WGCA 2020-21: Cardinia beats Koo Wee Rup in grand final

Cardinia defeated Koo Wee Rup in a gripping West Gippsland cricket grand final, but a match-changing over by Bulls spinner Travis Wheller nearly didn’t happen.

Emotions ran high after Cardinia defeated Koo Wee Rup by 30 runs to claim its first West Gippsland Premier grade flag in 12 years on Saturday.

Not only was it a first premiership for many in the Bulls side, but it came after a difficult past year for the club tinged with sadness after the loss of several life members.

And the flag triumph wasn’t without drama.

Cardinia, after being put in, posted 111 off 40 overs on a painfully slow Gunton Oval, lush with green grass after recent rain.

In reply, Koo Wee Rup lost a couple of early wickets but steadied to reach 2-50, seemingly on track to chase down the target.

Notably, the Demons had also seen off ace Cardinia spinner Travis Wheller, whose first four overs lacked menace.

That’s when Cardinia captain Jake Prosser decided to change things up and bowl Wheller from the opposite end.

But Wheller took some convincing, according to Prosser.

“He was a bit down,” Prosser said of Wheller.

“I said, ‘you’ll come back on at the other end’. He said, ‘ah, I don’t know’. I said, ‘mate, as I said to you at the start of the game you’re going to turn the game today’.

“And he goes, ‘yep, yep, yep, let’s go’. I went, ‘thank God’, he’s got some confidence.”

The move was a master stroke. Wheller bowled Koo Wee Rup skipper Chris O’Hara (14 off 63 balls) and two balls later bowled Jess Mathers for a duck as the Demons slumped to 5-61.

The game had changed and Cardinia was now in control.

Wheller then had left hander Lachie Ramage caught by Justin Berry as KWP crashed to 6-67.

That became 9-74 when Prosser struck.

Koo Wee Rup’s last pair John Bright (6no) and Matt Bright (4) took the score to 9-83 but the end came when Prosser made a brilliant return throw to Nathan Volpe who completed a run out, triggering celebrations.

Wheller finished with 3-24 and Prosser 2-12, while Matt Welsh (1-20), Dean Henwood (2-17) and Dwayne Doig (1-9 off 8 overs) also bowled beautifully for Cardinia.

Earlier, Cardinia’s batting was able to post a winning score.

Openers Alex Nooy (15) and Wheller (10) put on 30 before Bradey Welsh (15) and Berry (29 off 59 balls,with 2 sixes) made vital contributions.

Nathan Voss (3-23) and Matt Bright (2-23) were the pick of the Koo Wee Rup bowlers.

Prosser said he was satisfied with the score, given the ground conditions.

“Anything over 90 we were happy with,” he said.

“But in saying that you bat first and you make 110 and you go, ‘geez, I would have loved 130, 140’.

“There’s only been one team all year at our ground to make over 102 — that’s once in nine games.

“It’s just that slow and with all the rain, if you hit it in the air it just plugged. It didn’t go anywhere.”

It was Cardinia’s first flag since 2008-09 and Prosser said the victory was extra special.

“It’s been a tough year for the club, we’ve lost several life members,” he said.

“That was a driving factor, to do it for those great people who have passed this year.

“There was so much work behind the scenes and it was just great to get a result.”

Cardinia club great Ian ‘Cambo’ Campbell died suddenly last July and his son Ricky was part of the Bulls’ premiership.

This victory meant the world to Ricky.

Many in the Bulls side experienced flag glory for the first time.

“Me, Patto (Leigh Paterson) and Doigy (Dwayne Doig) were the only ones to have played in a flag,” Prosser said.

“Volpe had lost two ones flags, never played in a ones winning flag. And

Dean Henwood had lost four ones flags - and has now won his first.”

The flag continued Prosser’s remarkable run of premierships.

He’s played in five First XI premierships and four T20 flags in the last eight seasons with Langwarrin, Pines and now Cardinia.

In District, Carlisle Park Vikings beat Devon Meadows by 26 runs in the grand final.

Vikings opening bowler Praveen Perera took 3-8 off 8 overs in a match winning spell to help dismiss Devon for 163 in reply to the Vikings’ 9-189, set up by Ravindu Kodithuwakku (51) and Michael Sinclair (42).