The Yaralla Cricket Club have been crowned the Gladstone Cricket Incorporated one-day champions having barreled through the BITS Saints in the grand final.
The Reds, who led the competition for a majority of the season, were able to defend a total of 125 runs.
The Saints would only manage 56 on their attempted chase, earning Yaralla a 69-run grand final victory.
That all began with Yaralla captain Hayden O’Connor who led his team on a bowler-friendly wicket.
O’Connor would score 77 runs on a wicket where only one other player, opening partner Ken Wogandt (14), scored double digits.
Named player of the final, O’Connor said it was a memorable win for the club who has managed to rebuild after a few lean years.
“It was pretty special. This year we’ve done a lot to get our club back on track,” he said.
“It’s hard to put into words but the icing on the cake was that win on Saturday, so it was certainly special.
“Going into the final, I always prefer to have runs on the board.
“The Saints have been very good all year, so it was very special to knock them off like that.”
The Saints couldn’t find an answer for O’Connor but instead targeted his partners, knocking off five of his teammates before finally getting the dangerman.
It was BITS’ Anthony Hill and Thomas Smith who did a majority of the damage with the ball.
Hill gave Wogandt and Aden Cronin (two) their marching orders while Michael Slatter (one) and Trent Sorohan (six) were dismissed by Smith.
A few lone wickets from Tim Jackson and Mathew Fawdry would begin a devastating final charge by quick Ky Hull.
Having taken the key scalp of O’Connor, Hull then dismissed three of the bottom four batsmen to keep the score obtainable.
Hull’s figures were the best of the Saints, taking 4-15, with support coming from both Hill (2-27) and Smith (2-20).
But the Saints’ attempted chase of 125 would be a disaster, with no player able to make over nine runs.
In the sixth over captain O’Connor would strike with the cherry, dismissing Nathan Ellicott (seven) first after he trapped him in front before getting Ky Hull (duck) swinging at a delivery which was caught by Wogandt.
Sitting down at 2-18, it would go from bad to worse when Brendan Huth (nine) was caught from the bowling of Trent Sorohan to make it 3-23.
Sorohan would collect the next scalp when he dismissed Smith (five) with the assist going to Mitchell Woodward.
The scoreboard read 4-29 but that moved to 5-36 when Sorohan took his third straight wicket, taking out Mark Jensen (six).
David Crapp would get in on the action when he took down Lucas Hall (five).
But then it was back to the Sorohan show, taking the score to 7-40 when he dismissed Tim Jackson (four).
A decent fight from Hill (three not out) and Saints’ captain Fawdry (five) when O’Connor began taking wickets again for the Reds.
The Yaralla captain collected the stumps of his fellow skipper to make the grand final score 8-48.
Cronin would then get his name on the wicket-takers list three runs later when he caught Tony Cunninghame (one) swinging the bat, attempting to make up the now almost impossible tally.
With one wicket left and sitting on 51 runs, the Saints would move that up five runs before, of course, O’Connor took the final wicket.
O’Connor would finish the contest with a tied team high of 4-18 while Sorohan did the same damage but only conceding nine runs.
The Reds’ skipper was named player of the final after collecting those four wickets and his match-winning 77 runs.
GRAND FINAL SCORES
Yaralla 125 (Hayden O’Connor 77, Ky Hull 4-15, Tom Smith 2-20, Anthony Hill 2-27) defeated BITS Saints 56 (Trent Sorohan 4-9, Hayden O’Connor 4-18) at Yaralla.
