By David Nagel
Cardinia is now the proud custodian of the two major trophies in West Gippsland cricket after the Bulls produced a clinical performance to win the 2021/22 Twenty20 Kookaburra Cup at Officer.
The Bulls progressed to Sunday’s final with a dominant nine-wicket victory over Kooweerup and then backed that up with a faultless display against Tooradin – winning by eight wickets in the final.
The star of the show was Bulls’ opener Alex Nooy, who remained unbeaten for the day after cracking 58 not out in the morning semi-final and then 57 not out in the championship decider.
Bulls’ opener Nooy was named Man of the Match in the final.
The Bulls were superb in their semi-final victory, removing Kooweerup star Chris Bright with the first ball of the day and restricting the Demons to 9/106.
Travis Wheller (3/12), Lachlan Volpe (2/18) and skipper Jake Prosser (2/20) did most of the damage with the ball before Nooy, Travis Welsh (26) and Bradey Welsh (19 not out) cantered home to victory with more than four overs left to spare.
Tooradin (6/147) made the final after a sparkling knock from Aaron Avery (67) set too big a target for Devon Meadows (8/126).
In reply the Panthers looked dangerous with Chris Benedek (37) and Kyle Salerno (28) at the crease, but lost 6/30 after being well placed at 2/71.
The Sunday afternoon final pitted the reigning Kookaburra Cup champions Tooradin – who lifted the trophy the last time it was played in 2020 – against Cardinia, the current title holder in the WGCA Premier Division.
Tooradin won the toss and batted, but suffered an early blow when Prosser (2/25) had Tom Hussey (1) stumped by Bradey Welsh.
Hussey’s opening partner Brad Butler (29) then struck some telling blows, hitting two thumping boundaries and two sixes, as he and skipper Cal O’Hare (34) compiled a platform to build from.
Butler was then dismissed, leaving O’Hare and Avery (22) to put their years of experience to good use. The Seagulls were 2/68 after 10 overs, and with eight wickets in the bank, with a score of 150 looking a distinct possibility.
But the Bulls were relentless with the ball – and brilliant in the field – holding catches and triggering three run outs that saw the Seagulls limp to a final score of 123.
Prosser, Dean Henwood (2/8) and Wheller (2/20) were the main orchestrators for the Bulls – who were super impressive in reply.
Travis Welsh (10) went early, but a 97-run stand between Nooy and Bradey Welsh (42) had the destination of the cup sorted a long way from the finish post.
It was left to skipper Prosser (5 not out) to crunch a magnificent cover drive – from the second ball of the 18th over – to begin the celebrations.
“It feels great, we’ve had an up and down sort of year, so to get this today and win both games against two quality outfits, we’re pretty happy with that,” Prosser said.
“Hopefully we can take this form forward for the rest of the year.”
The Bulls skipper was most impressed with the clinical nature of the performance. The Bulls lost just three wickets for the day while also restricting some of the best batters in the WGCA.
“Just our execution and how clinical we were across the day, in every way we went about it, that’s what impressed me most,” Prosser said.
“Whether it be bowling, and where we wanted to bowl, and our fielding was outstanding all day, and we lost three wickets for the day…there’s nothing to be upset about that’s for sure.”
“We executed so well with the ball and backed it up in the field and it makes it so much easier to chase down runs when you know you’ve done well in the field.
“It’s different when you’ve fielded sloppy, you don’t take that confidence into your second innings, but we did everything well today.”
Prosser was also impressed with the performance of Man of the Match Nooy, who continues to back up his verbal intensity with strong innings at the crease.
“He brings enormous energy into the field, he never shuts up and he never stops trying and anything that goes near him you know he is going to catch it or stop a run,” Prosser said.
“He bats within himself a bit, I think most of the time he wants to hit sixes every ball, but what he did today, not being dismissed in two games of cricket, was fantastic really for an opener.
“He was our anchor point, he hit boundaries when we needed him to but he also rotated the strike really well.
“He’s important, especially in 40 overs, because if you’ve got wickets in hand at 20 you’re in a great position to go on and get a big score.
“That’s the message to him, and he brought it in today, he targeted the short boundaries and picked the gaps really well. He’s in good form and I think he could really cut loose at the end of the year.”
Prosser hopes his sides mega-successful Sunday will trigger back-to-back victories in the premier Division this year.
“We’ve got Kooweerup this week, so there’s no time to rest on our laurels, but hopefully this will hold us in good stead heading into finals.”
