Mount Burr 8/162
d Millicent Black Hats 69
MOUNT Burr has completed the rare summer/winter sporting double by winning the A Grade title by 93 runs in the Millicent and District Cricket Association grand final over reigning premiers Millicent Black Hats on Saturday at its home at “Mick” and Jean Walker Oval.
The triumph came almost six months to the day since the Mount Burr Mozzies defeated the Hatherleigh Eagles at Nangwarry in the 2017 grand final of the Mid South East Football League.
The only player to feature in both triumphs was Nathan Muhovics and he was clearly the man-of-the-match in the cricket season decider.
After scoring 18 vital runs, the 29-year-old unleashed a devastating spell of fast bowling to claim 6/20 off his maximum allocation of eight overs.
Muhovics also took a catch in the field as Mount Burr won by 93 runs and enjoyed its first premiership success since the MDCA B Grade title three seasons ago.
Saturday’s match was played in sweltering conditions and before a large crowd which occupied the shady areas as well as the ever-popular “Can Hill”.
Mount Burr skipper/president Jordan Muhovics won the toss and had no hesitation in batting.
He went out to face the Millicent Black Hats attack in the company of Craig Kuiper.
They put on 23 for the first wicket before Muhovics was dismissed for 14 in the sixth over.
This brought his elder brother to the batting crease and he and Kuiper (21) enjoyed a productive partnership of 37 over the course of nine overs.
This proved to be the highest partnership of the grand final.
At the half-way mark of the innings, Mount Burr had scored 70 runs off 20 overs as the temperature exceeded the century mark in the shade on the old Fahrenheit scale.
Veteran Rob Francis was promoted to number five on the batting order and he was the heaviest run scorer during the MDCA minor round.
With 357 runs, Francis won the 2017/18 batting aggregate with a tally of one more than Bronte Grosser of the Millicent Footballers Cricket Club.
Francis played an invaluable sheet anchor role as Mount Burr steadily compiled a competitive score and he was unbeaten on 36 at the time of the compulsory closure after 40 overs.
The slow outfield meant few shots reached the boundary in either innings but Francis cleared the rope on one occasion as did team mate Adam Walker who made 14.
Teens Jack Francis (13) and Tom Hales (12) also got into the double figures while sundries contributed 21 to the Mount Burr tally of 8/162.
Michael Gibson with 3/21 was the stand-out bowler for the Millicent Black Hats attack while Cooper Hamilton (2/36) and Fraser Haines (2/21) also did well.
Facing such a large target, openers Millicent Black Hats openers Mitchell Nitschke and Josh Mason were both dismissed without scoring by Nathan Muhovics inside the first three deliveries of their innings.
Nitschke edged the ball to first slip Jordan Muhovics on the first ball of the innings, Todd Williams scored a single off the second and then Mason tickled the third delivery into the gloves of Walker.
Thereafter, Muhovics ripped apart the top-order by claiming the key wickets of Pat Lawlor (two) and Cooper Hamilton (two).
Williams looked solid in making a fine 25 but none of the other batsmen looked at ease with the exception of Gibson (15).
At drinks, it looked a lost cause for the Black Hats at 9/69 as Mount Burr had one hand on the premiership shield.
Gibson hit the first ball delivered by veteran Jeremy Peters after the break into the deep at mid-wicket.
Hales accepted the catch and so the premiership defence of the Millicent Black Hats had come to an end.
It was a remarkable effort by the team to reach the season decider as it had to find replacements for around half the team which won the 2016/17 flag.
The young side had players aged 13, 14, 15 and 18 and so its future looks bright.
Mount Burr players collected more than just the premiership pennant at the post-match presentations on “Can Hill” conducted by MDCA president Matt Ballantyne.
Rob Francis also won the Association bowling aggregate with 27 wickets which was six more than Steve Duldig, of the Millicent Black Hats.
Francis was also the MDCA cricketer-of-the-year while Walker took home the fielding trophy with 12 catches and five stumpings.
It came as no surprise that Nathan Muhovics was adjudged as the man-of-the-match in the grand final to complete a Mount Burr clean-sweep of the A Grade honours.
