BDCA finals: Bunbury captains Blair Malatesta and Blaze Rosinski key as Collie chase fourth straight flag

Bunbury’s two country week premiership captains will be the headline acts when Collie and Marist play for a second-grade premiership on Saturday. Blair Malatesta’s Collie side are chasing an historic fourth straight premiership in the grade — a streak that stretches back to their first year after exiting the association’s first grade. Their challengers, Marist, head up the hill after a stunning middle-order partnership between eventual match-winner Jordan Stynes and captain Blaze Rosinski saw them past Colts. Rosinski arrived at the crease after Sam Roots and Lee Sorfleet fell within minutes of each other, and Stynes joined him moments later during a flurry of Colts wickets. But the two would see their side from 4-69 to 5-153 before Rosinski was run out in a mix-up for 44. Stynes pushed on, and hit the winning runs with a booming six over cow corner to put his side through to the premiership decider seven wickets down. The two sides met just a fortnight ago, when a four-wicket haul from Mark Williams and a faster than run-a-ball 56 from Malatesta booked Collie’s spot in the decider. The home side have lost just twice this season, both at the hands of Colts, and have already defeated Marist three times. With their first-grade side now out of contention, Daniel Lomax is a chance to return to the Marist side. Lomax replaced Sam Roots in a surprise move before the preliminary finals, with Roots taking Lomax’s spot both at the top of the batting order and opening the bowling.