were the best bowling figures for Dingee, which was held to 9-129 in reply.
Dingee also had a collapse in its innings, slumping from 4-108 to 8-111.
Opener Kyle Patten (35) and the classy Adam Baird (22) were the only players to make more than 20 for the Blowflies.
Bagshot’s best with the ball was Jordan Hamilton, who produced the game’s top figures of 4-14 off eight overs.
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Next Saturday’s grand final between Bagshot and Heathcote will be played at Elmore from 1pm.
The last time the two sides met for the flag was in 2013-14 when Heathcote (3-116) defeated the Razorbacks (114) by seven wickets.