By Colin MacGillivray
TALLAROOK is celebrating a historic double after taking out both the A and B Grade grand finals in the Seymour District Cricket Association, SDCA, at the weekend.
The ‘Rook snared the A Grade premiership in a seven-wicket upset win against reigning premier Eastern Hill at Chittick Park on Saturday.
The Eagles finished atop the ladder for a second consecutive season and progressed directly to the grand final, where they were considered warm favourites after dropping only two matches all season.
However, one of those matches was to Tallarook, and the Rookers stormed into the match with plenty of confidence of their own after dismantling Broadford in the semi-final.
Eastern Hill won the toss and elected to bat in the grand final, putting up 32 without loss before opening batsman Brayden Speechley fell to Tallarook’s Kalon Winnell for 19.
Speechley was soon joined in the sheds by fellow opener Dallas Bergowicz, trapped leg before wicket by Ben Tarran for 16, and Eastern Hill skipper Seamus Feery, run out by Daniel Fisher for four.
The wickets piled pressure onto the Eagles’ remaining batsmen, and although Ben Bryant was able to steady the home side’s innings, the run rate slowed significantly.
Bryant batted patiently for 39 runs alongside Jake Sutherland, 10, and Oliver Bryant, 18, before being caught off the bowling of Shane Topham. His was the last wicket to fall, as Matthew Collard, nine not out, and Brayden Avola, 11 not out, saw the Eagles through to the conclusion of their 45 overs, reaching 6/137.
Topham was the sole multiple wicket taker with 2/39, but Winnell was the star of Tallarook’s bowling attack with a miserly 1/16 surrendered from nine overs at less than two runs an over.
Tallarook skipper Lachlan Watts said his side’s strong fielding performance set it up for victory.
“We skittled a few in about 10 overs in the middle for not many [runs] and did it quickly, which probably snuck up on them a bit,” he said.
“All of a sudden there were only seven or eight overs to go and they didn’t have too many runs on the board.
“Our fielding was as good as it has been all year. Getting a couple of run-outs probably proves that. We didn’t miss too many chances.
“Chittick Park is the best surface in the competition at the moment, especially with Kings Park down. You love fielding there and you look forward to it when you get the chance.”
Watts praised Winnell’s performance to lead the Tallarook bowling attack.
“He really put the brakes on when he came in to bowl. He got the breakthrough wicket and they found him very difficult to get away,” Watts said.
“He put the squeeze on them and really did his job, and I think it flowed on from there. The other bowlers supported that and [Eastern Hill] couldn’t get it going.”
Tallarook’s run chase looked to be in early trouble when opener Josh Rudge was caught and bowled by Avola for five runs, putting the visitors behind the eight ball at 1/12.
But Watts would not let his team lose, taking to the crease for what proved to be a match-winning 62-run knock.
Watts batted first alongside Ben Tarran before Tarran’s dismissal for eight at the hands of Jake Sutherland, but kept his composure to forge an 88-run third-wicket partnership with Kasey Duncan.
The pair, knowing they were in front of the required run rate, batted patiently before Sutherland finally broke through to remove Watts. But new batsman Leigh Irving, 14 not out, performed superbly alongside Duncan, 35 not out, to notch the winning runs.
Watts said he was proud of the way his team held its nerve during the run chase.
“Chasing 137, it’s not a big score but I haven’t played in a grand final yet where it’s been easy going,” he said.
“You never know what’s going to happen, but at the same time you want to stay pretty positive and keep the scoreboard pressure on them once you get yourselves in and set.
“You’re always nervous. I’m a nervous starter as it is anyway, but once you feel one out of the middle of the bat early on it makes you pretty comfortable.
“I was confident with Ben Tarran at the other end being able to hold up his end for a while, and the same with the guys coming in behind me.
“Having that confidence in the rest of the batting order makes my job a bit easier to take a few more risks and try to get things moving once I settled in.”
The win gave Tallarook its first A Grade premiership since back-to-back flags in 2018-19 and 2019-20 and confirmed its status as a powerhouse of the SDCA.
The club also celebrated a B Grade premiership, beating Pyalong by seven wickets at Broadford’s Harley Hammond Reserve, 102 to 3/107.
Tallarook’s Madi Albers starred with bowling figures of 4/20 from nine overs, including three maidens, while Stephen Korosec took 3/20.
Tallarook opening batsman Luke Marshall batted throughout the run chase for an unbeaten 38, while Korosec, batting at number five, was also unbeaten on 34.
Watts said the result was the best the club could have hoped for after failing to field a B Grade side and missing the A Grade finals last season.
“Just making finals was a massive effort for us as a club, so to get them both up, we’re pretty rapt with where the club is at,” he said.
“That’s my fourth premiership with Tallarook. I’ve been pretty lucky, but some of the other boys have six apiece, so we’ve got players with lots of experience in finals, which is a bonus.”
The C Grade premiership went to Yea Tigers, who beat Eastern Hill by seven wickets, 7/108 to 3/111 behind Michael Waghorn’s unbeaten 64 runs. Eastern Hill had progressed to the grand final despite losing to Avenel who were disqualified for playing an ineligible player.
