The Victorian Country Cricket League (VCCL) triumphed by one wicket over the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association (VSDCA) in one of the more dramatic climaxes to the annual representative challenge at Chirnside Park in Werribee on Sunday.
The VCCL’s hit-and-run mission was a successful one, claiming victory with a ball to spare in a high-scoring one-day game.
The VSDCA posted what many felt would be a match-winning 7-269 off 50 overs, but the country boys timed their run chase to perfection to claim a memorable win.
“It got down to the wire,” Werribee captain and VSDCA representative Shaun Dean told the Weekly.
“I didn’t think the country boys would chase down that score but they got there with a ball to spare. It was a quality game.”
Dean and his Werribee teammate Tim O’Brien played a significant role in the middle order for the VSDCA.
Dean made 35 and O’Brien was the team’s second leading scorer behind Brendan McGuinness (87) with 42. Dean said the representative honours were a byproduct of a solid 12 months of play.
“It is a pretty good achievement making the team of the year and getting the representative game in front of your home crowd,” he said. “It gave the locals a bit to talk about.”
The groundsman at Chirnside Park did a mighty job freshening up the pitch in time for the representative game.
Twenty-four hours earlier, Werribee wrapped up its two-day encounter over Yarraville, but the wear
and tear was not evident for the big game.
However, Dean said the pitch preparation almost hit a snag on the morning of the match.
“The sprinklers came on which was a bit of a scare and luckily it didn’t get on the main wicket to ruin the game,” he said. “It could’ve been disastrous.”
