Karramomus romps to Jim McGregor Shield, defeating Central Park-St Brendan’s by six wickets

In doing so, Karramomus finally ended Invergordon’s monopoly on the C-grade competition by becoming the first side other than the Hawks to hoist the flag in the post-COVID-19 era.

And unsurprisingly, one man stood above the rest on the day.

Travis Guppy, the Bloods’ boom bat, went big against the Tigers as his 60-run cameo at the top of the order ticked him past 800 season runs and helped chase down Central Park-St Brendan’s’ total of 6-144.

With a fresh trophy to add to the club cabinet, Karramomus captain Daniel Strudwick was rapt with the final result.

“As the saying goes, you’ve got to be in it to win it,” he said.

“From the year we’ve had, it ebbs and flows with our side all year with blokes chopping and changing across the grades, but to get the blokes we wanted to get the balance we needed to get the chocolates in the end, it was a wonderful feeling.

“It’s just a testament to everyone’s hard work and continued persistence.”

Despite losing the toss, Karramomus got off to the ultimate start as Ravi Venkataiah removed Gus Byrne and Austen Hogeboom for ducks in the first over.

Following the early collapse, Nate Yze (44) and Thomas Mellington (23) knuckled down and carried the Tigers past 50 and, by the time both took their leave, Central Park-St Brendan’s was in a reasonable spot at 4-104.

Mitchell Pottenger chimed in with a handy 30, but with overs running thin, the visitors rounded out on 6-144 after 40 with Inderbirpal Singh (3-42) the main influence bowling-wise for Karramomus.

Recounting the chase, Strudwick claimed his side was confident after the first innings and walked out to bat with a swagger in its step.

“We looked at the surface and it probably had a bit more grass on it than we usually expect for Vibert two, but we always have our own targets — it’s always game on when it’s under 200 at Vibert two,” he said.

“We were definitely chuffed with that score to chase, but they batted their 40 which was a credit to them, so they were always going to be in the hunt.”

Strudwick and Guppy started steadily and, though the former found a fielder’s hands on five, the Tigers still had Guppy to get — and they wouldn’t do so until it was too late.

The bulldozing opener launched seven to the ropes and one right over it as he charged towards a half-century at a rate better than a run a ball.

Guppy eventually holed out on 60, leaving his side at 4-84 after David Mollison and Ben Chaston were removed before hitting double digits, meaning this game was well and truly in the balance.

However, Jagjeevanjeet Singh and Toby Keady soon changed that.

The pair produced a middle order masterclass to heave the Bloods over the line, with Singh (43 not out) saving his best total of the season for last.

Strudwick praised Singh’s “magnificent” inning while labelling his partnership with Keady as “exceptional”, but when it came to match-winning performances, there was one man who deserved top praise.

“He (Guppy) played the way he has all year, he’s just been an enigma for us this year,” Strudwick said.

“He got best-on-ground, deservedly so; he really knuckled down hard, set the tempo for us in that first block of 20 and tried to take the game away from them which he did, putting the pressure back on them which really worked our way.”