Kangaroo Flat's dominance of the Bendigo District Cricket Association women's competition continued on Sunday when the Roos defeated Sandhurst in the 2020-21 grand final.
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After winning the inaugural premiership last summer, the Roos added another trophy to their name when they edged out a gallant Sandhurst by 28 runs in Sunday's final at Strathfieldsaye.
In a tense and low-scoring decider, the Roos' bowling and fielding proved to be decisive.
After being sent into bat, the Roos battled their way to 5-93 off their 20 overs against a consistent Sandhurst bowling attack.
It took a solid 21 retired from Lorinda Sawyer and 19 from opener Sarah Mannes to ensure the Roos had a competitive total to defend.
Sandhurst spinner Kylie Henriksen rounded out an impressive season by taking 2-9 off her four overs.
Abby Powell and Mel Lowther took one wicket each, while Kate Shallard conceded just eight runs off her four overs.
The Dragons had every right to be confident after restricting the free-scoring Roos to one of their lowest scores of the season.
That confidence was dulled early in the Dragons' innings after star trio Shallard (8), Henricksen (4) and Maree Pearce (14) were dismissed cheaply.
Ash McLeod (2-7) was the chief destroyer with the ball for the Roos, including the prized wicket of Pearce, while Chelsea Wearne (2-16) claimed two crucial early wickets.
From 5-33, Lowther and Powell attempted to launch a rescue mission for the Dragons.
They added 23 for the sixth wicket before Lowther fell for eight.
Powell (19 retired) led the way with the bat for Sandhurst, but once the top-order failed it was always going to be a big ask to reel in the Roos' score.
Skipper Sarah Mannes (2-1) put the icing on Kangaroo Flat's cake as the Dragons finished 8-65 off their 20 overs.
The jubilant Roos celebrated their premiership with a big group of supporters before competition sponsor Lisa Chesters MP presented the team with their premiership medals and trophy.
Sawyer was named player of the match for her top score of 21.
An elated Mannes was proud of the way her side transferred their dominant home and away season form into the finals series.
"We were relatively confident going into the game considering the season we'd had, but cricket is a funny game sometimes,'' she said.
"Sandhurst are a really good side, so we're really, really happy with the result."
Mannes said even though the Roos' batters were well held by Sandhurst, she was confident her bowling group could get the job done.
"Before we started batting I thought a score of about 120 would be enough for us to win,'' Mannes said.
"We lost a couple of early wickets, which made us a bit nervous, but I thought our middle-order held us together really well.
"The ground was slow and I think we only hit one or two boundaries, so at the change of innings I was more confident than what I was 10 overs into our batting.
"We've had a strong bowling line-up all year. We knew Sandhurst's top three or four would make the difference, so we knew we needed to take early wickets.
"Once we had them four or five wickets down we were confident we had our noses in front."
Mannes said it was special for the Roos to celebrate their second flag with family and friends.
"Kangaroo Flat has really got on board with the women's teams in the last two seasons,'' she said.
"We had good support from the men's teams throughout the season and I thought it was great to see so many people supporting both clubs at the grand final.
"It was a great atmosphere."
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