You beauty: Party time for Euroa.
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Aydin Payne
A dominant bowling performance led Euroa to the under-16 Cricket Shepparton premiership at the weekend, as it destroyed Notre Dame-St Brendan’s by six wickets on grand final night at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve.
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Mitchell Walters was the star for the Magpies, setting the tone with the ball taking 2-5, before anchoring the chase with an unbeaten 19 off 20 balls.
After finishing third in the home and away season, Euroa came into its own through the finals series, easily accounting for Numurkah in the semi-final before producing a grand final masterpiece to come away with the silverware.
Winning the toss and batting first, the minor premier Tigers came into the first innings determined to put scoreboard pressure on the in-form Magpies.
But the top order couldn’t deal with the class of the Euroa openers as the likes of Walters, Darby Wilson (1-5) and Kusuma Wolfenden (2-13) made it nearly impossible for the Notre Dame batters to get it off the square.
Losing a remarkable 7-16, the focus for the Tigers quickly turned to putting up something their bowlers could defend, with Max Hooper providing some resistance with a quick-fire 14.
On top of the world: The Euroa under-16 team celebrates its premiership win. Photo: Euroa CC.
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But the Magpie bowlers were simply too good, quickly wrapping up the tail to have Notre Dame bowled out for 58.
Facing a small chase of 59 to be crowned premiers, Walters came to the crease with the intention of knocking off the runs quickly.
Putting on an unbeaten partnership with fellow opener Walter Jackson (four not out), he took the role of aggressor, striking a classy 19 not out off 20 balls to completely play the Tigers out of the contest.
Yuvi Malhi came into the attack late for Notre Dame and provided a spark, bowling two overs and taking an impressive 2-3 to slightly improve the situation for his team.
But at the end of the day, it was just delaying the inevitable, as Euroa hit the winning runs with just less than nine overs to spare.
This victory served as sweet redemption for the Magpies after falling in the semi-finals in the past two seasons.
