HOPPERS Crossing and St Bernard’s were not going to die wondering in the last round of the Victorian Turf Cricket Association senior division.
The message was the same in both camps — win outright and give yourself a chance of playing in the finals, or lose and slide quietly into mid-table obscurity.
The Cats wound up losing outright on the road at Murphy Oval on Saturday, but it was the tiny consequence of their bold attempt to snatch a late finals berth.
“It was all or nothing,” Cats president Steve McNamara said. “We were going for outright.”
As it panned out, there was no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the Snowdogs after their outright winning effort.
They finished two points outside the top four.
Leaping above the Cats into fifth and sending them down to eighth was a mere consolation.
“Whether you finish fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth, it doesn’t really matter too much,” McNamara said.
The final round is always a thrilling spectacle when you have two sides chasing an outright.
There were sporting declarations and see-sawing fortunes.
St Bernard’s set the game up on day one with a quickfire 7-255 declared off 55 overs.
The Snowdogs knew there was no point in sticking around and passed the baton over to the Cats before stumps. The Cats were reading from the same playbook with quick runs on the menu, making an erratic 174 off 64 overs.
With a healthy lead of 81, the Snowdogs came out all guns blazing, smashing 4-94 declared in just 11 overs.
It was game on. The Cats, needing 171 off 30 overs for victory, were on the right track.
Chris Henry (31), Cameron Nicol (17), Asif Jan (35) and Dinesh Daminda (20) batted forcefully to have the Cats in striking distance.
Then came a major collapse, the Cats losing their last six wickets for 18 to be all out for 123.
The dream, however far fetched, was over.
“When we were four down, and even six down, we were pretty confident we can chase it down,” McNamara said.
“From six down to all out, we lost them pretty quickly and that was disappointing.
“I’m pleased the boys had a really crack at trying to achieve it.”
The cricket talk does not stop down at Hogans Road. The Cats have meetings planned for this week to discuss 2013-14.
“We have to ascertain where we go from here,” McNamara said.
“You look at prospective recruits, where your list is at, what you need and what your wish lists are.”
