BENDIGO stumbled at the final hurdle of its Melbourne Country Week campaign on Friday, losing the final to Sale-Maffra by 12 runs at the Albert Ground.

Set 250 to win, Bendigo was restricted to 8-237 off its 50 overs to lose its only game of the carnival.

Openers Ben Gunn and Brayden Stepien got the Bendigo chase off to an aggressive start with a 40-run stand for the first wicket.

Both batsmen looked in good touch from the outset as Bendigo scored 20 of its first 33 runs in boundaries.

But when Stepien was the first wicket to fall in the seventh over for 18, Sale-Maffra fought back well through its slow bowlers as boundaries became hard to come by for Gunn and No.3 Cameron Taylor.

At one stage during the innings Gunn moved from 27 to 45 with 18 singles, while Taylor scored 15 consecutive singles as he advanced from 17 to 32.

Coming off back-to-back centuries, Gunn looked every chance to make a third-consecutive ton before his innings came to an end when he was dismissed for 76 off 81 (five fours) to close the carnival with 385 runs.

Gunn was caught behind in the 32nd over with the score on 136, by which stage the required run-rate had ticked above six an over.

Gunn and Taylor added 96 for the second wicket.

Despite having wickets in hand, Bendigo was unable to reel the run-rate in to less than six an over for the rest of the innings as Sale-Maffra, which gradually upped its protection of the boundary with no fielding restrictions, didn’t allow those one or two high-scoring overs that could swing the momentum back Bendigo’s way.

Following Adam Ward’s dismissal for 20 in the 41st over, the hard-hitting Adrian Pappin was elevated to No.5 in an attempt to get the scoreboard ticking back over after the required run-rate had reached 7.4 per over.

Having been dropped twice before he had made 10, Pappin was caught in the deep for 12 with the score on 203, and from there it became too tall an order for Bendigo as four more wickets fell late, including three run-outs – Ben DeAraugo (7), Adam Burns (3) and captain Linton Jacobs (0).

Taylor – who needed to hit a boundary off the final ball of the innings to make a ton - finished unbeaten on 97, just missing out on what would have been his third career Melbourne Country Week century.

Taylor – who had been dismissed in the 20s in his first four games of the carnival – earned the man of the match award for his 134-ball innings.

While Sale-Maffra didn’t bowl any maidens in its 50 overs, the side only conceded four sundries compared to Bendigo’s 17. 

Sale-Maffra had five bowlers take one wicket each - Anthony Scott (1-31), Bradley Scott (1-32), Jack Reitschel (1-43), Dylan Bolton (1-55) and Jake Benfield (1-34).

Earlier, after winning the toss and batting, Sale-Maffra compiled 249 off its 50 overs.

On a belter of a wicket, Sale-Maffra got off to a flyer, scoring 29 off the first four overs.

Matt Dowsett took the attack to Bendigo from the outset, belting Adam Burns for a boundary and two consecutive sixes, but tried one too many big shots and was bowled by Burns for 20 off 11.

Dowsett’s quickfire 20 was one of plenty of starts in the Sale-Maffra innings, with eight of its batsmen scoring in double figures.

But only No.3 Bradley Scott made a half-century as he top-scored for Sale-Maffra with a well-made 52 off 69 (five fours).

The Sale-Maffra innings included seven partnerships of at least 20, with the best stand being the 59 captain Jack Tatterson (45 off 53) and Rohan Diamond (25 off 40) put on for the sixth wicket that took the score from 142 in the 33rd over to 201 in the 44th.

Five of Bendigo’s six bowlers took a wicket.

Sam Johnston picked up 3-50 off 10 overs, while Burns (2-47) was the other multiple wicket-taker.

Having earlier conceded 20 runs off his first two overs, Burns finished with 2-47 off 10.

As well as the early wicket of Dowsett, Burns later claimed the key scalp of captain Tatterson in the 44th over with the first ball of his second spell.

Burns also took a juggled catch in the outfield to dismiss Bradley Scott off the bowling of Cameron Taylor (1-44).

Left-arm spinner Liam Smith (1-37) and opening bowler Richard Tibbett (1-32) took a wicket each, while Ben DeAraugo has had better days with the ball after being hit for 26 off his three overs.

The Sale-Maffra innings included two run-outs in the final over.

• Grand final scoring comparison:

Sale-Maffra:

5  overs: 1-34

10: 1-46

15: 2-64

20: 3-84

25: 3-101

30: 4-124

35: 5-159

40: 5-187

45:  6-210

50: 249

Bendigo

5  overs: 0-34

10: 1-55

15: 1-73

20: 1-85

25: 1-108

30: 1-129

35: 2-152

40: 3-176

45: 4-206

50: 8-237