THE Gunbower Cricket Club held a 50-year reunion of the 1971-72 premiership on February 12.
Seven players from the71-72 premiership team attended the reunion, and many former players were there to celebrate premierships or just having played with the Gunbower Club.
All former players were invited to attend the day, with the 72-73 premiership also being celebrated.
The club had a successful period at the end of the 1980s with pennants being won in the 1988-89, 89-90 and 90-91 seasons.
It was eight years before the club gained more success winning premierships in the 1999-2000 and 2001-02 seasons.
Players that attended from the 1971-72 team were Max Jones (captain), ‘Chicken’ and Ron Dillon, Trevor Treacy, Des Shelley, Peter Bowden and Herman Bremner. Tom Dillon has sadly passed. Other members who didn’t attend were Max and Barry Borneman, ‘Spec’ Phyland and Geoff Williams.
The 1972-73 Grand Final was particularly close with Gunbower eventually winning by six runs.
Played over the March long weekend, Gunbower won the toss and batted, making 137 after being 1/80. Union then were 1/75 and looking in the box seat until a collapse saw them all out for 122.
On the third day of play, Gunbower were 50 runs in front with nine wickets in hand, only to once again collapse to be all out for 118, leaving Union 134 runs to get to turn a first innings deficit into an outright victory.
With the result in the balance, the Union batsmen were not quite up to the task falling six runs short of victory, handing the 1972-73 premiership to the Gunbower club.
