A LOWER-ORDER fightback with the bat and seven-wicket haul to Ash Quinn led Murray Valley to victory in yesterday’s Bendigo Bank Country Week division one grand final.
Murray Valley defeated Ferntree Gully by 69 runs at Canterbury Park, and in doing so became the first team since Rochester in 1965 to win four division one titles in a row.
However, Murray Valley achieved something Rochester couldn’t during its four-year reign of dominance between 1962 and ’65.
Murray Valley has won all 20 games during its title reign, whereas Rochester lost one.
But 30 overs into Murray Valley’s innings it looked as if the four-peat would elude the side.
Having won the toss and batted, Murray Valley’s title hopes were hanging by a thread when it crashed to 7-88.
The side had been well-placed at 1-56, but the dismissal of No.3 Cameron Parker (8) sparked a string of wickets in which Murray Valley lost 6-32 as Ferntree Gully gained the upper hand.
Among the wickets to fall during the horror period for Murray Valley was opener Brayden Carey, who top-scored with 33.
However, Murray Valley was saved Rby its lower-order as the side rallied from its precarious 7-88 to what proved to be a match-winning 9-170 off its 50 overs.
The fightback started with a 62-run partnership for the eighth wicket between Alex Osmond (30) and Imran Arif (27).
Osmond’s innings was particularly aggressive as he scored 26 of his 30 runs in boundaries – five fours and one six.
Following their 62-run partnership, Osmond and Arif were dismissed within three runs of each other to leave Murray Valley 9-153.
However, an unbroken 17-run stand for the 10th wicket between Joel Cahir (14 n.o.) and captain Matthew Jaensch (3 n.o.) lifted the score to 170.
After Murray Valley’s top seven combined for just 75 runs off the bat, the last four added 74.
Ferntree Gully opening bowler Usman Arif would have slept well last night after bowling 25 overs unchanged from the city end.
Arif finished with 5-75, while the other multiple wicket-taker was Troy Gstrein (3-37).
Murray Valley’s 170 proved more than enough as Ferntree Gully was bowled out for just 101 in reply in the 34th over.
The run-chase got off to a disastrous start when Ryan Handley (1) and Daniel Beyer (0) were dismissed lbw in consecutive balls by Quinn in the third over to have Ferntree Gully 2-5.
Wayne McInerney and Jayden Bradbury (9) worked hard to steady the innings by taking the score to 44 in the 11th over.
But disaster struck when McInerney – the carnival’s leading run-scorer – was run out at the bowlers end after a dropped caught and bowled chance by Quinn off Bradbury deflected onto the stumps.
With McInerney dismissed for 29 (three boundaries), from there it was a steady flow of wickets as the runs dried up.
Ferntree Gully – playing in its first division one grand final – scored 50 runs off its first 12 overs, but only 51 off its following 22.
The side looked like being bowled out for under 100 when it was 9-78 in the 29th over, before Shane Richardson (12) and Arif (10 n.o.) put on 23 for the last wicket.
Left-armer Quinn was the obvious choice to be named man of the match as he was involved in nine of the Ferntree Gully dismissals.
He took 7-43 off 16 overs, but also ran out McInerney and took the match-winning catch at slip off Tyrone Downie (1-10) to remove Richardson.
“His nickname is Superman with us... he put the cape on and there it is, seven-for and a run-out,” victorious captain Jaensch (1-20) said.
“It has been a great team effort by the boys this week. We had a few young kids in the side and they all stood up, which was great.
“Things were looking a bit shaky for us today at 7-80 odd, but we were always confident we had the batting that could put a score on the board that we could defend.”
● Meanwhile, in the lower grades, Gisborne (6-132) earned promotion back to division one with a four-wicket victory over Benalla (131) at Strauch Reserve in the division two grand final.
In division three, Swan Hill (4-207) successfully chased down Deniliquin’s 9-204 at Bell Oval, with the game highlighted by two centuries.
Deniliquin’s Brad Todd made 110, with his effort matched by Swan Hill No.6 Jason Morrison, who made an unbeaten 110.
Morrison and opener Danny Hegarty (56 n.o.) shared in an unbroken stand of 149 for the fifth wicket to steer Swan Hill to victory.
The pair started their partnership with Swan Hill in trouble at 4-58.
And in the division four grand final at Atkins Street, Northern District Colts (153) proved too strong for the Campaspe Colts (114) with a 39-run victory.
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