Almanac Cricket: Pomborneit Claim Back to Back South West CA Twenty20 Titles

 

Pomborneit have made it back to back South West CA Fonterra Twenty20 titles with a 6 wicket win over Cobden under lights on January 13th.

 

 

 

 

Cobden won the toss and elected to bat first in front of a large crowd at the Cobden Recreation Reserve, the same two teams playing each other in the Twenty20 decider for a second consecutive year. Spinner Tharaka Sendanayake took the new ball, getting an early breakthrough with Cobden opener Matt Boyle trapped in front LBW second ball of the game. The home team then solidified with a 65 run partnership between Jonty Robertson and Matt Kemp, the latter dismissed by a sharp catch by Dave Murphy, keeping up to the stumps to the medium pace of Sam Darcy. Danussika Bandara took the vital wicket of Cobden Twenty20 captain Johno Benallack, bowling him as he moved across his stumps attempting to hit to the vacant fine leg area. Robertson and Angus Uwland batted the innings out to finish on 3/112, a score that looked around par considering the scores previously made in the semi final and earlier game both played on the same pitch on that day. Sendanayake was the best of the bowlers for the Bulls, conceding just 11 runs from his 4 overs.

 

 

 

The Pomborneit run chase started disastrously, opener Dave Murphy run out in the first over, Grant Place chopping one onto his stumps off Cobden new ball bowler Simon Murfett in the 3rd over to have the Bulls reeling at 2/12. Slowly but surely Tom Darcy and Tharaka Sendanayake went about rebuilding the innings, putting on 62 for the third wicket before Darcy chipped to mid wicket in the 12th over, out for 26 from 31 balls, his innings including 2 fours and a six. Sendanayake then upped the ante, playing shots all around the ground and regularly finding the boundary as he rapidly took Pomborneit up to Cobden’s total. Skipper Matt Bignell came and went for 1 before Sendanayake was joined by Josh Place, who worked the strike, eventually hitting the winning runs with a four behind point, as the Bulls passed Cobden’s score after 16.2 overs to bring up the club’s 4th Twenty20 title. Place finished unbeaten on 8, but it was Sendanayake, with his second successive half century in a Twenty20 grand final, who was the star, unbeaten on 62 from 52 balls, his innings containing 8 boundaries and deservedly winning man of the match.

 

 

 

Sendanayake was also announced after the game as the player of the Twenty20 competition. For skipper Matt Bignell it was the first senior grand final success of his career, it was Danissika Bandara’s first premiership at Pomborneit and for junior players Finn Tolland, Gavin Reynolds and Ben Whytcross it was their first grand final win at any level.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pomborneit’s 4th Twenty20 title in 6 seasons will go down as being memorable for being the club’s first back to back Twenty20 titles, and gave the Bulls another shot at the Sungold tournament in Warrnambool.