TWO memories immediately spring to mind when remembering the 2005 Bendigo District Cricket Association grand final between Kangaroo Flat and Eaglehawk at the QEO.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The first is a vintage performance from Roos’ superstar Adam Burns.
And the second is the anti-climatic ending to the grand final when the tea-break was taken on day two with the Roos needing just one run for victory.
Following the 20-minute break with the scores level and the flag decided as the Roos couldn't lose courtesy of their higher ladder position in the case of a tie – what a bitter-tasting arvo tea that must have been for the Hawks - Kangaroo Flat's Mick Smith hit the winning runs two balls after the resumption as the Roos defeated the Hawks by four wickets to win the second of their back-to-back flags.
It’s a premiership that will be celebrated this weekend when the Roos hold a 10-year reunion.
The 2004-05 grand final capped an undefeated season for the Roos – an achievement that shouldn’t be glossed over considering so much can go against you in a cricket season.
Whether it’s player unavailability because of the dreaded W word (wedding), being on the wrong end of a toss and copping the worst of either the batting or bowling conditions, or just the week to week grind that cricket can become during a season, to not lose a game was a testament to just how powerful the Roos were.
Not to mention the fact the Roos had a big target on their backs every week as opposition constantly lifted their games against them wanting to take the scalp of the reigning premiers.
The grand final against the Hawks was a low-scoring affair, largely thanks to the day-one brilliance of Burns that Eaglehawk had no answer for as it was bowled out for 136.
Burns produced a stellar 6-42 off 31 overs, including 12 maidens, which ranks at No.23 on the list of all-time BDCA grand final bowling performances.
The first of those scalps was the Hawks’ No.1 batsman – Neil Williams – caught Andrew Hosking for a duck, which immediately had Eaglehawk on the backfoot.
A Williams’ duck was a rarity. The grand final was the first time in 46 innings he failed to score.
From there the wickets kept tumbling for Burns as he also dismissed Matt White (3), Matt Ford (0), Matt Fitt (17), Andrew Smith (25) and Glen Daly (0).
Burns also took the catch to remove the Hawks’ top-scorer, Jason Abbott (66), off the wily Shane Harling (3-37 off 21).
Set 137 to win, the Roos didn’t have it all their own way, losing six wickets in answering with 6-139, with Burns (28), captain Rod Wight (25), Brad Orton (22) and Tony Taig (20) all dismissed in the 20s, making Abbott the only player in the grand final to score more than 30.
Kangaroo Flat’s 2004 and 2005 flags were a golden two years for the club during which the Roos lost just one of their 25 games, with Strathdale-Maristians the only team to beat them.
That 2005 premiership is now a distant memory for the Roos, with only Burns and Steve Newlan still playing in the ones from that side, while Hosking has swapped his Kangaroo Flat baggy green for the blue cap of Strathdale-Maristians.
And it’s the last of the BDCA flags not won by one of the “big four”of the Suns, Bendigo United, Golden Square or Eaglehawk.
The Roos have only made two finals series since and have long been in re-build mode.
While the wins don’t come as frequently as they once did and the Roos are all about looking forward, the champion players and good times of the past shouldn’t be forgotten, and that’s what this weekend is all about.
