Glen Orden batsmen – one through to 11 – had the drill down pat.
Preserve your wicket like your life depends on it and you walk away with a premiership medallion.
The Hawks showed incredible patience at the crease against Melton South in the Williamstown and District Cricket Association A-matting grand final, batting for a marathon 110 overs to make 139 runs.
After the first weekend got washed out, all the Hawks needed to do on days three and four was to draw the match and they would be the champions, by virtue of the face they finished above South on the ladder.
They left Melton South just 30 overs to reach the target and the underdogs fell short by 19 runs, finishing on 9-120.
“We batted for a day and a half and only made 140, but it wasn’t about runs, it was about keeping them out there in the field as long as possible,” Hawks captain Ash Appleby told Star Weekly. “Normally we only bat 70 overs in a day but we managed to bat 110. The guys just knuckled down and brought their game.”
Beau Bostock typified the strong will of the Glen Orden batsmen.
Bostock came in at No. 10 late on Saturday and spent most of Sunday out in the middle.
He made just 22, but it had the opposition fielders pulling their hair out.
“Oh yeah, they were frustrated,” Appleby said. “That was the name of the game.”
Appleby produced a match-winning bowling performance for Glen Orden on day four.
The paceman captured 6-58, including the key wicket of South captain Andrew Axford for 65.
Axford made scores of 117, 156 not out and 83 since Christmas, so he was the one the Hawks desperately needed to remove.
“He was the one that held their innings together,” Appleby said. “He’s a great bat, a great player.”
Glen Orden literally came from nowhere to swoop on the flag.
The Hawks spent the first half of the season in C-matting before the WDCA granted permission for them to move up to A-mats after embarrassing their opposition two grades down.
Appleby knew his side would be competitive in A-grade, but did not realise it was good enough to win the flag.
“There wasn’t a team that made more than 80 runs against us in C-mats and it was starting to get boring,” Appleby said. “I knew we’d be competitive going up to A-mats, but the way it turned out, we were a team that could win it.”
Glen Orden has ambitions of moving up to B turf next season and will lobby the Wyndham council to have a turf wicket installed.
Not bad for a club that did not even field a two-day side 12 months ago.
