The fact Sunday’s Brewery Shield grand final came down to the final wicket and the final two overs made victory extra sweet for Dubbo.
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But adding in the result of the past two grand finals made the win even more memorable for captain Matt Ellis ans his young side.
Ellis had led Dubbo to the final for the past two seasons only to see Wellington and then Nyngan lift the silveware.
But at No. 1 Oval, again against Nyngan, the side finally got the prize.
“It was epic,” Ellis said of the match.
It was one of the better matches of cricket I’ve ever played.
- Matt Ellis
“It was one of the better matches of cricket I’ve ever played.”
The visitors won the toss and batted and after losing two wickets before 50, key duo Toby Miles and Tim Smith began to build.
The pair added 76 before some fine fielding from Jake Caudwell resulted in Smith being run out for 32 and while Miles made 79 and Dave Rose added 34 the Brown Snakes’ total of 206 seemed less than what was likely early on.
“The whole game ebbed and flowed and Toby Miles really set a platform for Nyngan,” Ellis said.
“We took 7-50 in the last session. They looked like they were going to get 250 plus at one stage so to keep them to 2016 was outstanding.”
Ben Semmler, one of the only other older players in the Dubbo squad, showed all his experience in taking 3/16 from eight overs while Justin Knudsen took 3/37 from seven.
The Dubbo chase was far from ideal early on with both Ellis (5) and Lewis Matthews (4) departing early.
Tristan Dalforno was in fine form with the ball but Thomas Nelson and Ben Knaggs knuckled down and dug in.
They added 78 for the third wicket before Nelson fell for a well-made 53.
Dalforno returned to remove Nick Karydis (17) while Caudwell (1), Justin Knudsen (10) and Dan French (8) all came and went as Rob Gudgeon (3/40) brought Nyngan right back into the match.
Knaggs was then run out by Gudgeon for a classy 85 but Ellis said he always had faith.
“The run rate was not an issue, it was all about rotating the strike and getting the bad ball away,” he said.
“There was never panic about the run rate and Benny Semmler remained composed at the end and Sam Knaggs came in and helped get us across the line.”
Semmler (11 not out) hit the winning runs, sending the Dubbo players and fans into raptures.
“I think we’d learnt a lot from the previous two years,” Ellis said. “A lot of the group had played in one or both of those games so it was definitely good for those guys to get the experience of winning a tight game.”
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
