Demons at last

By Paul Pickering
KOOWEERUP Cricket Club’s agonising wait for another top-tier premiership came to an exhilarating end at Beaconsfield’s Perc Allison Oval on Sunday.
Thirty years after celebrating their last A-grade triumph, the Demons finally broke their drought with a 54-run victory over reigning premiers Cardinia in the West Gippsland Cricket Association’s inaugural Premier Division grand final.
Demons captain-coach Shane Dole, whose brilliant spell of bowling on Sunday wrestled the momentum away from opposite number Mark Cooper and the Bulls, was relieved to finally break a run of grand final fadeouts.
“We’ve been trying for a long time to get this one,” he said, reflecting on his five doomed attempts at securing the silverware.
“But it’s all worth while now. It’s an unbelievable feeling to finally get there.”
The result was a reversal of last year’s A-grade grand final, which was the last before the birth of the new Premier competition under the league restructure.
Kooweerup went into day two as narrow favourites, having posted a formidable total of 278 on the back of opener Chris O’Hara’s 98 on Saturday.
Dole said he was much more comfortable defending a total after being forced to chase in each of those losing grand finals.
“We were confident, but we always respect what Cardy can do with the bat, because they bat all the way down and they’ve got quality batsmen like (Ben) Darose and Cooper.”
The respect between Dole and Cooper was evident after the match, with both leaders warmly acknowledging their counterpart during the presentations.
But it was Dole who struck the vital blow on Sunday, sliding one of his off-spinners past Cooper’s defences in the 53rd over, just as the Bulls skipper looked set for another match-winning century.
Fellow tweaker Matt Bright provided great support from the other end on his way to figures of 4/57, while Cardinia spin-king Dwayne Doig claimed 6/93 from 40 overs on Saturday.
Dole, who left the ground with a hamstring injury late in the afternoon, said he “couldn’t be prouder” of his charges.
“We’ve grown with the journey, I reckon,” he said.
“We’ve worked hard over the last few years and that’s culminated with where we are today.
“For the club and the town, to bring home something we haven’t had in 30 years is just amazing.”
The see-sawing Premier Division battle was just one of the highlights of a dramatic grand final weekend in which 11 clubs tasted premiership success throughout the senior and junior grades.
Cardinia was the dominant club, winning three flags across the weekend.
Among the other highlights was Clyde’s thrilling final-ball win over Kooweerup in the Under-13 South Division.