Sydenham-Hillside promoted again, more heartbreak for St Francis de Sales

After a fourth promotion in five seasons and another premiership, Sydenham-Hillside has declared there is more still to come. Here’s all the reaction from their grand final victory.

The Sydenham-Hillside Storm sweeping through the Victorian Turf Cricket Association is showing no signs of slowing down.

The rising cricket powerhouse in Melbourne’s west is now into the VTCA’s top tier after claiming a thrilling two-wicket Division 1 grand final victory over St Francis de Sales at the weekend.

In a tense finish, Stefon King (45 runs from 118 balls) and Tim Grech (20 off 47) provided cool heads to guide Sydenham-Hillside to its fourth promotion in five seasons.

Grech brought up the winning runs with a stunning shot down the ground sparking wild celebrations.

Less than 24 hours after his side secured another premiership, coach Geoff Pretty had already turned his attention to the Storm making their mark in Senior Division.

“There’s a lot of people who have been involved to get us to this point, from the players to those who are doing work behind the scenes and don’t get the public credit they probably deserve,” he said.

“This has been a whole club effort. When I was appointed as coach, the club’s target was clear, to earn a place in the Senior Division and win a premiership.

“I think the guys who have got us there are going to be more than capable of handling themselves in a higher division again.

“The club had five sides play finals this season which means we’ve had a successful season all-round.”

Sydenham-Hillside made it four promotions in five seasons.

St Francis de Sales put itself in a strong position on day one after winning the toss and electing to bat after hitting 9-230 led by Aaron Maynard’s half-century.

When the Storm looked in control on day two, the game was turned on its head when the visitors took 0-3 and sparked a mini collapse.

But in the end it was Grech and King who had the coolest heads in the heat of the moment.

“For us it was about hanging tough, especially when we lost those wickets so quickly,” Pretty said.

“We acquitted ourselves very well. I want to give a lot of credit to our opposition because they played a fantastic game.

“Unfortunately one side is always going to be unlucky to lose and the other is lucky enough to win. The game was played in fantastic spirit and was brilliant to watch.

“We felt our bowling effort was a strong performance and always felt like we could chase down the total if we were patient.

“Throughout the season, the message has been to stay calm and we managed to do that again at the most critical time.”