Gisborne is one win away from a spot in the Cricket Victoria regional Big Bash final and an appearance on the MCG.
The Dragons reached the conference finals of the statewide tournament with a win over Mildura Settlers in late December.
If they win their conference final against either East Belmont or Doutta Stars on February 7, they will play in the overall final at the ‘G’ on Thursday, February 25.
Dragons president Andrew Headberry said he had no idea about the extent of the competition when the club won the Gisborne and District Cricket Association’s T20 title in 2014.
Gisborne then went on to win the Central Highlands Region Willow T20 Cup, which qualified them for the 16-team state finals, which feature the T20 winners from each of Cricket Victoria’s regions.
“It’s getting pretty exciting,” Headberry said. “It’s a funny sort of competition [with the timeframe] and we’re getting to the pointy end of it.
“We didn’t even realise the competition existed when we won the GDCA T20 competition.”
Headberry said Gisborne had exceeded expectations by winning its first two games of the competition.
“We’ve played the best teams from big areas like Bendigo and Mildura, and to beat them is a great achievement considering the population of little old Gisborne,” he said.
“Both teams were always going to be strong, but T20 is a funny game and as long as you play well on the day you’re a chance.
“Against Bendigo it was a bit of individual brilliance from Tahir Afridi [with 72 not out] who got us over the line.
“The Mildura game was over pretty quickly when we had them in trouble early and bowled them out cheaply [for 49].”
Headberry said fielding was one area which had stood out for Gisborne in both victories.He said travelling together to its matches had brought the team closer together.
“Our fielding has been better than the other sides,” Headberry said.
“Simon [Harman] is big on that as coach.
“We also have a pretty young side so they can move around the field really well.”
Headberry said anything was possible now, including taking out the event.
“I can’t see any reason why we can’t win,” he said.
“The standard of the competition is likely to increase, but we’ve given ourselves half a chance by getting this far.
“We just need to put our best foot forward.”
Meanwhile, the Dragons resumed their GDCA season with a win over ladder leader Diggers Rest Bulla on Saturday.
