Lake Illawarra rise to South Coast occasion again to claim Twenty20 crown

The last time the Lakers met Shellharbour in the preliminary rounds, it was a last-ball thriller.

This time, Lake turned the screws when it mattered, defending 7-130 by restricting Shellharbour to 9-86 in the grand final at Geoff Shaw Oval.

Kerrod White, with his experience with the Sydney Thunder, proved all class with 43 runs, before coming during a crucial period late in Shellharbour's innings to take three wickets.

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White had defied ongoing foot injuries to take the ball when the match was on the line. Mitch Watterson had anchored the Shellharbour reply and threatened to launch a challenge, but with two wickets down and with the run rate creeping to nine and 10 runs an over, they collapsed.

"It's pretty special, we've had a great run of success, but at the same time you never know when the run is going to come to an end," captain Mark Ulcigrai said.

"We've got a lot of leaders and experience in this team and also some great young guys coming through.

"Our fielding was sensational, we keep doing a good job of defending scores, not just in Twenty20, but in every format."

Lake Illawarra have already won the one-day title this season and chase another treble as they sit on top of the overall ladder, heading into the two-day finals.

Watterson and Chris Tonks took two wickets each in a defiant bowling effort for Shellharbour.

Albion Park may have had little to cheer about this season, but Thomas Wilson gave them a late-season boost with a century in Saturday's two-day match against Kiama.

Opening the batting, Wilson his 12 fours in an innings of 109, eventually falling with the score on 290, before Albion Park finished the day at 8-313 off 80 overs.

Kayne Grove (83) and Shergeel Chaudhry (51) ensured the top order fired, as Kiama used nine bowlers to try and restrict the runs.

Meanwhile, Brynley Richards also posted a ton in The Rail's score of 5-281.

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The Rail declared after 69 overs, but could not break Kookas' resistance, who finished the day on 0-26 off 13 overs. With competition leaders Lake Illawarra having the bye in the two-day round, second-placed The Rail are pressing for points to try and bridge the gap.

Oak Flats recovered from 5-80 against Shellharbour to be 8-226 off 85 overs, with Ryan Chatterton unbeaten on 74, while Jack Bennett made 58.