Champions: Cobram celebrates two MVCA grand final victories

“It was a good match. It was pretty low-scoring, but it was good to get a win,” Cobram senior A-grade coach Adam Harwood said about the T20 victory.

“Nathalia had beaten us a couple of times already this year so it was good to get a win on the board.”

Cobram and Nathalia were both undefeated in the T20 competition heading into Friday’s finale, with each team boasting a flawless 3-0 win-loss record.

It was expected that there would be plenty of fireworks at Barooga Recreation Reserve, but the clash ended up being a low-scoring affair.

Batting first, Cobram reached 108 before being all out in the 19th over, with two resilient scores helping push Cobram past the 100-mark.

“We had a few guys that dug in for us and made a few runs,” Harwood said.

“Hugh Hyde made 30-odd and Adam De Cicco scored in the 30s as well and they really got us to triple figures, which was always going to be hard to get on that pitch.

“We toughed it out and got a score we could defend.”

Harwood said he wasn’t convinced the score of 108 was going to be enough, but the Tigers rose to the occasion in the second innings.

Nathalia’s run chase never really got going and they were restricted to just 9-88 after 20 overs.

“From a bowling point of view, we were pretty tight from the word go,” Harwood said.

“Noah Sneddon opened the bowling with his spin. He bowled a maiden in his first over and ended with two maidens and 1-10.

“We got two pretty big wickets in Morris and Liam Evans and once we got them out, we put a bit of pressure on the rest of them.”

“Our discipline with our bowling and with our fielding set a really good standard.”

On Sunday, the Tigers’ under-16s capped off a fantastic weekend for Cobram cricket with a memorable victory over Katamatite.

Katty was the favourite heading into the clash, but it was Cobram who claimed an upset 29-run victory.

Cobram won the toss and elected to bat at Katamatite Recreation Reserve.

Cobram was sitting at 2-27 when Lucas Roberts came to the crease and he turned in what would end up being a match-defining performance with the bat.

Roberts blasted 47 runs that served as the backbone of Cobram’s innings, before he was eventually bowled out just shy of his half-century.

His knock was invaluable, with Cobram at 8-113 by the time he was out late in the innings.

Tyler Stephens and William Watson also made handy contributions with the bat, while Kepler Lukies was the standout with the ball for Katty.

Lukies took 3-11 in his eight overs, with two maidens and an economy rate of 1.37.

Cobram was in a good spot at the change of innings and their position strengthened thanks to a pair of early wickets.

Cobram’s Tyler Stephens quickly dismissed both of Katamatite’s openers — both out bowled — with Katty in trouble early at 2-4.

But Lukies and Darcy Edis battled back for Katty.

Edis made 19 before he was out caught, while Lukies batted on to reach a team-high 37 before he too was dismissed after being caught.

The two wickets were key for Cobram, with their bowlers tearing through the rest of Katamatite’s batting order to have their opponents all out for 86.

Watson took 3-19 for Cobram, while Roberts took 2-15 and Stephens 2-10.