Old Peninsula captain Justin Grant sings the praises of fast bowler James La Brooy

An Old Peninsula quick delivered one of the greatest spells his captain has ever seen, while Heatherhill, Rosebud and Balnarring bounce up a grade. MPCA grand final wrap.

Old Peninsula dual premiership captain Justin Grant has labelled Sunday’s flag-capturing spell from Pirates quick James La Brooy as one of the best he has ever seen.

The Pirates clinched back-to-back Mornington Peninsula Provincial premierships through La Brooy’s magical 7-33 from 20 overs, dismissing Langwarrin for just 88.

The Roos, in pursuit of 187, had moved from their 1-0 overnight start to be 1-27 before La Brooy stamped his authority on the match.

His first two were caught by brother Tom behind the stumps before the next five were either lbw or bowled.

Grant sung the praises of La Brooy, saying the seven-wicket haul – after also snaring 5-47 in the semi-final – has come as a result of his hard work.

“He was genuinely taking the p***, it was one of the greatest spells of bowling I have ever seen,” he said.

“The last six months he has done some incredible hard work, he is down at training early always doing the hard yards.

“That’s what happens when you work hard; he bowled good lines, good channels, bowled fast and got the result for us, it was incredible.”

Old Peninsula claimed three flags at the weekend. Picture: Pearcey Photography

The triumph is the Pirates’ second in successive seasons and third in eight.

“It’s a group that not only loves playing cricket together, but loves being together,” Grant said.

“If I called them and said let’s go out for lunch or breakfast, there would be 11 blokes there getting around each other.

“We had Dyl’s (Dylan O’Malley) 200th First XI game and asked him what’s so special about it and he said whatever you need in life, they’ll give it to you.

“If you need somewhere to stay or need money to rent or whatever, everyone has open arms and will put them around you.

“It’s a special group, back-to-back, it doesn’t happen every day, so we will keep riding the wave while we can.”

The Pirates will meet Heatherhill next summer, which progressed to Provincial after hanging on to secure the Peninsula premiership.

The Hawks were in a spot of bother in the first innings against Seaford Tigers when Mackenzie Gardner (85) and Luke Kranzbuhler (42) were at the crease but managed to peg it back by claiming 8-40 to be chasing 182.

“Considering where they (Seaford Tigers) were, at one point we were staring down the barrel of a 230, 240,” Heatherhill captain Kristian Miller said.

“The way we pulled it back, we were definitely happy overnight with 182 because we knew we had the batting depth to do it.”

The Hawks too had a little collapse in the second dig, tumbling from 2-138 to 8-175.

But Miller (75 not out) took the responsibility upon himself as captain to see his side home, hitting the winning runs with just 10 balls to spare.

Although he appeared to have a sense of calmness throughout his knock, Miller says the nerves came thick and fast when the wickets were falling around him.

“When we were about six down I started to get a bit nervous, I ran out two of my partners, that definitely didn’t help,” he joked.

“But the guy that came in next sort of calmed me down and we got there.”

Heatherhill is Peninsula premiers.

The Hawks’ skipper is confident in the club’s ability to compete in Provincial, while also revealing the silverware is a neat reward for those who felt the pain of relegation.

“We are getting realistic about it, we know it’s a massive jump with some quality sides, but we do have a really good group with good young players,” he said.

“We have kept everyone from this season already moving forward, we know we need to strengthen it up.

“Winning the way we did yesterday is going to give us huge confidence, huge belief, that we take on the best sides next year.

“It was extra special that there were five of us in the side that were a part of the relegation, I was captain myself, we were all quite young.

“It did really hurt back then eight years ago because we knew how proud of a club it is, so getting back into Provincial is huge for the club.

“We have always been known as a powerhouse club of the Peninsula and it’s where we have always been, so it’s really important to the club.”

Rosebud, meanwhile, led by skipper Patrick Nagel will yoyo back into Peninsula after defeating Seaford at the weekend.

The Sharks won the premiership in 2020-21, were relegated in ‘21-22 and will now be back up in the second tier in ‘23-24.

Nagel jagged 5-42 as his side defended its 176 with ease, castling the Tigers for just 88.

Sub-District premiers: Balnarring

In Sub-District, Luke Hewitt’s enchanting summer continued, guiding Balnarring to a long-awaited premiership.

The Saints restricted Mt Martha to just 102 before reeling it in inside 32 overs just two wickets down.

Hewitt, after winning his fourth consecutive league medal during the week, took 2-28 from 23.3 overs before scoring 47 not out.

MPCA PREMIERS

PROVINCIAL: Old Peninsula

PENINSULA: Heatherhill

DISTRICT: Rosebud

SUB-DISTRICT: Balnarring

PROVINCIAL 2NDS: Old Peninsula

PENINSULA 2NDS: Flinders

DISTRICT 2NDS: Crib Point

SUB-DISTRICT 2NDS: Mt Martha

A1: French Island

A2: Old Peninsula

A3: Baden Powell

A4: Pines

B1: Tyabb

B2: Seaford

B3: Boneo

C1: Mt Martha

C2: Mt Eliza

C3: Sorrento

C4: Tyabb