RELATED – WEEKEND FINALS CRICKET TEAMS
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ALMOST a century without a division one premiership can finally come to an end for Sedgwick this weekend in the Emu Valley Cricket Association grand final.
The Rams are in their 99th season, but still chasing their elusive first flag.
Standing in the way of the Rams and their first taste of success is Spring Gully, with the two teams to face off for the flag at Maiden Gully from 1.30pm on Saturday and Sunday.
“There’s a lot of excited people around the club… players who have been around the club for a few years and also people who have done a lot of work off the field for a lot of years,” Rams captain-coach Greg Thomas said this week.
“It has been 99 years without winning a division one flag, so we’ll give it a good crack this weekend and see how we go.
“There’s a lot of hard work that has gone on behind the scenes, so it would be great if we could get the result.”
A year ago Thomas was a member of the Golden Gully team that won the club’s first division one premiership – although, the Cobras’ wait of 17 years pales in comparison to the Rams’ 99 years.
Thomas departed the Cobras during the off-season to take on the coaching role at the Rams, and late in the season has also added the captaincy following Rick Ladson’s hip replacement.
Thomas was one of four recruits Sedgwick landed from rival EVCA clubs, with the Rams also adding the trio of Simon Marwood, Daniel Chamberlain and Justin Hancock from Emu Creek, which dropped out of division one.
Together those four recruits have combined for 1048 runs and 57 wickets for the Rams, who finished 29 points clear at the top of the ladder.
The star-studded side boasts the EVCA’s Player of the Year Matt Dwyer, who has plundered 677 runs, including seven scores above 50 in his 15 innings, as well as Jordan Ilsley, who was third in the Player of the Year.
Isley has contributed strongly with both ball (32 wickets) and bat (227 runs) and like Dwyer, looms as one of the X-factors for the Rams, who are playing in their fourth grand final in the past 10 years.
Also among the Rams’ side is veteran all-rounder Scott McKenzie, who lamented not playing in a Sedgwick flag when he announced his short-lived retirement in 2012 – yet six years on he’s still playing and has the opportunity to finally capture the premiership he craves.
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SEASON RESULTS:
Rd 1: 7-247 def Golden Gully 122
Rd 2: 4-194 def United 152
Rd 3: 4-268 def West Bendigo 7-228
Rd 4: 119 lt Spring Gully 4-166
Rd 5: 2-133 def Maiden Gully 97 & 172
Rd 6: 6-134 & 2-110 def Golden Gully 93 & 144
Rd 7: 0-15 drew United 9-228
Rd 8: 9-232 def Mandurang 6-165
Rd 9: 5-229 lt Marong 3-248
Rd 10: 0-0 dr Maiden Gully 0-0 (heated out)
Rd 11: 0-0 dr Spring Gully 239
Rd 12: 184 & 5-150 def Marong 93
Rd 13: 234 def Mandurang 93 & 5-109
Rd 14: 420 def West Bendigo 142
SF: 8-364 def Mandurang 203
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TEAM RECORD:
Won: 10 Lost: 2 Drawn: 3
Batting points: 30.33
Bowling points: 28.80
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PLAYER STATS
GREG THOMAS (c)
Runs: 322 Avr: 26.8
Wkts: 7 Avr: 26.2
Fielding: 9
Rank points: 552
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LUCAS BALDWIN
Runs: 72 Avr: 72.0
Wkts: 2 Avr: 29.0
Fielding: 4
Rank points: 152
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QUINTON BENTLEY
Runs: 4 Avr: 1.3
Wkts: 21 Avr: 21.9
Fielding: 9
Rank points: 514
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DANIEL CHAMBERLAIN
Runs: 389 Avr: 29.9
Wkts: 8 Avr: 34.7
Fielding: 0
Rank points: 549
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MATT DWYER
Runs: 677 Avr: 56.4
Wkts: 3 Avr: 9.6
Fielding: 7
Rank points: 807
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DUSTIN ELLIOTT
Runs: 234 Avr: 39.0
Fielding: 21
Rank points: 444
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JUSTIN HANCOCK
Runs: 56 Avr: 18.6
Wkts: 24 Avr: 14.8
Fielding: 3
Rank points: 571
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JORDAN ILSLEY
Runs: 227 Avr: 22.7
Wkts: 32 Avr: 13.7
Fielding: 4
Rank points: 907
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SIMON MARWOOD
Runs: 281 Avr: 28.1
Wkts: 18 Avr: 23.6
Fielding: 6
Rank points: 701
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SCOTT McKENZIE
Runs: 163 Avr: 27.1
Wkts: 5 Avr: 22.2
Fielding: 10
Rank points: 368
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ANDREW SHEEHAN
Runs: 210 Avr: 30.0
Wkts: 13 Avr: 17.6
Fielding: 3
Rank points: 500
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- RANK POINTS – 1 run = 1 point; 1 wicket = 20 points; 1 catch = 10 points; 1 run out/stumping = 15 points.
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OTHER GRAND FINALS:
Division 2 – Maiden Gully v Emu Creek at California Gully.
Division 3-1 – Mandurang v Emu Creek at Club Court.
Division 3-2 – West Bendigo v Golden Gully at JG Edwards Oval.