Nar Nar Goon/Maryknoll (4/181) has a shiny new Kookaburra Cup to love and to cherish after the Marygoons overcame Pakenham Upper/Toomuc (9/180) in a highlight-laden District Division T20 grand final at Glover Reserve on Sunday.
The Marygoons reversed the result from last year’s grand final loss to Cranbourne Meadows; with marquee-player Nick Fairbank taking five wickets (5/30 off 4) and a hat-trick before playing a key role with the bat.
Fairbank (42 off 28) and opening partner Troy Ferguson (59 off 45) put the Marygoons on the right path to victory, before co-captain Liam Hill (64 off 38) finished off the job with a man-of-the-match performance.
Pakenham Upper/Toomuc won the toss and elected to bat first with marquee-player Talwinder Prince (55) the wicket the Marygoons cherished most; after his epic 121 for the Yabbies in their semi-final win over Cranbourne Meadows.
Prince, Danuka Thalabandaralage (34), Syed Akbar Shah (34) and Brian Kulasena (23) had the Yabbies on the way to a 200-plus score before Fairbank went to work.
He made the initial breakthrough of Thalabandaralage in the eighth over of the innings, before returning in over 16 to flip the grand final on its head.
He removed Kulasena with ball three, before taking the key wickets of Prince and Raja Ahmed (0) with cherries five and six.
He would return from the opposite end three overs later, having Raja Sadiq (4) caught by Joseph Raphael to complete a hat-trick that went largely unnoticed.
Four wickets in five balls to Fairbank, and two to Gayan De Silva (2/16 off 4), saw the Yabbies lose 6/11 in 17 balls and the hard-fought impetus from their innings.
“Everyone on the ground was just so focused on the game, no-one had any idea it was a hat-trick and we just wanted to pump through those last few wickets and not let them start building up partnerships,” Hill explained.
“They were looking down the barrel of 200-plus; and then out of nowhere they were fighting for 180.
“He (Fairbank) did an unreal job; it’s just unfortunate we didn’t know about the hat-trick earlier.
“They’ve got some serious bats that can tee off pretty quick, especially their marquee player (Prince), he’s a real weapon.
“Our bowlers bowled really well; he took five wickets and a hat-trick, and he’s got great cricket smarts which was a great help as well.
“Just knowing who to bowl, when to bowl; he’s just got great situational awareness.”
Hill then exploded late in the chase, hitting the bulk of the 57 runs scored in the final five overs of the contest.
“The openers got us off to a really hot start and I knew I had to keep the momentum going and not get buckled down and build up any dots,” he said.
“I ticked a few singles early, then got my eye in…and then it was time to go.
“There was definitely a job to do there; we needed 55 with just over five to go, and I managed to get a few away and momentum started building.
“I made a few runs the day before (108) so I was lucky I was seeing them pretty well.”
The 19-year-old, who made his senior debut this season, said it was great for his club to showcase its talents on the big stage.
“It was huge; a huge promotion for the club and just getting our name out there a bit was great for everyone involved,” Hill said.
“I went and watched last year, when the club was in the same position, but they didn’t get the win.
“But this was huge; Devon Meadows always put on a great show and the Premier Division clubs get great support on days like that; so there’s a good turnout and it’s nice for our guys to play in front of crowds like that.
“It’s good for us players at the Goon to get the club’s name out there a bit more; because we have had our struggles in recent years.
“We definitely took it serious and winning it meant a lot to us.
“It’s a bit of extra money for the club as well; the whole club bought into it, and it was a really nice feeling hitting the winning runs and seeing everyone getting out there and celebrating.
“We’re all pretty stoked.”
