TOM PARRY
CRICKET
GCL
By TOM PARRY
TRARALGON District won the Gippsland Cricket League Grand Final on Sunday, after thumping Sale-Maffra on their home turf.
The Sharks won the coin toss and electing to bat first at Sale Oval, on a pitch that was hard, dry and had minimal grass coverage.
Save for the overcast skies and gusty winds, conditions could not have been more perfect for batting.
Nathan Freitag got Traralgon off to the prefect start, bowling Adrian Burgiel with the very first ball of the innings.
It was an ominous sign of things to come for the Sharks.
Ewan Williams was next to strike, tearing through Sale-Maffra’s top order to dismiss heavy hitters Zac Hurley, Steve Spoljaric and Rohan Diamond, all lost for single digits in the first 10 overs of the game.
Jack Tatterson and Tom Morrison offered some resistance for the fifth wicket, but only briefly – they too were gone by the 16th over, both succumbing to the bowling of Mitch Harris.
Sale teammates Ben Jones and Garreth Wolmarans formed a partnership which also proved brief, lasting six overs with only 18 runs added.
Wolmarans then combined with Jack Rietschel for another six-over stand, this one netting just 13 runs before the latter was trapped on his pads.
The very next over, Wolmarans was dismissed in similar circumstances, with Sale-Maffra’s scorecard reading 9/80.
Sharks captain Dylan Bolton and Rosedale-Kilmany’s Isaac Love managed to save the Sharks from utter humiliation, scoring 36 runs between them in their 10th-wicket fightback.
It wasn’t enough – Sale-Maffra was all out for 116 in the 36th over.
Love was the last batsman to depart, finishing with an innings-best 25.
Williams and Harris took three wickets each, while Lee Stockdale snagged two, and Freitag and James Pryde walked away with one each.
Traralgon had a much stronger start to their innings, with openers Frank Marks and Stockdale making 42 runs between them in the first eight overs.
After Stockdale’s dismissal, Marks then partnered with his captain to add another 24 to Traralgon’s total.
A change in bowlers brought an end to that collaboration, with Spoljaric clean-bowling Marks with his very first ball.
Twenty-two more runs were added by Freitag and Alistair Jenkin before Spoljaric struck again, the captain caught-and-bowled for 26.
The late wickets of Ryan Morley and Matt Dyke had the Sharks buzzing, but by then the premiership was well and truly in the Tornadoes grasp.
Jenkin hit the winning runs in the 42nd over with a pull shot to the boundary; Traralgon District victorious by five wickets.
Marks top-scored with 42, while Jenkin was next-best with 32 not out. Spoljaric was easily the best of Sale-Maffra’s bowlers, with figures of 3/10.
Ewan Williams was awarded Man of the Match for his 3/18 off six overs.
While the scorecard suggests otherwise, Traralgon’s win was nothing to be sniffed at – Sale-Maffra finished the regular GCL season undefeated.
THE Sharks enjoyed better success in the other two other GCL finals.
Sale-Maffra won the 18s and women’s against Bairnsdlae and Leongatha respectively.
Handful: Mitch Harris took three wickets for Traralgon in their GCL final win against Sale-Maffra.
Great job: Ewan Williams, seen here batting toward the end of the day, was Man of the Match after taking 3/18.
Chipping in: Lee Stockdale bagged two wickets in the final.
Setting the tone: Frank Marks opened the batting for Traralgon, and made an innings-high 42.
The moment: Alistair Jenkin prepares to hit the winning runs for Traralgon in the GCL Final at Sale Oval.
Glory: The victorious Traralgon District senior team post-game with their trophies at Sale Oval. Pictured is Alistair Jenkin, Ryan Morley, Nat Freitag (captain), Lee Stockdale, Mitch Membrey, James Pryde, Lee Farley (chairman of selectors), Michael Petersen (team manager), (front) Daniel O’Keefe, Ewan Williams, Matt Dyke, Mitch Harris, Adam Brady and Frank Marks.
Spirit of cricket: Opposing captains Nathan Freitag and Dylan Bolton shake hands at the conclusion of the game.
