RELIEF and jubilation were the words on the minds of Eastern Hill after it delivered a comfortable seven-wicket win in the Gisborne District Cricket Association Johnstone Shield grand final, and with it, promotion to the McIntyre Cup.
After three years of trying, the Eagles finally broke through, set up by a dominant bowling performance on Saturday, before making every shot count with the bat on Sunday.
Diggers Rest elected to try to put the pressure on at Kings Park by batting first after winning the toss.
However, it was Nathan Fowler who delivered the perfect start for Eastern Hill, claiming the wicket of Jordon McDonald with the second ball of the game.
Fowler and Benjamin Bryant did a number on the Diggers Rest batting lineup, not allowing the top order easy runs, and Fowler claimed another wicket when he took the wicket of Nathan Crosland for 15.
Diggers Rest had a decent patch, with captain Evan Long making 20 and Jacob Grant making 29, but it was hard work making runs, with Fowler and Bryant putting in a marathon stint.
When the Eagles finally made a change, their plans had come off to perfection, with the fresh legs of Tim Rudd-Schmidt delivering in spades.
Rudd-Schmidt took four quick wickets to make mincemeat of the Diggers Rest middle order, who lost 5/30 after his rapid spell, which also saw Oscar Newell in the wickets with two of his own.
Bryant finished off the tail with two wickets.
Rudd-Schmidt finished with 4/22 off 13 overs in a spectacular spell, while Bryant (2/19), Newell (2/21) and Fowler (2/37) all contributed heavily.
Still, the Eagles needed to bat.
They faced 20 overs at the end of Saturday’s play, and were steady as they could get, making 29 runs for the loss of one wicket, that of Billy Cox for three.
On Sunday, Bryant helped Dean Fulco pick up the pace, and it ensured that the Eagles would always have the upper hand, despite Diggers Rest getting a small look at putting pressure on after claiming Bryant’s wicket for 24.
Newell came to the crease and started putting together some good shots, and despite Fulco departing for 26, it never looked likely that the Eagles would lose.
Newell and Fowler finished off the job, with Newell unbeaten on 24, and Fowler making 23 off 18 to get the job done.
A relieved Eagles’ captain Seamus Feery said they finally got the one they wanted.
“I’m somewhat relieved after missing the last few, but I’m really excited about going up into McIntyre Cup next season. To ace the season, a lot of things have to go your way, and some guys had incredible seasons, so to get that win, I’m ecstatic,” he said.
“The young guys have stuck together, they are eager and it wasn’t a true reflection of their talent or how they’d go in seasons. Last year was fantastic, and Wallan and Tallarook have been deserved winners against us in years prior.
“You get yourself into a big dance and you never know what will happen, but to get yourself in that position is important, but it’s more important to have groups that stick together with some good leaders that have really matured.
“I think it was important for them to get to the other side and know they can win these.”
Feery paid tribute to his team, in particular, best-on-ground Rudd-Schmidt.
“The depth of talent has allowed us to play a far more aggressive and free-flowing game than we otherwise would be able to, but to have Oscar Newell come over from England, having Nathan Fowler in, having a great deal of depth and blokes having career-best seasons across the board, it’s great,” he said.
“Credit to Tim, he is relentless with what he does every week. And it’s why he’s in the squad, you know exactly what you’ll get with him, he makes it uncomfortable for batters and he’s ever dependable.
“It’s beautiful for Tim to get that best-on, it’s just desserts for him, he travels up the highway from Brunswick every single week and has done it for a long time because he loves this club, loves this place and just wants to come here and be a part of it. It’s really fitting.”
Rudd-Schmidt reflected on his efforts in victory.
“I travel an hour and a half every week and shirk all my other responsibilities, so it’s nice to go play cricket and go home again,” he said.
“I wouldn’t have got the four wickets if it wasn’t for the pressure than Nathan and Ben put on early, and then the batsmen are looking for the first-change bowler to think they have to have a crack, so I benefit from them being aggressive towards me.
“We bowled them out for 104, but I was still very nervous, so it was great to get it done early.”
Feery said he was looking forward to bringing McIntyre Cup cricket to Kings Park next season.
“We think if we can keep this group together in McIntyre next season, we’ll be more than competitive, and it’s driven the group along to play better cricket, and the boys get another opportunity at that,” he said.
“I know the association and teams come over and look forward to playing on our facility, a lot of voluntary hours go into making this place what it is.”
A great day for Eastern Hill was made even better by an epic victory in the Johnstone Shield seconds’ competition.
Batting first, Eastern Hill negotiated a ferocious early spell from Diggers Rest bowler Jason Storey, with Tayte Hoefchen making a composed 48, while Brayden Speechley’s 33 and Peter Speechley’s 27 also gave the Eagles good impetus.
Eric Loweke’s crucial 31 helped the Eagles make 178 on the first day’s play.
For much of the second day’s play, it looked as though Diggers Rest would have the ascendancy, but a mighty marathon effort from Fraser Lewis saw him almost single-handedly turn the tide.
Lewis claimed wickets at crucial times to make a mess of Diggers Rest’s top order, middle order and the tail, including the key scalp of Michael West for 74, as he took 6/42 off a scarcely believable 30.3 overs.
This ensured Eastern Hill would bowl Diggers Rest out for 168, claiming a 10-run victory in a memorable contest.