NYAH District Cricket Club has defeated St Mary’s Tyntynder in a nail-biting, back-and-forth Swan Hill District Cricket grand final.
The fifth time this season the two teams have gone head-to-head, the Demons claimed victory in the season’s decider by 30 runs after a devastating bowling performance.
Nyah District captain Ben Shadbolt said the victory “just feels unreal”.
“A win like that is honestly as good as it gets,” he said.
“To win with the boys that we play with week in, week out and playing with some of our best mates is really as good as this gets.
“It was a great year, we lost only two games; one early in the season, and the T20 final, so we’ve had a pretty good year.
“I don’t think there’ll be anyone saying that we don’t deserve this.”
After St Mary’s won the toss and made the tough decision to send Nyah in to bat, opener Charlie Boulton set the tone early.
The young, left-handed opener set to work against the Bulldogs’ opening bowlers Nathaniel Holmes-Brown and Robin Sebastian.
Boulton scored steadily as partners were dismissed; Dean Harrop out for 12, Shane Fleming for 1 and Joel Walsh with a quickfire 21.
Young gun Max Thompson joined Boulton at the crease, before the opener was dismissed for 42 off 72 balls, leaving Nyah at 4/79.
Thompson and Demons’ wicket-keeper Justin Toomey added another 18 runs before Thompson was dismissed, bringing on a mini-collapse.
After Tristan Dalbon didn’t trouble the scorers, Toomey followed for 18 runs and Mitch Grinham and Alex Wilson managed scores of seven and one.
At 9 for 114, Nyah fans were then treated to a strong 25-run, last wicket partnership between their skipper Shadbolt and spinner Cooper Andrews.
Shadbolt hit three boundaries in his unbeaten 15, while Andrews hit a big six over the leg-side fielders on his way to 10.
Skipper Shadbolt described the important runs as “a fun little partnership”.
“It was really great to bat with Cooper,” he said.
“We got ourselves to 140, and we backed ourselves in to defend that total.
“The six that he hit was as good as I’ve seen; I haven’t seen him hit a six in my life, so it was great to see.
“You should’ve seen the strut on him after that.”
As they dismissed Nyah for a competitive total of 140, Jack Shannahan was the pick of St Mary’s bowlers.
Shannahan tore through the Demons’ middle order, and ended the innings with figures of 4/26 off his 13 overs.
Charlie King was another who impressed with the ball, taking 2/17, while Robin Sebastian was the only other multiple wicket-taker with two wickets for 20 runs.
Connor Power and Jonty Chaproniere kicked off the innings for the Bulldogs, before Joel Walsh claimed the first breakthrough; Chaproniere for 11 runs.
Power and Jake Foster helped St Mary’s steady, but when Foster was dismissed for 18 and left the Bulldogs at 2/44, St Mary’s nerves might’ve grown.
But it was the dismissal of Connor Power that changed the tone, as Alex Wilson scattered the opener’s stumps and breathed new life into the Demons.
Bailey Codling was the next to be removed, without the Bulldogs adding to their score and Jack Shannahan’s scoreless innings left St Mary’s at 5/56.
With just five wickets between them and the win, Nyah’s enthusiasm in the field grew with each ball.
But Charlie King’s resilient batting kept Nyah on their toes, as he built partnerships with the lower order, finishing the game unbeaten on 30.
Joel Walsh and Max Thompson were the difference makers in the end, as they ripped through St Mary’s remaining batsmen.
When St Mary’s captain Holmes-Brown was dismissed for three, the equation was simple; Nyah needed two wickets and St Mary’s needed just 40 runs.
Robin Sebastian stood tall for his seven runs before Walsh claimed his wicket, and Max Thompson rounded out the win by bowling Hugh Thompson.
Dismissing a side like St Mary’s for 109 is no easy feat, but Shadbolt said he had complete faith in his bowlers.
“I was obviously a bit nervous when they only needed 40 off 20 overs, but we back our boys,” he said.
“Everyone bowled so well; Max (Thompson) is only 15 years old and he took four wickets today.
“Walshy was fantastic today, Alex (Wilson) was outstanding, and Cooper (Andrews) played his role brilliantly and got his wicket.”
Shadbolt was awarded man-of-the-match for his performance with bat and ball, but said it could’ve gone to almost anyone.
“We had so many blokes that deserved the medal, so I’ll just count myself a bit lucky,” he said.
“I personally would have rather the medal went to someone like Max (Thompson) or even Charlie.
“Charlie started us off like a house on fire and scoring 40 in a low-scoring game is huge, and Max taking four wickets, when we are defending a low total is just a super effort.”
