Ormond goes through undefeated in VSDCA’s John Craig Shield

Strong in all departments, Ormond surged to its ninth consecutive win to take the Shield named after its great batsman.

Ormond after winning the John Craig Shield.

The great John Craig on Sunday had the pleasure of presenting the Sub-District cricket Under 15 Shield named after him to the club where he was such a prolific batsman – Ormond.

The Monders defeated Plenty Valley in the grand final at Elsternwick Park to lift their third John Craig Shield in five years.

They went through the carnival undefeated, stitching together nine straight wins.

Plenty Valley also went into the decider unbeaten and with the Shield’s leading run scorer, Oliver Peake.

The Bats chose to bowl first, surprising Ormond, which responded by hitting 7-200 off its 40 overs. Plenty Valley was dismissed for 89.

The low-down on the Ormond innings was in the lower-order: Jack Mannix and Dinal Gamage put on an unbroken 62 for the eighth wicket after starting out at 7-138.

Jack Mannix and Dimal Gamage come off the ground after their matchwinning partnership.

Mannix cracked 38 not out off 36 balls and Gamage hit 22 not out off 27 balls.

Their effort to raise such valuable runs was in keeping with Ormond coach Michael Cove’s pre-carnival prediction that his side would “bat deep’’.

Mannix and Gamage built on the knock of 64 of Harry DeMattia, who took his time to play himself in, then put the bowlers to the test after the 20-over mark.

De Mattia missed the semi-final because he was off playing in the Cricket Victoria Under 17 series in Hamilton and Dunkeld.

He returned to the team to make his fifth consecutive score in the 60s and haul his carnival aggregate to 394 at 78.8.

Demattia had faced 72 balls and laced 8 fours when he lifted PV leg-spinner William Waters to deep mid-on and was well caught by Peake.

Michael Cove with Jack Mannix.

It was a third wicket for Waters, who finished with 3-35 off six overs.

Bats left-arm opening bowler Harrison Smith took 1-15 off eight, setting the seal on an excellent carnival.

Plenty Valley began the chase slowly, lost two wickets, including the run out of the heavy-scoring Aryan Sharma, and then had Peake playing on off the bowling of DeMattia.

He made 13, the first time he’d missed out in the carnival: he ended it with a record 548 runs at 91.3.

Wickets dropped steadily from there. Mandiv Ruwanpathirana top scored for the Bats with 28 before becoming the first victim of Mannix’s spin. He gained two more wickets, finished with 3-17 off 5.1 overs and was judged player of the match.

Leggie Senin Seymour nabbed 2-20 off eight overs and quickie Christian Howe returned 1-4 off five.

Craig said the Ormond team was one of the strongest he had seen in the Shield, which for many years was known as the Hatch Shield.

He said it was strong in batting, bowling and fielding, and was sure to produce some outstanding players.

Harry DeMattia with his trophy as the best player in the south group.

Craig said he was just as much pleased that the competition was well staged and had given experience to so many good young cricketers.

Cove paid tribute to his team, saying the players had been preparing for the Shield since last April and had always sought to play aggressive and positive cricket.

“That attacking brand of cricket came through today, even when we were under pressure,’’ he said.

He tipped praise on Plenty Valley, saying it had an excellent carnival and was a worthy opponent in the grand final.

Cove said Ormond prided itself on its junior development and performances in the John Shield Craig, especially since it was named after a club legend.

He also remembered another Monders stalwart, Steve Ambler, who two years ago to the day had collapsed while out running. He died in hospital four days later.

Coach Michael Cove with former Monders president Brian Ambler.

Cove said Ambler was a great supporter of the Shield and all things Ormond, and the Monders were much the poorer for his passing. His comments were met with sustained applause.

Bats coach Gary Bell said Ormond was the better team and deserved its success.

“Well done to Ormond; that was quality,’’ he said. “Our kids will learn a lot from that. Yeah, we got beaten, but before today we were undefeated with a really strong percentage. We won most of our games pretty comprehensively. That says a lot about us but also a lot about Ormond.’’

Plenty Valley leggie William Waters.

He said Plenty Valley was proud of its players, who had come together from different clubs, formed a tight and happy group, and enjoyed their cricket.

“For me, the parents and the kids, the best thing about the tournament is that the players have probably made some lifelong friends,’’ Bell said.

Ormond premiership team: Charlie Costa, Mitch Kirkwood-Scott, Harry DeMattia (captain), Kyle Parrott, Sam Gove, Harry Wallace, Christian Howe, Jack Mannix, Dinal Gamage, Herbie Fischbacher, Lucas Bremner, Senin Seymour, Phoenix Chivers

Plenty Valley grand final team: Aryan Sharma, Leo Dench, Oliver Peake, Braydon O’Connor, Will Hanlon, Oliver Price, Mandiv Ruwanpathirana, Nick Bowler, Jules Tragardh, William Waters, Jack Bell, Harry Smith, Isaac Prestney

Players of the carnival

South group: Harry DeMattia (Ormond)

North group: Oliver Peake (Plenty Valley)

East group: Charlie Grummitt (Balwyn), Gishain Fernando (Mt Waverley), Paawan Dave (Croydon)

West group: Archit Bhatia (Werribee)