MBK United upset Astor Rats to claim debut MG Cup title

The Goulburn MG T20 Cup was held over the weekend, with 12 teams across both senior divisions of local cricket taking part.

MBK United, also known as the Panthers, were seeded fourth going into the tournament. Ahead of them were fellow First Grade sides Marulan Green, the Astor Rats, and the Coolavin.

Despite their dark horse status prior to the beginning of the competition, captain Simon Fitzsimmons was confident from the outset that the Panthers could win.

"We have a lot of confidence in this group," Fitzsimmons said.

"Without tooting our own horn, we believe we are the best team in the comp. Our bowling lineup is as good as any and we have a couple of the best bats in town."

Thanks to its top-four seeding, the team got a bye in the first round and progressed directly to the quarter-finals, where it played and beat Crookwell at Seiffert Oval.

This was followed by a semi-final clash against Marulan Green (also known as the Marulan First Grade side), in which the Panthers were significant underdogs.

But a surprise victory in that game, thanks in large to an unbeaten knock from Fitzsimmons, propelled MBK United to the final.

Their opponents were the Astor Rats, who were seeded second but quickly became the team to beat over the weekend.

They had produced two straightforward wins to reach the final, the first by six wickets over the Tatts Stags on Saturday night, and the second over Coolavin in Sunday's semi-final.

So the stage was set for an epic clash: the betting favourites who had looked in top form all weekend against the young upstarts who had defied all expectations except their own.

The Rats won the toss and elected to bat first at Seiffert Oval. The pitch had been tricky to negotiate all weekend, as variable bounce and good purchase for the spinners kept scores below 100 in almost every game.

Thus, the Rats intended to put a total on the board and try to pressure the Panthers' young batters into mistakes.

However, the openers were removed for ducks by Brock Fahey and Dale Ginkel.

It was an emphatic start for MBK United, but they had also brought both Andrew Munroe and Isaac Walker to the crease - the Astor's two best batters.

The pair put on 22 runs in quick time before Munroe was removed by Dean Roxborough at the start of a stunning spell which wrought 3-5 from four overs.

Roxborough's good work was carried on by Darren Marshall, who swept up the tail with a haul of 4-7 from three overs.

In the end, Walker (31) and Munroe (15) were the only two to reach double figures as the Rats were dismissed for 72.

In most circumstances, this total would be chased down with relative ease. But on a difficult wicket, under lights, and as evening moisture settled on the pitch, the Panthers had their work cut out for them.

"In every single game this weekend, when the ball got older, it started to keep low and got really difficult to score against all bowlers," Fitzsimmons said.

"I guess the scores showed that, I'm not sure anybody cracked 100 here this weekend."

MBK United went in to bat in the second innings knowing they had a difficult task ahead of them against one of the most well-rounded bowling attacks in the competition.

Walker took the first over and was rewarded with a wicket from the first ball, as Michael Storm was dismissed LBW.

But much like the first innings, this brought the two best batters in the side to the pitch as opener Roxborough was joined by Fitzsimmons.

The pair only put on 18, however, before Roxborough fell to a bad shot against Walker. From there, Fitzsimmons played a captain's knock to lead his side to the verge of a win.

When he was eventually dismissed by Macleay Robinson for 29 - the highest score of the innings - the Panthers only needed 14 runs to win with five wickets in hand.

But a three-wicket burst from captain and offspinner, Shane Munroe, saw the Rats explode back into contention late in the contest. MBK United was suddenly 8-66 and in very real danger of falling short.

"When you're chasing a score of 70, at the changeover you're thinking 'We're not going to lose this'," Fitzsimmons said.

"You've got to be in that mindset, but we got to that point where it was 50-50 and we were two good balls away from getting done there. Full credit to the Rats, that's how they've always played their cricket - they don't give up. We had them essentially on toast, but they didn't give up."

In the end, it was left to Fahey and Ginkel to guide the Panthers home, which they did with two wickets and nine balls to spare.

14-year-old Fahey hit the winning runs, which elicited a massive cheer from his teammates and a chorus of applause and honks from the spectators surrounding the field in their cars.

After Fitzsimmons accepted the $1,500 prizemoney cheque, he and Roxborough addressed the crowd and spoke about how proud they were to be a part of a new club like MBK United.

"I'm very proud of you for turning up for me every week, for turning up for Simon every week," Roxborough said.

"Now it's fun. We're enjoying the cricket after Christmas, let's just keep going."

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