STRATHDALE-Maristians has regained its status as the Bendigo District Cricket Association's champion Twenty20 team.
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The Suns won their sixth BDCA T20 title at Canterbury Park on Wednesday night, defeating Golden Square by four wickets with 25 balls to spare in the grand final.
Although it's a record sixth Twenty20 flag for the Suns, it had been five years since they last triumphed.
The Suns were skippered to victory by Daniel Clohesy, who also earned the man of the match award.
On a warm and windy evening, Golden Square compiled 107 batting first in an innings that was motoring along early, stalled in the middle and then required a late partnership from Zavier Abbott and Jake Higgins to get the score above 100.
The game couldn't have started any better for the Suns when off the first delivery of the match Jack Pysing had Square opener Mitch Kemp (0) caught at second slip by Jack Neylon.
However, some early big hitting from fellow opener Mat Christie with support from Jayden Templeton (17) had the scoreboard ticking over.
Square was 1-30 after three overs before Will Purcell bowled Christie.
Christie made a quickfire 17 off 12 balls with four boundaries.
But from 1-30 Square lost 8-58 to fall to 9-88 in the 16th over, with the last of those wickets a direct hit run-out from third man by Will Gilmore on Square captain Connor Miller (2).
Similar to what he did for the Sporties Spitfires in the GVBBL grand final earlier this month, Square's Kayle Thompson played a pivotal grand final knock.
Batting at No.6, Thompson top-scored for Square with 32 off 27 balls.
Thompson had one stage been three of 12 deliveries before unleashing a barrage of sixes.
Thompson smashed four sixes in his innings.
From 9-88 the last pair of Abbott (9 n.o.) and Higgins (9) added a further 19 runs, pushing the Square innings into the final over before Higgins was caught behind as Pysing finished as he started - with a wicket for figures of 2-28 off 3.2 overs.
Opening bowler Purcell was outstanding for the Suns with 2-11 off four overs, while left-arm spinner Charlie Ryan (2-28) also took two wickets.
And leg-spinner Cameron Taylor was economical with 1-11 off four overs.
Skipper Clohesy took two nice catches to dismiss Scott Trollope (1) and Liam Smith (7), while also claiming a wicket himself when he bowled Josh Simpson (2).
Pysing, Taylor, James Barri (1-18) and Clohesy all took wickets in the first overs they bowled.
Although it wasn't first ball of the innings, Strathdale-Maristians also had one of its openers dismissed for a golden duck in reply when Brodie Reaper (0) was lbw to Trollope first ball he faced in the opening over.
While Reaper was dismissed early, the Suns' other opener, marquee player Andrew Chalkley, immediately picked up from where he left off last week.
Coming off a BDCA T20 record score of 147 n.o. against Strathfieldsaye at the same ground seven days earlier, Chalkley wasted no to time making his presence felt again.
The classy left-hander had cruised along to 23 off 13 balls with two fours and two sixes before he got a leading edge and was caught by Mitch Kemp off Trollope.
At that stage the Suns were 2-25 after 2.3 overs, paving the way for Clohesy and Neylon to team up for the best partnership of the grand final.
Both looked in good touch and with the pair at the crease it appeared the Suns would have few dramas mowing down their target in quick time.
The Suns were almost halfway to their target after just five overs with the score 2-53.
The pair had later progressed the score to 72 in the ninth over and added 47 for the third wicket before Square got a much needed breakthrough when Neylon (26) was caught at long-on by Templeton off Liam Smith.
And when Clohesy (23) was bowled off the ball of the night by Square marquee player, Carlton leg-spinner Michael Archer (1-19), the Suns were 4-74 at the halfway mark with two new batsmen, James Barri and James Vlaeminck, at the crease.
But Square's score of 107 would ultimately prove short of what was required.
While Square did pick up the wickets of Barri (13) and Vlaeminck (4) it was the experienced Taylor who sealed the victory for the Suns, winning the game with a six off Templeton (0-32) over mid-wicket off the fifth ball of the 16th over as Strathdale-Maristians reached 6-113 to cap an unbeaten tournament.
Taylor finished 16 n.o., while Matt Wilkinson (3 n.o.) was also unbeaten.
All-rounder Trollope was the grand final's leading wicket-taker with 3-30 off three overs for Square, while left-arm spinner Smith took a tidy 2-13 off four overs.
