Griffins on cloud nine after stalwart Wallen seals title
NINE wins from nine games played is undeniably the form of champions.
It was no wonder, then, that heading into the final one of those matches on Wednesday, Griffins captain Tom Kirk was a confident man that his side would get the job done against Irregulars.
Even he, though, did not anticipate such a one-sided affair that saw his troops regain the Rozel Shield with a nine-wicket victory secured with almost 11 overs to spare.
‘We knew what we needed to do, it’s the same template for most games and it was just another game really,’ said Kirk whose side, at one point, looked as if they might be chasing a target even lower than the 84 they were eventually set.
‘I think that was probably the best we have fielded – that and the Indies game – we just set a really good standard from the start and just choked the life out of it.’
Up against a side missing their in-form batsman in Martin-Dale Bradley, as soon as Luke Bichard struck in his first over to remove Waleed Jami, Griffins had a stranglehold on the game.
The skipper himself soon added the wicket of Ben Wentzel and the only real resistance they came up against was from Werner Van Zyl, who batted nicely for his 29 at a run-a-ball.
Safe hands in the deep from Jordon Martel and Luke Le Tissier helped to spark a collapse of five wickets for just 16 runs, with Adam Martel claiming four of those, and Irregulars spent the rest of their innings eking out whatever runs they could, which were not very many.
Le Tissier picked up a wicket, wicketkeeper Matt Philp ran out Angus Hunter as the second-highest scorer attempted to get back on strike and the top-flight’s leading wicket-taker Dane Mullen added another to finish the campaign with 19 to his name.
The run chase was over swiftly.
As Kirk alluded to, Le Tissier stuck to the season’s template and took the attack to the bowlers in the powerplay, reverse sweeping and bludgeoning his way to a rapid 45 with six fours and two sixes in an opening stand of 77 with Damian Wallen before the Island all-rounder somehow managed to get a little feather on a Matt Southwell delivery that was drifting down leg-side at the start of the ninth over.
Six balls later, the celebrations could begin as club stalwart Wallen drove over extra-cover for four to see his side over the line.
‘We feel like we squeaked through a couple of games on grass in the second half of the season, but we’re never out of a game,’ said Griffins manager Rob Thomson.
‘You look at that Indies game with Marcus Thomas coming in and getting us late runs that gave us something we felt we could come out and defend, Jordy [Martel] had three or four knocks at No. 4 in the second half of the season where he was top run-scorer in three games of the last five or six, Dane has been a revelation this year and Philpy behind the stumps ... he’s been superb, asking him to do that job.
‘It’s an all-round effort and that’s something that’s engrained in the club – we all stick together, we are never beaten, we like upsetting the odds – and enjoying it afterwards as well.’
Thomson also made sure he gave the biggest hug of all to the man who hit the winning runs.
‘That’s so sweet because it’s somebody who, before this modern-era Griffins when we have grown and evolved, he was part of it way before that and his dad [club president Dave] being involved still never misses a game and is the first person to buy a round afterwards as a family... we have got a family and a club.
‘It’s the moments like that which make it that bit sweeter.’
