The brave bid for a premiership by the Green Berets came to an abrupt end last Saturday when they were defeated in the Grand Final by a well drilled Criterion Shamrocks side at Gus Smith Oval in Young.
The defending premiers went back to back producing a polished display using their experience to win by 6 wickets.
The Berets won the toss and elected to bat using the strategy that had worked so successfully in recent weeks.
The openers Sam Lynam and Phil Coggins started steadily putting on 28 for the opening stand before the first wicket went down.
However that’s when all the carnage started as the Shamrocks ripped through the top order with Boorowa collapsing to be 8/71 at drinks.
They were dismissed shortly after for 72 and the chances of a premiership were now looking very grim.
Top scorer was Sam Lynam who made 22.
Best of the Shamrocks bowlers was Mark Jolliffe with 4/14 and J. Cunnington with 4/18.
Showing the tremendous spirit they have had all year, the Berets were not about to wave the white flag just yet and soon had the Shamrocks on unsteady ground at 2/19.
The Shamrocks batsmen found it hard going against the strong Boorowa bowling line-up and at 4 / 41 and needing 31 more to win still had a bit of work to do to secure victory.
However the experience in the middle order for Shamrocks guided them safely home with just the four wickets down.
In the end, the Berets just didn’t have enough runs on the board to put serious pressure on the Shamrocks batting line-up.
Best of the Shamrocks batsmen was the experienced Mick McAnespie with 22 not out.
Best of the Boorowa bowlers was Sam Lynam with 2/19 who gave it absolutely everything in an attempt to break open the stubborn Shamrock’s line-up.
He was well supported by Rick Bennett, Chris Dwyer and Chris Turner.
The side gave everything in the field and although only chasing a small total the Shamrocks knew they really had to earn every run.
Although soundly beaten in this game, the lads can be very pleased with their effort to get this far.
At one stage in the season they were looking for a spot on the club wall to hang the wooden spoon.
They have played with tremendous spirit and their sportsmanship for a team full of youth has been second to none and speaks volumes for the Boorowa community as a whole.
The Berets will be back better than ever next year and together with the Boorowa Golds who can also be very pleased with their efforts, hopefully a Premiership is not to far away.
The experiment of two sides this year has been successful and with the junior talent coming through the future for cricket in Boorowa is a bright one.
Many thanks must go to the loyal band of supporters who made their way to Gus Smith Oval on Saturday to watch the Berets and indeed to those who have attended the games of both teams this season.
It does make a huge difference.
This Saturday night will see the Young Association presentation night held at the Criterion Hotel in Young at 6.30 pm with the guest speaker being former International Umpire Darrell Hair who will no doubt have some interesting tales to tell.
The local presentation night will be held on Saturday April 18 at the Ex-Services Club at 7pm. Watch this space for further details and a report on the associations dinner this Saturday night.
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