WANDELLA has fallen short in the T20 grand final on the weekend after a disappointing defeat against Nyah District.
The Bombers faced up to Woorinen in the semi-final prior to the grand final match played on the same day.
They got whacked in the bowling, with Woorinen batters Cooper Fox and Mitchell Uhlhorn notching 82 and 57 runs respectively to get the Tigers up to 187 runs.
Wandella managed to fight back as captain Daniel Higgs had a 44-run knock and Ryan Barnes had an even more impressive 69-run not out innings in just 35 balls, with a staggering 197.14 strike rate.
The Bombers managed to get the winning runs in the final over in what was an incredible run chase and fantastic cricket all round.
in the other semi-final, The Demons faced up against Ultima Tuf.
The Demons proved to be too strong for the Roodogs as Nyah District’s Joel Walsh was the highest run scorer, getting 41 runs before getting caught by Jacob Hatcher.
Nash Richman and Mitchell Grinham brought the Demons home getting 38 and 20 runs respectively.
Nyah District captain Ben Shadbolt and Charlie Boulton both got three wickets as the side ran over the Roodogs for a comfortable 45-run win.
The result meant Wandella faced Nyah District in the grand final.
Nyah District won the toss and Ben Shadbolt elected to bat first.
Wandella got to business in quick fashion, grabbing Charlie Boulton in the first over, but Jacob Lister and Joel Walsh settled in quickly and had a crucial 68-run partnership.
Joel Walsh was again the highest run scorer for the Demons, but this time managed to get 69 runs before getting caught by Daniel Higgs.
Wandella’s Bohden McKnight was crucial in the bowling, getting three wickets and only conceding 16 runs in his four-over spell, for an incredible 4.00 economy- nearly unheard of in T20 cricket.
The Bombers kept Nyah District for a score of 134 runs and Wandella had an easier target to acquire compared to their semifinal, so they were in the hot seat for a big win.
But the Demons had other plans for the Bombers, getting Flynn McKnight early on and everything just fell apart for Wandella from there.
The Bombers lost five wickets in the space of 25 runs.
They never seemed to fight back from there, despite Bohden McKnight trying to keep their hopes alive with his 41-run not out performance.
Cooper Andrews was a crucial asset for Nyah District’s bowling attack, earning himself three wickets.
Joel Walsh and Jacob Lister both got two wickets, and the side’s economy rate was on point at around the 5.00 mark.
Once the Demons got the last wicket of Laing Waddingham, the party officially started, and the winner presentations commenced.
The man of the match award went to none other than Joel Walsh for his crucial 69 run knock and two wicket display in the bowling.
Nyah District captain Ben Shadbolt praised Joel Walsh for his effort in the grand final.
“Yeah, he is a super talent, he works harder than anyone in the comp I believe,” Shadbolt told Gannawarra Times this week.
“He is a machine, he has plenty of talent, very handy to have someone like him on your team.”
The batter of the series went to Daniel Higgs from Wandella, the bowler of the series went to Robert Rush from Woorinen, and the champion player of the series went Darren Rushton, also from Woorinen.
Ben Shadbolt was very pleased with the result on the weekend and said he believed the win was down to the fact a lot of the players has experience in finals cricket.
“Yeah, we were always confident going into the weekend,” he said.
“We’ve been together long enough as a group, we have won a few finals now.
“The belief was always there that we could get it done once we got there (making the grand final).
“A lot of the guys now, despite being a young side, have a fair bit of finals experience so we know what it’s like to get there and win.”
Now with the T20 action over, one-day cricket action will continue on January 11.
Nyah District will be facing Wandella again on the Bomber’s home turf at Riverside Park.
Last time these two sides faced each other in the one-day format, Nyah ran over the top of them, winning by a staggering 95 runs.
“We’d like to repeat the performance we had on the weekend,” Shadbolt said
“We will be confident like we were on the weekend, but Wandella probably suit the longer format a bit better.”
