The NSW Cyclones 17 and under girls and 15 and under boys showed plenty of grit and determination but both lost their Australian Junior Championships grand finals on Saturday.
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In front of a massive crowd at Dubbo Sportsworld, the girls set a total of 79 for opponents Victoria to chase. It was always going to be tough to defend a modest score but they fought hard and only lost by 10.
At the same time the Cyclones boys were taking on Queensland and they were given a target of 110 for victory.
They went close, needing 12 off the final over and a seven on the final ball would have given them the win but it wasn’t to be. Forced to run after the shot didn’t find the back net, Queensland picked up a wicket that saw the Cyclones finish with 98.
The players might have been slightly disappointed after the finals not to get the win but nobody was disappointed with the effort.
Cyclones 17 and under girls coach Troy McKiernan said there was so much to be proud of.
“It’s a huge effort. We came in with quite an inexperienced side so the goal was to get better and we did. The final was a bonus to be honest,” he said.
“We’ve made four finals in a row in four years and winning two titles is a massive effort. I’m pretty stoked with the effort.”
NSW started the final with just four runs from their first four overs but the coach said that was to be expected when Victoria started with their strongest players.
He was happy with the fightback but said two wickets in his team’s final over saw 10 runs deducted and handed momentum to Victoria.
The visitors were always ahead of where they needed but a gutsy display from NSW kept the score close and forced Victoria to work hard to claim the title.
Dubbo-based 15 and under boys coach Don Skinner said the major goal for the side had been to be playing better cricket at the end than they were at the beginning and he felt they achieved that.
“I’m very proud of the boys. They did a great job right throughout the week and the grand final too. It went down to the last ball but just got a bit unlucky a couple of times,” he said.
Dubbo’s Brock Larance finished as the player of the final, finishing with 20 runs and two wickets.
Skinner had plenty of praise for Larance, who was captain, but said all the players had ably backed him up.
He said the team was capable of getting the runs but the Cyclones lost three wickets in the final two overs as they tried to reach the goal.
“In the six-ball over game, 100 runs is a good score and you have to bat well to get it. We were capable of it but we had a couple of hiccups which let us down,” he said.
