Sport
Gallery | Cricket Shepparton crowns its first junior premiers as Karramomus and Pine Lodge salute in under-14 finals
Cricket Shepparton’s talented teens were busy playing capture the flag on Sunday.
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The competition hosted its under-14 grand finals across A and B divisions, with Karramomus Keady and Pine Lodge claiming the respective titles in two thrilling encounters.
Over at Deakin Reserve, the Bloods chased down Old Students/Northerners’ 155 run total in the nick of time, crossing the line with five balls - and four wickets - to spare.
“The boys were really up and about for the game after what they’d done to prepare for the finals' series,” coach Chris Crouch said.
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Old Students/Northerners’ Zac Gale punches and runs. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 2 of 6
Karramomus Keady’s Callum Thornton steams in with some heat. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 3 of 6
Old Students/Northerners’ Chahatedeep Gill and Zac Gale plot the next move. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 4 of 6
Karramomus Keady’s Tully Young thinks twice about a shy at the stumps. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 5 of 6
Old Students/Northerners’ Tate Thorn walks back from the middle. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 6 of 6
Old Students/Northerners’ Chahatedeep Gill crafted a stunning knock of 65 not out. Photo by Rechelle Zammit“You knew it was going to be a great game against the Old Students/Northerners kids; they’re a great bunch of kids and really well coached also.
“I believed and backed in the boys to get the job done. They stayed really calm under pressure for the day, which is a pretty amazing effort being such young kids.
“I’m very pleased with the effort, and they well and truly deserved to get the chocolates.”
Old Students/Northerners won the toss and elected to bat first - and in the form Chahatedeep Gill was in, it was a no-brainer.
Gill anchored his side’s innings with an unbeaten 65, pushing the combine to a defendable total while Joel James (2-18) and Callum Thornton (2-24) shone with ball in hand.
On the chase, James stood tall with 57 not and was well-supported by Hudson Allen (30), combating the likes of William Mathers (2-21) and Gill (2-22).
It was only fitting that a game between two evenly matched sides was decided at the death, and in Crouch’s eyes, it spoke volumes about the quality of competition after his boys came from way back in the home and away season to clinching the title.
“To be honest, the whole under-14A competition was really good with all six teams being competitive throughout the season,” he said.
“I genuinely thought that any of the four teams that made the finals could’ve won the premiership, but that’s not to take away from the kids to come fourth and beat the top two teams.
“All the boys were crucial to the success of the side, whether they were batting bowling or fielding, they were all extremely important to the win.”
Crouch highlighted James’ effort for back to back half centuries in the finals' series as “incredible”, while also crediting Karramomus for its holistic approach in supporting his young side along the journey to a memorable flag victory.
“I’m really proud of the effort and support the whole club, parents and all our volunteers put in,” he said.
“It’s a whole club effort to get any premiership at any age group - the amount of senior support in both our finals, especially on Sunday, was huge.
“As a club as a whole, we’ve got some really good momentum going forward which will hopefully, with the juniors we’ve got coming through, result in us having success at senior level too.”
Meanwhile, Pine Lodge prevailed over Karramomus Trevaskis in a high-scoring under-14B affair out at Lemnos Recreation Reserve.
The Lodgers built a monster total on the post, reaching a remarkable score of 9-234 with opener Reuben Davis leading the charge with 40 alongside George-Marbi Nicholson (21).
A special mention goes to Bloods’ skipper Olivia White, who mustered season-best bowling figures of 3-26 during the grand final.
However, Karramomus Trevaskis ultimately fell short, with Aiden Kilgour’s brave batting performance of 41 runs merely a silver lining as the visitors’ innings ended on 128.
For Pine Lodge, Dion Arthur (2-5) and Nate Malcolm (2-6) starred on the bowling front.
Cricket Shepparton will round out its junior grand finals when Old Students face Numurkah in Friday’s under-12A decider, followed by Old Students/Nagambie versus Notre Dame Central Park-St Brendan’s in Sunday’s under-16A big dance.
Senior Sports Journalist