First innings points were enough to give Exies their second Griffith District Cricket Association two-day premiership in as many summers after beating Leagues Club in the weekend’s grand final.
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The defending champions scored 196 on the first day at Exies No.1 then backed up the performance with the ball to dismiss Leagues Club for 168.
Exies were then asked to bat again but didn’t succumb to nerves and made it to 1-31 before Leagues Club conceded the final was out of reach.
Exies captain Marc Tucker said it was a satisfying finish to a hard-fought season.
“We played pretty well all year,” he said.
“We were a bit inconsistent but finished the year on a high.
“But all credit has to go to Leagues. They’ve come from not winning a game two years ago to making the preliminary final last year and grand final this year.
“They put up a great fight, so all credit to them.”
Exies enjoyed the perfect start through openers Dylan Gillette (43) and Justin Winkler (23) on Saturday before Tucker (44) and Jamie Winkler (19) carried on their good work.
At 5-161, Exies appeared destined for a massive total, but the Panthers’ bowlers rallied late in the innings.
Satvir Chahal (3-18) maintained a steady line and length to crash through the lower order and keep Exies under 200.
Leagues Club negotiated a tricky period to be 0-14 at stumps and tried to make inroads into Exies’ total when play resumed on Sunday.
The Panthers were gifted a few lives in the field, but Exies kept the pressure on and had them on the ropes at 6-101 before Dan Bozic (41), Liam Greenaway (33) and Raj Singh (13 not out) moved Leagues Club to within 28 runs of their target.
The Panthers then put Exies into bat again in the hope of inciting a bit of panic, but the defending champions didn’t allow themselves to be rattled.
While nearly all his players contributed with bat or ball, Tucker singled out Warren Bock for praise after the veteran returned figures of 1-28 off 19.5 overs on Sunday.
“He just held up one end all day,” Tucker said of Bock.
“He didn’t get the wickets, but he put that much pressure on his end that they got the wickets at the other end.”
While disappointed to lose, Leagues Club captain Paul Plummer said young players like Greenaway, and Connor and Logan Matheson ensured a bright future for the Panthers.
“Those types of players are the future of the club,” he said. “There’s a lot of talent here. As those boys get better, I’m sure the premierships will come.”