After starting the Goulburn District Cricket Association Third Grade final as underdogs, the Tatts Stags have dedicated their title win to the memory of Jamie Wilson.
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Wilson, who passed away in a vehicle crash in 2016, played for the Stags and was passionate about his cricket.
"[The win] meant a lot to us. Some of us have been playing since the start with Jamie, and it was good to knock one off for him finally," Stags captain Corey Withers said.
"He loved his cricket and all the boys were happy to finally get one done for him. It was really special."
The Stags took on competition favourites Hibo Green in the final on March 13, in a bid to win their first title for roughly 13 years.
Played on one of Carr Confoy's synthetic wickets, the match began in positive fashion for the Stags, who won the toss and elected to bowl first.
It proved an astute decision, as Hibo Green collapsed from 1-81 to 118 all out off 36 overs. Brendon Fenton (41) and Andrew Craig (33) were the only Hibo batsmen to make it to double figures, and once their second-wicket partnership was broken, the rest of the batting order fell quickly.
Though the score was lower than Hibo Green would have hoped, Withers knew it was still enough to cause his side some problems if they were careless.
"It's one of those totals that can stick in the back of your mind," he said.
"The job's not really done with 120, I've been around for plenty of innings where we were bowled out for lower than that."
In response, the Stags batsmen dedicated themselves to playing each ball on its merits.
"Our plan at the start was for Tom James and Sam McDonald, the opening batsmen, to get us off to a steady start," Withers said.
James was dismissed for nine, which brought Withers himself to the crease, while McDonald hung around for 24.
After McDonald was dismissed, Jacob Kara strode in to begin his innings, and had a decidedly different approach in mind to that of his captain.
"I was playing the ball as it came, trying to work singles and build a partnership," Withers said.
"When Jacob Kara came out, he hit a six off his first delivery and never stopped from there. He hit the match-winning runs with a six as well."
Kara's unbeaten fifty propelled the Stags home in just 17 overs, against a side who they had previously failed to beat for the entire season.
"We definitely were underdogs, I wasn't expecting us to do as well as we did," Withers said.
"But we gave Hibo Green a run for their money in the final comp game, and I thought 'hang on a minute, we could actually do something in this 40 over comp'."
Up against a side which had only lost once prior in the season, the Stags went in with a positive mindset and proceeded to play their best cricket for the entire season.
"We said we were going to give it everything we've got," Withers said.
"All our plans paid off, we took our catches, fielding was excellent. It was just one of those days where everything clicked, it was excellent."
The third grade award winners were named as follows:
- Batting: Dave Insley (220 runs at 73.33)
- Bowling: Glenn Taylor (13 wickets at 6.92)
- Champion Player: Dave Insley (54 points)
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