SG Moore Cup: Wests claim title in final-over thriller
There were incredible scenes as the SG Moore Cup finished in dramatic style. Check out some of the best shots from the semi-finals and final.
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Wests has claimed the SG Moore Cup and in the process kept its perfect record in the competition alive after a thrilling final-over, one-wicket win over Stockton in a dramatic grand final at Harker Oval.
After the Seagulls set a total of 6-101 from their 20 overs, the game went down to the absolute wire, with Wests having drawn level with Stockton’s total in the final over before losing a wicket to leave the side nine down with just two balls remaining.
Needing just one run to clinch victory but with only one wicket in hand, fast bowler and number 11 batter Joseph Vandenbergh proved to be the hero with the willow as he guided a Tremayne Small delivery to backward point and shot through for a single to claim the title with just one ball remaining.
It was a nailbiting finish to a clash in which Wests appeared to be in the box seat for a large part until a late collapse made things very tight.
“I think when you’ve got young guys playing cricket, as much as you want them to keep calm, the moment can get to them,” said Wests coach Rob Thornton. “It could have gone either way.”
The victory was Wests’ seventh straight in the competition, with the Rosellas achieving the impressive feat of going through the competition undefeated en route to the title.
“I think in sports we talk about having a window and in age-group cricket it’s very cyclical,” said Thornton.
“Us, Merewether, Stockton were three teams with a group of 15s and 16s, while other teams had to go into younger age groups. A lot of our guys have been playing as youngsters and have built up that experience, so you just cash in when you get the time.”
And while the group enjoyed its first win of the SG Moore Cup competition, it wasn’t the first time it had been involved in a final.
“There’s probably nine kids in that team that have been playing together since Blasters,” said Thornton. “In juniors they played five seasons together, made four grand finals and won three of them, in A-grade.
“I think for our guys there’s a bit of that experience that they’ve brought through. I know the game could have gone either way in the end, but I think there’s a build-up of what they’ve been doing through the years.”
And while there were plenty of nerves on the sidelines as Wests stumbled towards the end of the chase, Thornton said his young side would have got a lot out of the nailbiting experience.
“I don’t like losing but I also like seeing young people learn,” he said. “So if we’d have lost that, there’d have been a lot of tears, but we’d have spent the next week or two talking about what happened, what we can do better and what we’ve learned from it.
“Cricket’s a brutal game sometimes and it’s a great lesson for life for these guys because ultimately we want them to be good adults and good human beings. There’s a lot that we’re doing in the club that goes beyond just what we’re trying to do on the cricket field to get the culture right.”
Having been sent into bat, Stockton got off to a tough start when opener Kallan Aitken was bowled by Cooper Davies for four in just the third over of the match.
From here, Ethan Hayter and Benjamin Leroux Miny patiently went about building the innings, with the tight Wests bowling restricting the team to a modest 1-34 from the first 10 overs.
The pair started to lift the run rate as things started ticking over. However just as Stockton was getting some momentum, Wests co-captain Sam Gallagher got the breakthrough by dismissing Hayter for a well-made 34.
This only brought Stockton danger man Tremayne Small to the crease, who wasted no time making an impression by blasting a huge six from just his third ball.
While this temporarily delayed the game as players and bystanders sought to find the ball in the Harker Oval shrubs, Small kept up the heat by clubbing another six and splitting the field multiple times before being caught behind after trying a scoop shot for a crucial 22 from 16 balls.
In addition to Miny’s patient anchor knock of 24 from 42 balls, Small’s dig pushed the Seagulls to a competitive total of 6-102 from their 20 overs.
Off-spinner Gallagher was arguably the pick of the bowlers for Wests, doing very well to tie down the batters before finishing 1-14 from four.
Riley Brown finished with identical figures while Cooper Davies was also impressive with 2-20 from four.
Chasing 102 for the win, Wests were given a leg up early on as Stockton bowled three wides with the first ball of the innings and went for 10 in the first over.
Wests pair Gallagher and Leo Thornton looked comfortable at the crease and pushed the team total to 26 at close to a run a ball before the former was bowled by Miny for 13.
From here Stockton proceeded to tighten things up, and at the halfway point of the chase Wests were on 1-52, halfway through the required total.
Thornton and Jacob Chaff were doing well to turn over the strike, with the pair showing particularly good judgement by taking a slew of quick singles.
Nevertheless Stockton was starting to cause some troubles, especially since the introduction of star quick Tremayne Small. Thornton was dropped by the keeper off Small’s bowling and a couple of other chances just fell safe.
The breakthrough finally came in the 13th over when Chaff holed out in the deep to the bowling of Michael Dempsey for 16.
The Seagulls had done well to slow their opponents down as Wests’ required run rate crept up over five an over.
Dempsey had his second shortly after when Small took an excellent diving catch to dismiss Riley Brown, while Wests seemed to take one quick single too many as Thornton was run out for 26 after some excellent work from Cooper Digney.
Suddenly the Rosellas were feeling a little nervous, and when Zameer Masoom khil was caught in the deep for 12, it triggered a collapse that saw the team lose 5-14 as nerves crept into the contest.
The match went down to the death, with Wests needing four to win from the final over with two wickets in hand.
After a dot ball kicked things off, Koby Blight managed to hit two and then a single to tie scores.
Just when it looked like the game was over, Small, who had been outstanding for Stockton all tournament, put another twist in the tail when he clean bowled Davies to leave Wests nine down with just two balls to go.
With the teams staring down the possibility of a super over, Wests number 11 Joseph Vandenbergh showed great poise to guide a delivery behind point to seal the dramatic win and spark celebrations from his teammates.
Stockton 6-101 (Hayter 34, Miny 24; Davies 2-20, Gallagher 1-14) lost to Wests 9-102 (Thornton 26, Chaff 16; Dempsey 3-18, Small 2-16)
PHOTO GALLERY
Belmont v Stockton, SG Moore Cup semi-final
Wests v Newcastle City, SG Moore Cup semi-final
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